How many kids would you have if finances weren’t a barrier?

[Expatfamily]

My whole life I wanted to be a mum. I’m the first one in my friendship circle to have a baby at 29. As soon as we bought a house and got married we started TTC which luckily we fell immediately. I’m broody now again but thinking that I should probably space out having our next as we’re only going to be able to afford having two.

I’d love to have at least four. If it didn’t take us so long to get on the property ladder/for me to get established in my career I would have been happy to start TTC at 24.

I’m extremely left wing, either voted Green or more recently Labour. Just with all the immigration threads these last few months with the constant ‘we need immigration to increase our birth rate’ has made me think ‘I can increase birth rate for you but I need more than the £20pw child benefit or at least DH having a tax break’. I’ve been angry at the Tories for years but also for this shit show that having to have two full time professional salaries to buy a three bed semi. I can’t have as many kids as I want because we just can’t afford them and that’s just life. But seeing so many threads that we need immigration to uphold our 2.1 replacement rate as native population just don’t want to have large families anymore has low-key started rub salt into a wound I never really had before.

I feel I’m surrounded by people my age who want kids but with the cost of houses/nursery/cost of living having one is barely in reach. Both me and DH are one of three, cannot imagine any of us being able to have three with the way things are.

If money was no object then 5. If childcare was more affordable then 3.

I'd have had 4 if I was a millionaire.

As I'm not we have have 2 kids.

Probably 3 although technically we could afford another and probably still afford all we do now, it would just be savings wld be a lot less.

Maybe I'd have started earlier if money weren't an issue though. I wouldn't want to have another now as I'm coming up on 39. I waited until I was at a decent level in my career to afford to go part time. First was born I was 31. I'd have probably had a baby around 5 years earlier if that weren't the case and had enough time to get a third with the age gaps I'd like.

I have wanted 6 since I was a little girl and I'm blessed with five.

Miscarriage, Ds, ds, miscarriage, dd, dd, ds, stillbirth, miscarriage, miscarriage.

Couldn't take any more silences when the sonographer put the probe on my belly.

I have two. I would still have two.

I've recently had my first. Would definitely like another although been told to wait longer than I wanted due to c section.

I'd have had one 5yrs earlier if I could have afforded it.

1. I'm so done with 2

Odd philosophy to be green politically but want a big family OP.
We’ve got 2 as thats easy to keep our standard of living high and life easy…I’ve seen friends struggle when they’re outnumbered and it doesn’t look like my idea of fun, but each to their own.

1. Finances aren't a barrier for us at all and the answer is still a resounding 0.

I have two and I'd still stick at two. I have birth injuries from having my second so will never get pregnant again for the sake of my own body (although if I had unlimited finances I'd be getting myself sorted out privately!)