More Kids?

I currently work three days a week as a dentist and two days a week watching my son. It has been difficult this first year of my son's life to find a balance between working and caring for him. In retrospect I feel like much of this past year I have been in survival mode due to my sleep deprivation. My son turned one about two weeks ago and he has become much easier to care for now since he is sleeping through the night.

Lately people have been asking me when I am going to have more children. That is a good question. I know I want my son to have at least one sibling. My husband was joking recently that we need to have another child to ensure a constant built in playmate for our son. I think it is beneficial for kids to have siblings so that they learn to play and share with others.

The tough thing is the idea of having another baby in the house and of all of those sleepless nights. I know of another female dentist that actually hired a night nurse/nanny the first six weeks of her son's life, to get the baby on a schedule. Hiring help sounds great in theory, but I wonder what it would be like to have another person around in those early days and weeks of a child's life. Babies need so much care and a hired nanny might not necessarily do things exactly the way I would. Although, perhaps it would be possible to find someone that took direction really well.

So the short answer to the question is yes I want more children. It's the when factor I have to work out.

Kari Ann Hong, DDS
1000 Newbury Road, Suite 190
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
www.familycaredentists.com