At some point in my short 30-some years, times changed. People started getting married later — if at all — and having babies later — if at all. Children became either burdens to be prevented or commodities to be planned for and acquired at any cost, but always on the parents’ schedule. Three has become the new six, the new mark of a “large” family. Those who dare to have three — or more — open themselves up to scrutiny regarding their intelligence, their faith and their responsibility. For there can apparently be no other reason for being open to the blessing of children.

I am an over-sharer, especially when it comes to the good news of pregnancy and new babies. I’m not one to wait the socially acceptable 12 weeks before announcing, and with each of our three pregnancies we have notified friends and family early, making phone calls on the same day we saw that positive. Yet while I love celebrating this new life, I have been shocked — and a bit appalled — at how I’ve had to defend this third baby to not only family, but complete strangers as well.

Whether at church, military functions, or even in office staff meetings, the announcement of our third pregnancy has received some ridiculous responses. Here are the Top Ten.

10. “Was it an accident?”

The average household no longer has the 2.3 kids of the 1960s, though this remains the oft-cited statistic. Now down to 1.9 per household,according to the 2010 Census, having a third child must be a mistake, an oops that slipped past us, because who in this day and age actually wants more than the average?

9. “So how many children are you going to have?”

There seems to be some notion that once we’ve opened the “large family” floodgates, we won’t be able to close them. Our usual response to this question is a simple, “We will see.” Which leads to number 8.

8. “You’re not Mormon, are you?”

We’ve also heard this asked as “How close do you live to Utah?” …. Our answer is “No.” Hence, number

7. “Oh, are you Catholic, then?”

When we admit we’re not Mormon, the second guess is always Catholicism.

6. “So, you’re going to be like the Duggars.”….

Having a third baby is apparently the equivalent of having nineteen….

5. “Do you really want to be having babies in your forties?”….

4. “But what if it’s twins?”….

3. “But you already have one of each.”….

2. “Is your husband getting snipped after this baby?”….

1. “Don’t you know what causes this?”

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