Incoming head thoughts! Sensible family vehicle for your time:
How does a couple decide that they want kids, or that they are ready?
I'm 25, and my wife is 27, so it is a question that is increasingly in the back of our heads. Don't get me wrong, I think kids are cute, and I love my nephew and nieces, but having a kid seems like such a massive lifestyle change that you can't exactly just undo. Add to that fact that my wife becomes an angry bear if she doesn't sleep well (not that I'm much better) and I have my concerns. We both like to travel lots, and we know that having a kid will seriously minimize travel opportunities so that's another factor that we have to consider. Oh, and my nephew is 2 1/2 years old and still doesn't sleep through the night, I think I would go insane if I had 2+ years of crappy sleep.
On the plus side, we would have damn cute progeny, and I think I would be a good dad (I sometimes get frustrated with my dogs something fierce, and I'm pretty lazy to do housework and renovations and stuff), and I think my wife would be good as well.
On the downside, said lack of sleep, not being able to travel, her career would take a backseat for a while (we would probably aim for two kids, but she has hinted that if she doesn't get a girl she have up to four if it provides a girl), and hell we might be terrible parents.
I have said that before we have kids we should take a year off and travel to a bunch of places we want to go (we would stay long enough that we could work part-time jobs to cover the living expenses) and my wife likes this idea. It's weird, because I always thought I would really want kids when I got married, but now that we have been for a few years it seems like I'm subconsciously rejecting the idea.
What are your thoughts on kids, both those of you that have them, and those of you that don't?
Anyone that has group-think authorship feel free to cross-post.