Perfect Family

"Million Dollar Family"

Of all the phrases thrown at a parent, that's the one that gets me the most. It's the phrase used to describe a family with two parents - I'm assuming they meant heterosexual parents, but I'm not certain - and one child of each sex. And everyone just assumes that other people want this type of family. They assume this so much that when a couple is expecting a child after the first one, they ask "Are you hoping it will be a (insert other sex than first child)?". They continue to ask this after each subsequent child of the same sex that is born to the family. Other variations are "Are you going to try for a boy/girl this time?" or "Are you sad that you have (insert number) of boys/girls?"

I'm going to be perfectly honest. When pregnant with baby number 2, I was actually hoping it was a girl. I know girls, I have girl things, another girl would be a piece of cake. Or as much a piece of cake as a newborn baby can be. I wouldn't have to spend a bunch of money on clothes or toys or things, and O would have a sister to teach how to do things. My co-workers, however, thought it would be "so cute" to have a boy because then I'd have that "Million Dollar Family". They didn't quite understand why I wanted another girl. Don't get me wrong, I don't resent having a boy. I'm... oddly indifferent about it. I'm not thrilled nor upset, I'm just incredibly happy that I have a baby.

I don't know where society decided that speaking up about this sort of thing was a good idea. There are so many women dealing with infertility or miscarriage issues, I'm so grateful I was able to carry two healthy children to term with minimal effort on our part. Why anyone would question if I preferred a certain sex of child over another is not cool, and I always feel bad for my mom friends who have several children of the same sex and keep getting asked if they're going to try for the other one or if they're hoping they have a boy/girl next time.

I'm happy with what I've got, end of story.