Thank you, thank you, thank you times a million for all of the sweet support we’ve received so far. I’ve shared before that having a large family can sometimes bring uncalled-for ridicule, so feeling all your love for our sixth baby means the world to us. Today I wanted to answer I few of the questions I’ve received on social media since we announced on Thanksgiving. In some instances I’ve combined similar questions so as not to be repetitive. Keep reading for all our thoughts about baby number 6!

sixth baby q&a

Did you always think you would have a large family? Why is this your last baby?

Mike and I have always agreed on two things regarding family size. The first of those being that we would take each child one at a time and go from there. Although we both wanted to have more than one if it was in Heavenly Father’s plan for our family, we never said, “Oh, we want X number of kids”. So we’ve taken each child as they came which means we’ve had a prayerful discussion about each and every baby we have.

We also agreed on another factor determining family size–that we would be done by the time I was 35. Did you know that once you turn 35 if you get pregnant it’s considered a geriatric pregnancy?! Ridiculous–I know–but the fact is that the chances of complications to both and baby and the mother go up once you hit 35, and even more so once you hit 40. This sweet baby is due April 2020, I turn 35 less than four months later.

I always wondered if I would ever feel “done”. So many friends told me I would someday but I wasn’t sure I believed them. However, the bottom line is that I finally feel ready for this chapter of my life to start ending. I feel so happy, blessed, and content with our family. Besides, we have six kids–I think most people would agree that’s slightly above average and we’ve done our part to repopulate the earth.

Update–this was NOT our last baby! God had other plans and you can read about that here.

sixth baby–how do you do it?!

How do you juggle all the kiddos by yourself while Mike is at work? Do you have help?

Keep in mind, I didn’t get handed all my children at once with someone wishing me the best of luck. I started with one, added another one, and so on. Just like you learn how to handle getting out of the house to run errands with one kids you adjust to two, then three, then four, etc. Yeah, there are definitely tricky moments that are tough to juggle, but you figure it out.

I still remember when we moved back to California from Texas. Mike was driving the moving van and I was in our car with a two year old and a two month old. I wasn’t even an hour into the drive when the baby started crying because she was hungry and I suddenly had to use the bathroom now. I started panicking–what had I been thinking? This was never going to work! How was I supposed to drive alone with two tiny children in the backseat?! Spoiler alert–it all worked out. Being a parent makes you realize that you can do hard things.

I am fortunate because my parents live about 30 minutes from us and Mike’s parents are not too far either. Even though my mother works full time and my father is semi-retired they help out quite a bit . Obviously you never want to take advantage of family members though. So most of the day-to-day is just a lot of scheduling to make things work. The juggling I have to do isn’t any more involved than someone with one child who also works outside the home, or the mom of three who is involved in the PTA. We all have different things that we have to try and fit into our lives.

How do you balance spending quality time with each kiddo, especially with a new baby?

Oh, this is a tough one. Time is the one thing everyone wishes they had more of, isn’t it? I think whether we have one kid or ten we wish we had more time. Over the years though I’ve learned that kids really don’t need much. To my kids, quality time is getting to stay up an extra 30 minutes to snuggle and watch a show with mom. Or it’s running to the store with Dad to pick something up just the two of them. We take those little pockets of time whenever we can and make the most of them.

Truly though, we love to spend quality time together as a family. We love our weekly movie nights, holiday traditions, and family road trips. These experiences might not be one-on-one time but it’s still quality time that we’re all spending together where our children know they’re loved and appreciated.

how has this pregnancy been?

Do you have easy pregnancies? Do you ever get morning sickness?

To be honest though, I have noticed with each pregnancy it gets a little harder. As much as I hate to admit it (because I don’t feel “old”) , I definitely think age has something to do with it. My last pregnancy was the most exhausted I’d ever felt in my life, but this time around takes a close second. I’ve also been more nauseous with each pregnancy, but I wouldn’t call it morning sickness since it lasts all day. With this baby there was even a three week span in my first trimester where Diet Coke didn’t sound good AT ALL. And y’all know how much I love my Diet Coke.

The photography in this post was taken by Shelby Mousley Photography. Our family loves working with Shelby and if you are in Northern California or surrounding regions we definitely recommend her!

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