Oh, baby

I've been away from the internet for four days and now I can't shut up. I had to share this awesomeness that my Rachel friend posted.

Most of the info isn't news to me. I took an awesome Sociology of the Family course when I was an undergrad that provided me with most of this info. In a nutshell - children don't add to our happiness, contrary to popular belief. Married couples who have children see their happiness levels diminish with each child. Marital satisfaction rises when the last children leaves the nest. However, they never return to pre-birth levels.

Thanks to this article, I've found my next must read.

It's no secret that I've had a bad case of baby lust for the past several years, even being aware of this information. It doesn't help that sooooo many of my friends are popping out kids. However, we're in the group that sees a right and wrong way (for us) to do things. For us, it would be wrong to have a baby before we are financially ready. For us, that means one of us finishes a graduate program before our baby cries. For us, that means it could happen in the next couple years. We have a checklist. We're not to the (not-so) baby step yet.

I've always been excited about starting a family. I know Nick wants to be a dad, too. I know though, and have known since he made the decision to go to medical school, that I will be waaay more active in raising the kidlings than he will. It's why I've felt so much pressure in making my career/education choices. Nick's career will be a demanding one. His career will come first.

We have put A LOT of thought into this baby thing. So much so that I believe sweet irony will inevitably resolve the issue for us.