My first "Done with One" post

The title/idea for this blog came from an evening with friends. One of the friends, like me, has only one child and plans to keep it that way. We commiserated with the fact that the questions will never cease of "when will you have another?"


This ride of life is full of questions like this...What will you do after high school? When will you get married? When will you have kids? When will you have MORE kids? This last question is where I'm currently at, so I don't know what comes next. People don't accept "NEVER" as an answer, by the way. I fully admit, I did not accept that answer from my sister who is also Done with One. But I do now...and I will from anyone who offers that answer, or even the "I don't want kids" answer.




Paul and I LOVE our Evan so much. He is a good boy, he's smart, handsome, personable, and very funny. There are many reason why I am content to be Done with One.

First of all, I wasn't crazy about the baby stage. There are so many cute moments, but there are also a lot of tiring and frustrating moments. I know every baby is different, and I would gladly do it all again, I just don't want to. There, I said it. Second, I do not have the guilt that makes me feel like I owe Evan a sibling. He has cousins around his age, and God willing, he will make wonderful life-long friends. I know that is not the same as a sibling, but... (I'll save that for another post.)


There is also a financial aspect. Paul and I believe that it is our responsibility to raise and pay for our child. We opted not to do daycare, but to work opposite shifts and switch-off with Evan for the first year. We had help from Grandma Jody and Aunt Lori, and we had a scheduled sitter from church 4 days a month. But mostly, Evan was cared for by Mom and Dad. We got to witness the first rolling over, crawling, talking, and walking ourselves. That is irreplaceable. The second year I worked even less and we continued the switch-off. And now, for the third year, I am a stay-at-home Mom. It was not an easy decision, but for us, it is the right decision. We cannot afford for this to be a permanent arrangement, and we are making sacrifices, but Evan is SO worth it.


If God blesses us with a surprise, we will adjust our own plans and love it, but with all the power we possess, we are Done with One.