To wonder why we have more than one child?

Progeny drive.

I don’t know!

I’ll be honest and say I didn’t like being pregnant, didn’t like having a newborn and i didn’t even like having a young child until she was about 4 plus i had post partum psychosis and PND that never really went away completely. I never had the urge to do it all again.
Im not a big advocate of siblings , my only 1 is an addict. I often can’t believe so many people have more than 1. I think people who have 2 or more kids are amazing i don’t know how they have the resources and patience for it- I wouldn’t!
DD is 8 and my best mate now. She’s friends with a lot of other ‘only girls’ mums in her class so it’s not unusual.

I find parenting two really hard, but that's not to say I wish I wasn't. Every day I feel more justified in my choice to have a second - and I had a lot of losses before her so I had prepared myself mentally to have an only child.

I love them both. I am in awe of how different they are from one another despite sharing a gene pool. Sometimes they're utterly delightful together, and I really hope they'll have a lifelong bond, but honestly I did it for me. I just really wanted more kids and I'm grateful I got that chance. Absolutely no regrets.

Not realising what it'll be like.
Pressure from society (what sort of woman doesn't want a child! Why has she only got one?), though that same society often says awful things if someone has 3 or more (damaging the environment! Doing it for extra money). Sadly too many people act as if having 2 kids is the only acceptable thing.

Some people having an idyllic view of brothers and sisters being close/supporting each other, even though they often aren't, and there's so much resentment that one kid helps out with the parents when they're old.

So really, the only reason to have 2 is if you want to!

I wanted four but stopped at 2 because I couldn’t afford more. I love the noise and chaos of kids in and out of my house. I knew my second would be my last so I felt complete after that, I didn’t feel that with one.

I am an only child and had a lovely childhood. The only time I wished I had a sibling was when my parents died and I should have liked someone to share the grief with. But that didn’t last long.
When I was pregnant for the second time older relatives assumed I was having a second to spare my firstborn the “pain” of being an only child. Not at all! I wanted a second because I had so loved the experience first time round that I wanted to do it again. It was a totally selfish decision.
Being an only child is not a sentence to a life of loneliness and gloom!

Wow. You're about to get absolutely jumped on.

Speaking as an only child it's cruel to have only one child if you have the ability to have more.

I had another one because I knew that if I didn’t, my PFB would have been absolutely insufferable, ruined by his doting mother. Better to spread the love, and also give him a bit of space to be himself - it’s quite an ask, all the parental hopes and fears piled up on a single child. If people choose to have a one and only, that’s fine and a valid choice - but I knew my own first child needed a sibling.

Well, exactly. I wanted a child, but having had one, I didn’t want to do it again.

I kinda know where you are coming from.

Mine are just 6 and just 3. Individually they are amazing. Together they are still amazing but so much hard work. The hardest thing is they don’t play together. The 3 year old tries but the 6 year old isn’t interested. The 6 year old is a good kid but not particularly easy going and wants a lot of attention. Add in the attention a standard 3 year old needs and it can often be tricky!

I still wouldn’t be without either of them. But parenting them together often leaves me feeling stretched very thin.

I'm an only, married to an only.
If we had had one, they would have had no extended family at all. I couldn't bear the thought of them being alone.
I know sibs don't always get on, but I had to give DC1 the opportunity.

Also I love being a Mum, sailed through pregnancy etc. - DC1 was 3 days old when I asked DH if we could have another one. My children are incredible and so far (early teens) have a lovely relationship.

Because I was one of two and that felt right.

And a year after having dc,I suddenly had the most desperate urge for another one.

The next time I felt faintly like that, I got a kitten.

Sometimes when I get my eldest to read her school reading book to my youngest, thus saving me two jobs (listening to the eldest read, and reading to the youngest), I think having two was a really good move.

(This is lighthearted, before anyone has a go. Yes I read to my children, yes I listen to them read)

How old are they OP? I have twins so I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter haha. Newborn to 3 years I found bloody hard. But I love it now - they’re 7. Tremendous fun and play very well together so I get some peace.

Same as you. One is lovely. DH is totally 50/50 in care (55/45 in the actual day to day if I’m honest, although I do more of the ‘admin’). We both get time to ourselves to rest and be someone other than parents. While I sometimes look at siblings together and think ‘awww’ I know that the reality would make life much harder than it currently is.

Because our species would cease to exist if we stopped at one 🤷‍♀️

Have three or four. Amateurs. We’re not here on this Earth to have quiet neat houses.

I sometimes feel this way, but I wouldn't change them for the world. There is only 2 years between my 2 children and they fight like hell. My daughter (11) is autistic and my son (9) knows exactly how to wind her up. Normally resulting in my daughter blowing up and hurting my son! 🤯 I was an only child and my husband is one of 8. It took us 5 years to fall pregnant with my daughter and our son was a surprise! How old are your children OP?

I just felt the urge I guess. Hormones and evolution is hard to resist. I'm not sure there has to be hard logic. Let's face it, if was a business idea for Alan Sugar or Dragons dens it's a non starter with even one child.

I love babies too. Loved being pg. Loved newborns. Love being a mum. But the biggest reason? Short term memory loss that came back like a slap in the face when I read the words above the ultrasound door. At 12weeks with my second "oh my god! I remember. What the fuck have I done?" 🤣 then had two more after that just to be sure it really was a bad idea.

I wish I'd had more.

It is an evolutionary genetic imperative.

Why is it obvious to have one though? To "have" a child? Why? And if so, why not more?

I have no idea, I stopped at one after experiencing what it’s like.

I’m fully convinced a lot of people have kids just because.

I was an only child for nearly all my childhood
and hated it

My mother had my sister but by that time I was so much older that I didn’t really have anything in common with her. I was working whilst she was in primary school etc

I had 2 quite close together and they had a blast as children and get along as adults. They are in business together and work together.

Looking at them fills me with love and envy.

They got what I wanted

8 and 5