In a recent Parents Magazine article on things to consider before having a baby, I saw this

exhausting list of must-haves that honestly would scare any sane person away from procreating.

Before you can make that baby, you must.

Research all available artificial technologies in case you can't do it the natural way.

Make sure you have at least $22,000

in discretionary spending. Negotiate parental leave because of course you also have an established

job at which you've been working long enough to negotiate anything. Get those mental health checks

because if you're not crazy now, you be enroll in couples therapy an ounce of prevention

being worth a pound of cure write out self-care plans for each partner create a discipline plan for

the child who's not even conceived yet optimize your living space aka nursery decor interview daycares

and schools and maybe even reserve your potential

taught space. Research all available artificial birth control options for once the baby arrives,

so you can just go through it all again before even thinking about trying for a boy.

It's a wonder we have even a 1.2 birth rate per woman. The list goes on with helpful affiliate links so moms to be can start spending that $22,000

ASAP.

And it reflects this larger sentiment that having kids is scary.

I'm not ready.

It's not natural.

We must find a way to get it under control.

We are so confused in the West about

sex, babies, men, and women that we come up with layers of lies and checklists, bucket

lists and laundry lists, and babies often end up at the bottom of all the lists. Today's narrative

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