Living the Dream

I have very vivid memories of my first pregnancy. My favorite maternity shirt was red and white with little apples all over it. I loved the way it billowed out over my growing belly. I loved the way it made me look and feel. I could not get enough of the attention that was showered on me. Normally I was quiet and shy, preferring to blend in and go unnoticed.  But a pregnant four year old tends to stand out and I loved every second of it. It was a bit odd being pregnant alongside my mother..even though it was the 70s. My brother was born when I was 4 1/2.

We were probably 8 or 9 when we first started homebirths. My sister, my best friend and I would labor on the floor of our wood paneled basement playroom and pop out a baby. Sometimes 2 or 3 a night. It was exhausting but we were pretty much superheros. After birthing a few babies we would be hiring babysitters and heading out to teach ballet class or gymnastics. A girl has to earn a living somehow.

I always dreamed of having a bunch of kids. Family legend is that I once wanted to have 81 children. Reality eventually set in and I am lucky to be the mom of three amusing, amazing, clever, exhausting, entertaining monkeys. I often wonder how things would have been different if Big Yankee and I had met earlier, if I had been younger when we started our family, if my doctor hadn't told me having another child would be risking my life. 

This weekend I will get a little taste of what might have been as I have two extra boys.

 Five of them-18 months, 3 1/2 yrs, 4 1/2 yrs, 8 yrs, and 10 yrs.

One of me. 

I will let you know how it goes. 

It's my own version of Survivor.

Do you ever think about what might have been for your family?