My husband is the main breadwinner, but my income is a good deal as well...but "I" am the one who does all of the financial planning, writing out the checks/paying the bills, etc. so I definitely do more worrying about that sort of thing. (I can't imagine paying school tuition/books/school clothes for more than 3 children in one school year! ) Also, we have a lot of hobbies and things that we like to do, where having more kids would make it almost impossible.

My SMALLEST baby was 9 pounds, 4 ounces as well (and a month premature)...making me not want to endure another delivery.

sling: I'm also hoping to get pregnant this year but I want to make some headway on my weight loss first!

Aphil: 9 pounds was your smallest! I wouldn't be in a rush to have any more either! Tuition is my biggest worry but i find clothes and other stuff gets passed along. We also don't have a TV so my kids don't "want" things all the time.

Same here 2B2BF. I really don't want to start a pregnancy this heavy.

My baby's birth weights were as follows:
#1 9lbs 2oz - c/s for breech presentation
#2 7lbs 10oz - hosp VBAC w/epi
#3 9lbs 8oz - home waterbirth
#4 9lbs - unassisted homebirth
#5 7lbs 15oz - unassisted waterbirth
#6 10lbs 9oz - unassisted waterbirth
#7 7lbs 15oz - unassisted waterbirth

You can actually visit my family web-site if you want. It's located in my profile. themoralesfamily.us

Sling, my third was born at home, unassisted, as well! I wouldn't do it any other way now. My first two were hospital births, but I didn't get there until I was fully dilated both times (after laboring at home for 24 hours and 33 hours, respectively) to avoid the needless interventions and bother about waiving exams and monitoring and IVs and all. I love giving birth, but being pregnant isn't my favorite.

Aphil, we said we were done after one and have had two surprises since - both after giving away significant amounts of "baby stuff". We're not giving anything away any more. I'm afraid it's a bad sign for us!

Kara

Interesting to hear about everyone's babes and experiences.

For me, I would have loved to have had home births, etc. but it just wasn't in the cards for me. My first baby (my daughter) had to be "helped" out. I was trying to avoid a c-section, but ended up with an episiotomy and my hipbones and Jasmine's shoulder were injured during the delivery. In retrospect, it should have been a c-section.

She was 10 pounds 4 ounces, but she was very large framed-which makes a difference. A "chubby" 10+ baby can squeeze through...but when the frame is large, bone can't squeeze. Her shoulders were too wide to pass through my hipbones naturally. (She was 23"+ long, 15"+ head, etc. not chubby-BIG.)

I literally limped for 2 months after her birth-and she was born wearing size 6-9 month clothing. We had bought a few newborn items and diapers, and a layette in 3-6 months...NONE of it fit. My mom had to go buy onesies and larger diapers, etc.

Both of my boys had to be monitored frequently for size during my pregnancy...but lucklily my body figured it out, and I had them both a month premature-they were 9 pounds 4 oz., and 9 pounds 3oz. respectively. They would have both been 11+ pounds had they been born full term. They were also large framed babies...but were just small enough for their shoulders to pass through my bone frame.

Mine were all born "early" too, at 37 - 38weeks.

My boys were born at 36 weeks (Raiden), and 35 weeks (Saber).

So when does everyone weigh themselves?

Do you do it before you nurse or after you nurse?

I know I try to do it after I've nursed because I find I can weight ½ a pound to 1 pound lighter if I nurse or pump before a weigh in.

What do you all do?

It never even occurred to me to weigh in after nursing. I just step on the scale when I remember or have the guts to do it. I will have to try it both before and after to see how much of a difference it makes.

I always weigh when I get up in the morning, after using the bathroom and without any clothes on. Usually, my son nurses a couple of time in the early morning hours. I believe this is the most consistent time to weigh. At other times of day, I may have several pounds variance depending on what I've eaten and drunk. One day, by 10:00 a.m., I may have only had some breakfast. Another day, I may have had breakfast, a snack and drank 32 ounces of water (which weighs about two pounds!).

I have always weighed in first thing in the morning, either naked or in underclothes-before I have eaten/after a bathroom visit. I did this before I ever had any kids, durig pregnancies, while nursing, and now that I am not any longer.

When I was still nursing, I didn't go by when my last nursing was. I think that being consistent with the time of day, same clothing (or not) is more consistent.

I also do not weigh every day. I weigh once or twice a week only.

I weigh first thing in the am, no clothes, after potty. I tried timing the nursing, but DD is not consistent in her wake up time and I like to get something hot to drink early on, so that seemed best to me. I know nursing can take at least 1/2 a lb off, but for my records, it seems to even out. I weigh daily but try to look at the weekly average so that the daily fluctuations don't freak me out as much.
We may foster or adopt in the future, but as far as biological children we are "2 and through" for various personal and environmental reasons. I am an older mom already and had 1 miscarriage before my son and 3 before my daughter.
Both my kids were c-section - my son for a total placenta previa and my daughter for other reasons. I will always be a little sad that I didn't get to experience natural childbirth, but I am just glad I have 2 healthy kids who arrived safely.
I bf my son, but when I went back to work at 12 weeks, he decided bottles were a lot easier than drinking from the tap, so I exclusively pumped for another 3 months. DD will be 9 months next week and we are going strong.
The economy is really freaking me out this week. I will probably be laid off by Labor Day and I have been the major breadwinner up til now, so I'm really trying hard to trust that all will be ok. We plan for me to take a year or two off to be with the kids - and I am VERY EXCITED by that.

I'm going to try both and see is it makes a difference.

I never thought about weighing after nursing him. I will have to see if it makes a difference. I usually do it first thing while nude and after potty. I will have to do a before and after weigh in tomorrow just to see

Maybe after your first morning feeding would be the best time to weigh in?
To be truthful, I never thought about it either!