Family Planning Conundrums

nice topic Legacy,
i had no bro or sis and feels you must have.........
if i think about my family after i get marry, 2-3

hehe, thnx

so u were a single child; what was that like? why would u think of 2 or 3 kids, which would u prefer, 2 or 3 (with reasons ofcourse),

it was good to have siblings so we could play "pass the blame", it always fell to the youngest, until he rebelled and went into business for himself!

Well my family life growing up was a bit more complicated and I am afraid my own family has ended up that way too!

Had my first marriage worked out I would have stopped at 2. However it didnt!! I remarried only a few years ago and my husband had not married or had children before we got together. My Hubby is Greek, which generally = FAMILY.

We now have a beautiful 18 month old son. My other children are 16 and 10 years old. Ideally we would like one more so our youngest does not grow up like an only child!!!

Its hard work, but worth every second!!

Em x

love the contribution Em! many thanks

yes, i saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding too! usually this side of the world is not affected by the small family syndrome, where the mom is focusing on her career and it is very difficult to finance children.

take two opposite ends of the continuum; in China i haer you cannot have more than 1 child per family, twins would be separated (i think thats just an urban myth), the reality is the government helps out with the first child, but not the second, and its expensive to raise children there.

whereas places like France and Germany, with aging populations, are trying to encourage people to have more kids, by giving subsidies etc.

eeek, ive drifted off topic on a tangent!

as always Em, your final conclusion says it all

read that 2nd to last line people

You are welcome as always Legacy

Although some days I think - why on earth did I have so many, especially as I have now been raising children since I was 19 years old - I cant imagine my life without any of them.

I would not however judge anyone who decided not to have any, or only to have one. It is a matter of personal choice, but an experience that no one can possibly describe to you. The joy that you feel holding your little one in your arms simply cannot be described.

I had every intention of having a "career" and I do still work 18.5 hours a week to help the family income but really I just love being a Mama!! I feel truely blessed and often think of those people who so desperately want to have children but are not able to.

I am very much hoping that my children will soon be experiencing a new way of life and a new culture in Kuwait in the not so distant future!

Em x

Amen Em

i will never forget my first close encounter with a new-born baby, my niece, precious little thing she is,

to me personally, there was nothing more rewarding than a hug from a 1 year old baby, given out of nothing but pure affection. the hardest part was actually talking to her, in baby talk, but once u get over how stupid you feel, it really is very soul-enriching.

simply put, i cannot wait for my turn on the parental wheel and it is nice to have a positive experience from those who have been there and are enjoying every minute of it. sure, it may not be good all the time, but it is the natural evolution of people to have their own families.

God bless you Em, and keep your little ones safe, and for those along the way, i am sure they will be blessed to have a mum (see, i put that in especially for you, i usually go with mom!) like you

Interesting topic, only problem is what ever you do, will not work, it is not YOU who is controlling (as much as you like to believe it).
It is a controversial topic in some parts of the world, as it may seen having impact on the overall system . What ever we do, there is a "Nature family planning which has its own mind"

I have never used any contraceptives and it worked out well in the end. I have 20 children and i wish to do make half-century...

"A lot of my time was spent searching, thinking and planning my life, then actually living it as it goes by"

Good morning guys.... following on from the marriage topic such deep individual thoughts and comments.

I have 3 beautiful daughters and I am one of 2 sons, my father one of 3 sons. Sadly in western parts of the world the family life has suffered and is not as important.

I think it is also to do with individuals, for example I have not spoken with my brother in over 2 years and when I am at home we live less than 2 miles apart. We have not fallen out we have just built different lifes. My father is the the same with his brothers where he can go year to year before talking.

AS a parent my girls again are all individuals and are very different, they are currently 23, 21 and 16 and argue like mad haha.

In short to your original question Legacy its about you and your wife, what you want to do and less on the impact of those around you!!!

lol, scotty your daughters are spaced out the same as me and brothers, and my dad and his.

with all due respect, i can never imagine having tht happen, especially on this side of the globe. family, including relatives, is the backbone of the society. how family can go for years without talking astounds me.

but back to the topic @ hand, how do your daughters interact, is it the same as i said was the case with me, 2-&-1, or are they all close (given that they are girls).

what i am hoping to understand here is the relationship between siblings growing up.

Legacy,

My eldest (16 - son), is very close to my youngest (18 months - son), but fights with his sister (aged 10). I know that he loves her dearly but they annoy each other very much. My daughter is also very close to her baby brother.

I dont know whether any of this has to do with the age gaps, or the gender of each child, or even their own personalities.!!

I am hoping to be blessed with one more, in the very near future (maybe he/she will be born in Kuwiat?) but this will be a bit of a shock as I am used to having at least 6 year age gaps! It will be interesting to watch thr dynamics of two that are closer together in age.

As I have said before, my family life growing up was complicated (Mum married 3 times and Dad married 3 times, so I dont actually have any "full blood" siblings.

I had a Step Brother who was 13 years older than me. When I was young we were very close. Then he left home and had a family. We had nothing in common for years and years, until I had my own family and we became close again.

My biological father moved to South Africa when I was small. He and his wife had a son. Three years ago he came to live in the UK, and although we only met each other once before (when I was 13 and he was 6) we are so close now. He does not have a family, and actually the only thing we have in common is our father but there was an instant connection between us.

Is it blood that ties us, or is it the upbringing we have together? - Another deep topic!!!

Em x

Whilst on the subject of family planning.....

What is the maternity care like in Kuwait? If we come we would seriously be considering completing our family with just one more!!

Would I be better coming back to the UK to give birth?

Em x

im not sure of the legalities of giving birth in the UK etc, its best to have another British expat quell that doubt for you.

as with every other country, you get what you pay for, thre are maternity wards that specialise in pampering, there are government maternity wards etc.

depending on the insurance coverage your husband gets, i dont think u need to worry about that issue.

so, how is the wedding procession going? are the people jittery, excited, anxious, nervous?

Em03750 wrote:

Whilst on the subject of family planning.....

What is the maternity care like in Kuwait? If we come we would seriously be considering completing our family with just one more!!

Would I be better coming back to the UK to give birth?

Em x

Hi there.. I've actually been doing research into giving birth here in kuwait. I've only been here for 4 months now (and Im not pregnant yet but thinking about it since my son is to turn 4 next month) I like making informed decisions which is why I want to know as much as I can about the sort of care I can expect from hospitals here in kuwait.

Are there any new mom's or pregnant woman who can offer some input to this?
thanks

Em03750 wrote:

Whilst on the subject of family planning.....

What is the maternity care like in Kuwait? If we come we would seriously be considering completing our family with just one more!!

Would I be better coming back to the UK to give birth?

Em x

If you have health care plan, you shouldn't worry. You will get 5 star treatment in one of those fancy shmanzy hospitals.

If you got no health care plan, I personally don't see the difference. Public hospital don't offer the best rooms in the world, but they are clean enough and they would definitely serve the purpose.

If you want to get technical, perhaps you have a medical history you need to carry with you or if you think your case require special attention then you better off stick with your current gynecologist.

Cheers!

My insurance sadly doesn't cover maternity benefits (this is something that's really unheard of in South Africa - where I'm from) but a private hospital is still not out of the question for me..

Personally, I dont really care for luxury (of course I want the place to be clean and the facilities must be up-to-date and in working condition) what's important to me is the health care..

I've read online that birthing is very "medicalised" here in kuwait.. with a preference for Cesareans and Episiotomies being standand for a normal delivery... not that I would prefer a completely natural birth (I would want a normal delivery with epidural as that is what I had with my 1st child).

I'm just a little concerned that I might not have any say in the way Im being treated medically and that Dr's will just do as they feel fit.