When I was pregnant with Jimmy everyone kept saying things like ‘You MUST want a boy’! I remember thinking that was so incredibly strange? Why MUST I want a boy? Just because I had a girl already? Yes, I had a girl already but I loved and love having a girl. If I’d had another girl I’d have loved having another one too… I know that. In fact, given the choice back then and I probably would have plumped for another girl on account of the fact that we had a lot of pink things and pretty dresses that we could re-use!

I really wasn’t fussed about having any particular sex. I just wanted another healthy baby to pop out. When I had my boy, my wonderful boy who I am so utterly thrilled to have but only because he’s my baby and not because of his gender, I felt almost as if people were congratulating me! It was like I’d done the optimum in having ‘one of each’, reached my goal as a human being and therefore my job was done. People seemed to be saying ‘that’s it now, you can relax!’

How very strange, Not that I didn’t want to relax, of course I did, I’d just had a baby but I was very surprised that everyone around me seemed so content on my behalf and as if my baby making days were naturally over. All because I’d produced a pink AND a blue. It’s true of some people I know and I have a friend who after having two said if they’d been the same sex she’d have kept going but as she’d had that ever famous ‘one of each’ she was going to stop… I think that’s barmy? I just want a big family and I’d have had a whole team of girls or a whole team of boys (or just two of each if I only wanted two), I honestly wouldn’t have minded.

Jonny went out for a drink the other day and his friends asked if we were going to have any more. ‘Yes’ he said, ‘Ruth wants to and I don’t mind so I think we probably will’. ‘WHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT?’ they all cried ‘But you’ve got one of each, why would you do that?’ Oh for goodness sake? Because I’m a human and love being a mummy, I’m not a baby making machine or playing ‘The Game Of Life’ where I HAVE to pick up a pink AND a blue peg… I’d have digressed! Jonny just shuffled off the subject probably smiling and not caring what anyone else thought anyway. I should just be like that!

It’s not that I’m not happy with my two, I’m ecstatic an I know how very lucky I am to have them both but I’d like a big family. I grew up as my Mum’s only child and that could be very lonely, especially when I compared it to my best friend Eve’s family with her three brothers… I always wanted that hustle and bustle in my kitchen too and one day I think it’d be lovely to have it!

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