Do you get sentimental and wish for another when going through baby stuff?

[acmom]

I am currently going through baby clothes and other baby stuff to get ready for a garage sale. My kids are almost 3 and almost 5 and we are 99% sure we are done having kids. I thought I was ok with that decision but looking at the stuff makes me think twice about that ...would you say this normal sentimental feelings and just part of the process or does this mean I am not ready to make the decision that we are done?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

btdt, right now. i am currently on a decluttering rampage and getting rid of all their baby stuff (toys, clothes). i too am fairly certain we aren't having another, at least not anytime soon.

However, i must say, that even if we DID have a third, i am glad to be getting rid of the baby stuff now. if we do have another, we won't know if it's a boy or girl, so it seems pointless to keep DD's pink girly princess mobile, or DS's football/baseball onesies, for example. also, stuff changes over the years, and new stuff comes out. i figure the baby stuff are way, way more useful to someone else right now than they are sitting in my closet collecting dust, with likely possibilty that they will never be used again.

but, going thru their baby things, it still makes me sad. thinking about it more, it's not the getting rid of it that makes me sad..it's just going through all their baby stuff, knowing they will never use it again.like it's a reminder of how small DS or DD was at some point, and how those moments are gone. and for me, keeping these items doesn't really help this feeling...because if you think about it, even if i do keep the baby stuff, it won't bring back those those moments with DD or DS as a newborn...only have memories & pictures that we can hold on to that provide any sort of comfort. i do keep few things as keepsakes, for DS or DD to possibly give to their own kids when they grow up. But for the most part, i am getting rid of it, for at least another baby to use. also, as i was explaining to DH, it's not babyhood in general i'm missing..it's DS'babyhood, DD babyhood. Even if i DO have another DC, it will not be DS or DD wearing/using these things. So, to me, it's not necessarily a sign of not being done or not..for me, i'm just kind of sad that my kids are growing up, KWIM? If we have a 3rd he/she will eventually grow up too.

eta: i don't really take getting rid of baby stuff to be the be-all, end-all to not having anymore DC. hubby getting a V, okay that is one thing. but getting rid of baby stuff at least to me does not really set anything in stone. i know a couple people in my moms group who are preg with #3 now and they both had gotten rid of all their baby items (one had even moved to a smaller house, swearing up and down they didn't want more kids). you are allowed to change your mind. :)

[jenstring95]

[QUOTE=♥ms.pacman♥;3800504] it's not babyhood in general i'm missing..it's DS'babyhood, DD babyhood

This is me exactly. When I look at old clothes (or other people's young babies), etc. it makes me nostalgic for my DC as babies. I would love to be able to spend a few moments again with them at various ages, but of course that isn't possible. In no way does looking at baby stuff make me want to have another baby, though. I knew we were done with two and have never second guessed that decision.

[smilequeen]

I get very sentimental. We are giving everything away. I just got rid of the furniture that we used for all 3 nurseries. That was so so sad. I was completely sure we were done. I mean, completely 100% sure. But then I got hit with a bad case of baby fever. I always have gotten gushy over newborns. I love having a baby around. I was this close to asking DH if we could go for a 4th. This.Close. And then DS3 (26 months old) started waking in the middle of the night again. Teeth I guess. And I hate getting up. Hate it. So, I'm done again. LOL.

[crl]

Mostly I don't get sentimental at all when I get rid of baby stuff. My kids are nine and three and we are done. For sure. But I was taken by surprise at how sad I was when I sold the stroller I used the most for ds. We were still planning on have a second and did have a second after that. I just knew I wanted a different stroller so I sold it. But when they guy came to pick it up I almost got teary. I think the clothes are really disposable feeling to me. But the stroller had been a daily fixture for us for years. So like previous posters, I don't really associate being sentimental about baby related stuff with wanting another baby, just with being nostalgic about the past.

Catherine

[lalasmama]

My SO's grand babies are here this weekend, kicking our butts. SO had the snip a month ago. We're done. But if I went out to the garage and tried to get rid of the last box of baby clothes... I would be an absolute mess. I think, finished or not, it can be emotional. It's admitting that your baby isn't a tiny baby anymore.

[fedoragirl]

I am like Catherine on the baby clothes thing. I don't get sentimental and have already sold some of DD's stuff.
But now that DS is walking and talking, I miss having a baby and have serious baby fever. But I also know that we won't be able to afford a lot of things for all three kids if we went for another. And I would feel immense guilt if we put one in private school and not the others. So, it's a no-go for now.