All this talk about an only child.....

I was an only child and loved it. I always had friends over and never felt like I was cheated for not having a sibling.

If you were an only child, did you ever feel lonely? What did you do to amuse yourself? What was the best part of being an only and the worst part?

The reason I ask is DH does not want our son to grow up alone and feels like we are cheating our son if we do not give him a sibling. Just wanted some opinions.

Re: All this talk about an only child.....

I hated it. I was always feeling lonely and even though I had a ton of freinds my whole life, I just felt sad.

I have half brothers and sisters but I didnt grow up knowing them.

I also feel a TON of responsibility for my mom b/c all she has is me.

Re: All this talk about an only child.....

DH grew up an only child.. he actually liked it. its just his personality, though- he liked having his parents to himself, and he didn't feel "cheated" because he was very social with friends in the neighborhood, and friends at school. even now, his closest friends are from kindergarten and middle school! they are only children, too.. and its so funny to see them together, because they really are like the brothers they never had.
BUT, i think it did affect DHS relationship with his parents a little bit... because they were kind of smothering- his mom never worked, and his dad is a pilot that only works one week a month or so. so they had tons of "free time" and it was all about DH. i think he felt a little pressured by that.

Re: All this talk about an only child.....

I love it.. I am happy I didn't have siblings I think I did so well overall bc I was an "only"


I am torn about Sofia being an only..I am gonna just get PG again and not think..

I was never lonley but I am a total loner and I actually like being alone..

Message edited 3/7/2008 8:22:55 AM.

Re: All this talk about an only child.....

I am an only child and I love it! I wasn't lonely at all. My mother said I had a wonderful imagination and I entertained myself for hours. I love doing things by myself and my dh doesn't understand that sometimes. I just love the peace and quiet that comes with being alone.

Re: All this talk about an only child.....

Re: All this talk about an only child.....

Re: All this talk about an only child.....

I'm so glad you ladies posted this. DH and I are trying to decide whether or not to do another round of IVF. We just had a failed cycle (BFP but m/c).

I am just worried about Matteo being an only child. I have a sister and DH has a brother and we love having siblings. When we had Matteo, we were living in St. Louis, away from all our family. We weren't going to be ab;e tp do a second IVF round for financial reasons. So, a big part of our decision to move back to NY was so that Matteo could be near his family. My sister is only 5 minutes away and my niece is only 10 months younger than Matteo. I'm glad we made the decision to come back here but part of me still wants to give him a sibling.

It's just good to hear that a majority of you were very happy as an only child. It lets us know that whatever we decide, our son will most probably be ok. I just hate the people that make me feel guilty and are constantly asking us when we are going to try for #2. Baby pushers! It was bad enough before we had DS. I thought it would have stopped but those damn baby pushers never know when to stop!