I've never experienced baby fever, but I feel like I should. DH and I have been married for six years and he's been out in practice for 5 years already, and I know people are wondering why we don't have kids yet. While we both agree we want children, and value the idea of having a family, I don't think about babies much, and we don't talk about it much. When I see a baby on the street I don't really feel anything--I just feel neutral. There are no feeling of longing for a child of my own, and I don't coo over babies.
A big part of it is that I don't feel ready for the responsibility yet, and I'm not sure when I will feel ready. To be perfectly honest with myself, I don't think I could handle motherhood right now. I don't know the first thing about babies or raising kids. I also don't feel like I have things together in terms of balancing school and running a household, and often feel that my housekeeping and homemaking skills are a failure. I look at people who work part-time or full-time out of the home while balancing motherhood, and am in awe. I don't think I am capable of that at this point. I often feel conflicted about the fact that I don't feel ready versus the fact that my biological clock is ticking. Up until recently DH and I had been very transient, lived in the city, etc. which didn't really put me in the frame of mind for motherhood as much as it might have if we had bought a house right after residency and moved right into the suburbs.
Another reason why I think I haven't yet experienced baby fever is because I don't have any friends who have kids, have no siblings, and my parents and in-laws have never once pressured me or inquired "why we don't have kids yet." Because I don't get asked that loaded question often, it kind of takes the pressure off in a way. Also, I'm never around kids since I don't know anyone in the area who has kids. I think things would be different if I was an aunt, and was around little nieces and nephews.
A big part of it is that I don't feel ready for the responsibility yet, and I'm not sure when I will feel ready. To be perfectly honest with myself, I don't think I could handle motherhood right now. I don't know the first thing about babies or raising kids. I also don't feel like I have things together in terms of balancing school and running a household, and often feel that my housekeeping and homemaking skills are a failure. I look at people who work part-time or full-time out of the home while balancing motherhood, and am in awe. I don't think I am capable of that at this point. I often feel conflicted about the fact that I don't feel ready versus the fact that my biological clock is ticking. Up until recently DH and I had been very transient, lived in the city, etc. which didn't really put me in the frame of mind for motherhood as much as it might have if we had bought a house right after residency and moved right into the suburbs.
Another reason why I think I haven't yet experienced baby fever is because I don't have any friends who have kids, have no siblings, and my parents and in-laws have never once pressured me or inquired "why we don't have kids yet." Because I don't get asked that loaded question often, it kind of takes the pressure off in a way. Also, I'm never around kids since I don't know anyone in the area who has kids. I think things would be different if I was an aunt, and was around little nieces and nephews.
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