What Can I Do About This Baby Fever (Besides Have Another Baby)?

I borrow other people's babies so I can get my fix. A few months ago I borrowed 2 little ones for the day to give their moms a nice day out together for their bdays.

So I had a 18month old and a 5 month old plus my son who is 3. That fixed my baby fever for the past few months. I was glad when their mommies came back to pick them up.

Tina

Get a convertible. It's what men do, right? To address Peg's concerns, get one with really good gas mileage, or better yet, a hybrid.

Every 2 years, like clockwork (stupid hormones).

I got a puppy.

Puppies are hell on earth. The need round the clock care, make huge messes, need tons of 1:1 attention, but their entire 'baby- potty training' phase is over in 6 months. They 'fight' with the kids (as in "Rover took my toy! Make him give it back!!!), there's rivalry, there's whines for forgiveness. There's ANOTHER spot on the carpet. Aaaargh. There's schlepping back and for to the store/ vet/ store. There's vomit. There's not listening. There's rebellion and apologies. Whew. All done in 6mo instead of 4 years. Scratches the itch like NOBODY'S business, and you can leave them home alone when you need a break :)

Now... the ALSO have all the 'awww'/cuddles/baby vibe as well, but the time commitment, and monetary cost is a FRACTION of what it is with a human baby.

I'm all about the 'puppy fix'.

Go find yourself a cranky over-wound whiny/screaming toddler throwing a tantrum and stay close to him/her until your eardrums burst and your very last nerve is frayed, and babysit for a colicky baby (non stop crying hour after hour after hour - lets say 8 hours and give the kids Mom a good sleep).
Works wonders for me.

What did I do? I got two cats. :-) They're snuggly and adorable and the size of babies. Big babies. I get to spoil them rotten the way I can't/shouldn't spoil my children and I don't have to stay up all night with them.

Luna just turned 4 and Daisy just turned 3. They'll always be my babies. They were my compromise with my husband who decided after our youngest that we're absolutely no doubt about it done having human babies.

It sounds JUST a WEE bit like you want to be talked into a yes, or wonder how to talk your husband into "Yeah, woman, what are we waiting for?"

I won't talk you into it, because I have had very serious concerns since I came of age in the 60's about the climbing human birth rate. As a species, we humans have done a pretty amazing job of putting other species and future generations of humans at risk. Every baby adds to the burden – especially in the West, where each child consumes four times or more of the natural resources of a baby in an undeveloped country. Imagine the strain on the earth when every child born in the last 10 years in developed nations wants a home, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a laptop and television (not to mention a bazillion other products)? And then wants/needs to replace them with "newer, better, bigger" every 1-20 years? What about the 2 or more kids per family they are likely to produce?

I stopped with one child for the good of all future children. My one daughter now has an awesome little boy, and has decided to stop with him. Babies are so wonderful, so rewarding, so lovable, it's natural to want more (I sometimes even wish for another grandchild). In fact, nature has programmed that desire into women for the ongoing success of humanity. But we have simply become too successful now, trashing the garden of life we depend upon.

For the love of your own grandchildren (and you will adore them!), I hope you will choose to be content with the replacement number you've already produced. Contentment is a state of mind, and the state of our minds is partly rational.

I had baby fever BADLY!!!! When my son was born I literally walked out of the hospital saying I am ready to do this AGAIN! I got pregnant with my daughter 8 months later. After she was born, I still had baby fever. My number was always 3, but I probably could have been easily strong-armed into having 4! I even had a wicked case of morning sickness during my pregnancy with my daughter. I just loved having babies!! My husband on the other hand was satisfied with having one of each kind God makes and was done. It took a long time for me to get over my fever, but now that my kids are 2 and 3.5 it is nice that they aren't so completely dependent and we no longer have to tote around carseats, strollers, huge diaper bags, etc. etc. I do feel like I am in the best position I could be. If God blessed our family with another child today I would be over the moon, but if not, I am still blessed with a beautiful family!
A.

I'll have to admit I have never really had a case of baby fever after my twins were born. DH and I are in agreement that two kids is enough for us. But if the urge to cuddle babies ever got really strong, I'd volunteer in the church nursery once a month :-) (BTW this seems to work for a lot of ladies in our congregation - most of the nursery volunteers are either grandmothers or mothers of older kids - and for some funny reason a lot of moms of teens like to volunteer in the nursery LOL.)

It is a Rite of Passage, for a Mom.. .seeing their kids growing up and not a 'baby' anymore.
Then the baby urge hits. Mom misses having a 'baby.'
Seeing our kids grow up, is a Milestone for us, too.

My kids are 8 and 4. My son will be going to Kindergarten soon. Ho boy!
I miss seeing my kids as 'babies', and seeing them grow up. It is bittersweet.

But I KNOW, I do not want another baby.
If it happened, then so be it. That's fine.
But I am not actively trying to have another baby! No way!
I know this is just emotional 'wishing' due to seeing my kids grow up.

You just have to... realize that.

all the best,
Susan

have any friends with babys???? go borrow one. :)

Offer to babysit one of your friend's babies! I'm sure that will help cure it, especially if you do it often! Either your desire will be satiated by frequent contact with the baby, or you can remind yourself just how much hard work they really are :) If that doesn't cure it--have a baby!

I asked a good friend to slap me (metaphorically) if I start talking about having a fourth. This woman calls it like it is and does not mince words. I told her to remind me of the hard times I had raising teens and do what ever it takes to "slap" me out of it. I trust her. I LOVE cuddling other people's babies but I remember what she will say if I even think about having another! Of course it helps that I'm pushing 50 soon... I held a six month old today she was SOOO cute, her little cheek against my shoulder...oops there I go

I too have been having baby fever as my youngest is 2 and we, I think, have decided not to have any more kiddos. We have two, one of each and that suites my husband just fine. Me on the other hand would love to have had three. Unfortuantely we both work and that means lots of $$$ going into daycare. We could afford three in daycare/after school care but the question is do we want to? Do we want to sacrifice the things we are trying to accomplish (building up our 401k's, college funds, savings, saving for a new house, etc). It is hard . . . I actually just held a garage sale with two of my Mama neighbors and sold a lot of our baby stuff. It was hard and I cried the day I got everything organized. Ok . . . just realized I am blabbering as opposed to answering your question - LOL! I'm at work so I better go. Good luck to you . . . maybe the door for you and your husband is not closed so have a few "fun" nights and see what happens. If nothing does, well, then maybe you are done :)

My opinion is that it will likely go away after the 3rd kid...LOL I say go for it. =D Or you can babysit or get a pet!!! Especially a puppy. =D Good luck!!

I still get baby fever nd my babies are 29-23 yrs old. I'm a knitter so I knit for a group called Newborns in Need which has helped a lot. I get to make baby sized sweaters and hats while picturing a beautiful little one who will be wearing it.

Picture your family in another 5, 10, 20 years even. How many children do you have? If it's more than two, you need to have another baby. I don't get baby fever, because I really don't like the whole pregnancy, then entire first year with a baby. BUT I knew I wanted another person in our family. So I'm now pregnant with baby #3. Good luck to you.

I made a delicious dinner last night, but we were in a rush to go to my husband's game and didn't even eat ONE BITE. So, when I get out of the shower today, the entire meal is gone! My 3 yr old dumped out half the fridge and most of the pantry food all over the floor and our dog ate most everything. And, my boys dumped a gallon of milk on top of two loads of laundry I had just folded.... and dumped out the entire contents of their closet. I can't wait for school to start in August!! :) Raising hellions sure is a tiresome thing.

So, when I start to get baby fever... I think about the realities of more kids and it is quickly zapped out of my system.

I go hold my best friends newborn, or sew baby things to sell.

I had terrible baby fever about a year ago, it was bad. I couldn't even look at a baby without going crazy. So, I got a puppy. She's a lot of work, but so cute and sweet and cuddly!

Now I'm 4 months pregnant.. so I guess the puppy didn't do the trick for me.

I talked my husband into having a third with a very thorough PowerPoint presentation on why we should have another baby. I can't believe it actually worked! Men understand facts and logic better than feelings and hormones. He says this has to be the last one though, so next time the fever hits I'll have to actually ignore it. (I'm still glad I got the puppy!)