Tbh I think some of the threads are reasonable. Especially the ones about preferring to not have a child if they were severely disabled. I have an only child, I'd have absolutely loved to have had 3 or 4 kids but it hasn't happened and is very unlikely at this point. But while I feel some sadness that I don't have more children and that my son doesn't have siblings, I have a couple of friends who's second child has severe disabilities. One friend has a non-verbal quadriplegic child and another a severely autistic child who has very limited speech and no impulse control. They are lovely children, sweet, often very loving and their joy is infectious when they experience it. Their parents love them very much but aspects of their lives are so hard and get harder with each passing year as their children get bigger and/or stronger. There is no denying that it has an impact on their other children. And ultimately, long-term care plans as my friends age, include their other children taking on responsibility for their sibling.

It's honestly heart breaking and I strongly feel that my life with one healthy child, who has the potential to grow into a healthy adult who can live an independent life without my care and without responsibility for another person until he has his own children, is far, far better. It's what I think about when I feel sad that I don't have more children and it's what I think about when I get sad as my son grows and needs me less. I honestly think that these years of active motherhood are the absolute best of my life, I love it so much and will grieve it when it's gone. But I'm also well aware that it's meant to end and I'm glad that it probably will because the alternative, having a child that can never grow into a healthy, independent adult is mostly sould destroying.