how many kids do you have?

When the adoption of our two brothers is finalized we will have 10. Our two bio daughters have nine and eight. It's never dull around here.

2 the perfect number for us. :) I felt so lucky to adopt once. Never in my mind would I have imagined I would have adopted a second. I think that adding a 3rd would be too much. Two is perfect for us. We couldn't be happier.

I have 3 and you can see the ages below. When my 21 year old moves out we are thinking about getting our foster license and seeing what happens. If fertility was not an issue I would be at 4. I think our max would be 4 or 5. That is only due to a large age gap. I love lots of kids but golly they are expensive and require a lot of time. Not to mention that a car can only handle 3 kids (with 2 adults) after that you need a large vehicle. Plus they all need to have enriching experiences, so with 10 kids I would NEVER be able to take a vacation or even go out to dinner. As it is now, with 3 kids it is expensive. I do feel a lot of weight off now that my oldest can pay her own way.

AKDad, so that is 10 kids, and 17 grandkids!? :eek: That sounds like the kind of life I would like. :love:

Yes,gsxr, that would be a main concern of mine as well. My husband currently has 2 jobs, and I have a job where my hours are fairly flexible so if I needed to I could work a schedule so that an adult is here at all times, (If the kids weren't all school aged) which would cut down on babysitter cost. And yes we only have a car right now, so we would have to get another vehicle! I did not think of that until you said something. But I cannot shake the feeling that I am meant to have tons of kids. I suppose I will know when to stop once I actually have any! It is easy to say I want 20 kids when I am not trying to budget for them!! Lol! :eek:

Only 5! Every one on my Step mom forum was saying they wanted 1 or none, and I come to this forum and it is "I only have 6, but I think 8 is our stopping point" and "I only have 5" and "About the have 10" LOL! I love it here, and I can't wait to finish everything with our home so we can start on having 5, 6, or 10 kids. Love you guys!

We have 7 adopted or about to be adopted at home now. The oldest is 20 and is dating a guy that would make great son in law. My guess is she will get married within a year. The six younger children came to us through foster care. It is not an easy road but it is sure worth it. My DW is an expert at putting lives of young children back together. We only paid for one adoption and most of them are subsidized. In our state there are over 2,000 kids in the system. They do not make it easy but it is good to know you have made a difference.

I have 7 -- 5 adopted, 2 bio. My STRONG suggestion - don't make any grand proclamations about how many kids you want or will have until you've actually parented. In fact, parent a while and add as you feel ready. Special needs kids from foster care (as they all are) are EXTREMELY complicated to raise. You may adopt one and find out two years in that the child can never have a younger sibling. It is my honest - and well earned opinion - that parents of special needs kids need a parent home full time. Just the driving around to therapies is a full time job, or being available for constant school emergencies, or ensuring full on supervision even when your child is 14. Our kids range in age from almost 2-20. We have old furniture, we drive older gas sucking large vehicles. We don't go on yearly vacations, our kids work their way through university and it has been VERY hard at times. Would I change it for anything? No -- but I am most certainly DONE. But I did say that too after #3, #4, #s5&6 and I am saying it again now after #7!!!

I have 7 -- 5 adopted, 2 bio. My STRONG suggestion - don't make any grand proclamations about how many kids you want or will have until you've actually parented. In fact, parent a while and add as you feel ready. Special needs kids from foster care (as they all are) are EXTREMELY complicated to raise. You may adopt one and find out two years in that the child can never have a younger sibling. It is my honest - and well earned opinion - that parents of special needs kids need a parent home full time. Just the driving around to therapies is a full time job, or being available for constant school emergencies, or ensuring full on supervision even when your child is 14. Our kids range in age from almost 2-20. We have old furniture, we drive older gas sucking large vehicles. We don't go on yearly vacations, our kids work their way through university and it has been VERY hard at times. Would I change it for anything? No -- but I am most certainly DONE. But I did say that too after #3, #4, #s5&6 and I am saying it again now after #7!!!

We have adopted six babies---and three older children from the foster care system-----all three of the foster care children failed in some way and their adoptions were disrupted. Very hard. Very heartbreaking and wouldn't wish it on anyone-ever. Never wanted to have biological. Our first two babies were adopted internationally while we lived overseas. Our last four babies have been domestic, private adoptions. The youngest of the last four is special needs---surprised us all and teaching us many things as she grows up. Our two oldest are grown and on their own. We still have four at home. Definitely, IMO, adopting older children (even as young as 18mos), is totally different than baby adoption. And, yes, be careful what you wish for.......dh and I said after age 25 and the adoption of our second baby---we were done and complete with our family. We 'ate those words' as our last baby was adopted when we were 52! Good luck to you! Sincerely, Linny

We have 4 right now. Considering one more at some point but not totally sure about that!

I have 13 with 11 at home. I am also hoping to adopt one more time but the wait has been endless! Hmmm can't imagine why. Adoption is an extremely hard way to grow a family as short of deciding to and who to adopt you have zero control over your family planning. Someone else is always at the helm. I say take Jen's words to heart, follow your own but also prepare yourself for the frustrations of battling a system that doesn't as a rule accept your vision. Good luck

Liny means the previous adoption plan failed. That is what disruption is, but she wanted to use clearer words in case someone didn't know what disruption was.

I have 1 AD who just turned 4. I am back waiting for an foster-adopt situation 0-15 months!

One and done!