I'm just getting over strep throat. I'm very lucky that I work with great people because they all helped out and covered my shift for me.

But, the point of this post is to say I do not know how I would have had the time and silence I needed to sleep and stuff my body with medicine, green tea and hot soup if I also had kids.

I'd need to take more time off work which would ultimately be less money for me and sick longer due to having to parent while being sick.

So hooray to small dogs. My Lily snuggled up to me for hours and was very patient with me when her supper was late because I was sleeping. I'm going back to work Friday and am so glad I'm childfree; more work, more money for travel and tattoos and road trips with my dogs.

My fiance is breaking my brain with talk of spending our lives together childfree. I need some well-thought-out reasons as to why this is awesome. I am trying to wake up the CF brain I can feel in there somewhere. He wants to get a vasectomy next month and I am kind of panicking at the possible permanence. We have agreed on 1-2 children for 4 years and suddenly he wants none and I think I could have a happy CF life with him. I am the mother green friends who has always talked about what her babies might look like, positive that she will fulfill her in-laws' and parents' expectations of grandbabies. I'm not so sure of this anymore if he thinks he will be miserable!!

Now I'll start off this post by saying from the off that even if I did want to have a kid, it wouldn't be for a very long time (think mid-late 30's), I'm currently 22. I've always been on the fence about having children. I go through phases of liking the idea of a small replica, to finding the idea abhorant. But recently I've started to lean towards the latter... I'm currently with my partner who is an all around incredible guy! We've been travelling, had amazing experiences with each other and I feel that we will go the distance. He really wants a child (again, in his mid-late 30's). I've always indulged this idea. He doesn't know about my reservations and fears. I'm starting to resent the idea of having a child. We both love adventure and travel. Would that be at all possible with a kid? Doubtful... And then theres that ticking time bomb called nature. Could I really wait so late on in life...

Help me. I'm having a dilemma! (I know it is a decision I don't need to make for quite some time but it is also a decision that could affect my current and future relationships.)

I'm not even sure why I'm writing this really.

How long did it take for you to finally decide to be baby free?

There was a controversy about people posting pictures of their cars or whatever in /r/childfree a while ago, most likely because people were just karma whoring. But what I want to know is what do you have! What is your pride and joy, or something you know you would have to give up?

For me its my designer hand bag collection and my high end make up! It is ridiculous that amount of money I spend on Betsey Johnson and Dior, but it doesn't really matter, I don't have to answer to anyone. I grew up with Keds from Kmart and Wet N Wild eyeliner. I fucking LOVE that as an adult, if I see a new Betsey bag and want it, I can buy it. The only consequence being that I need to make sure my bills are paid and my dog is fed. I love spending $25 on mascara, because it is SO MUCH BETTER than Maybelline (Ok I don't actually love that I have to spend $25 on it, but you get my point.)

So my new best lady friends, tell me what you love to do with all the money you save by not having kids!

So, I've been wondering this for awhile. People (let's face it, mostly women) who get married usually spend a lot of time thinking about whether or not to change their name after marriage, and if so, how to change it. I can understand wanting to have one "family" name, particularly if the couple plans to have children in the future. But I'm wondering where most childfree couples stand on this issue. I would think that having the same name maybe wouldn't be as pressing an issue with no kids in the picture. What is everyone's take on this? For those of you who are married, what did you and your partner decide?

Mine don't have a name, and all the support groups are for ones with names. I can't take this anymore on my own, and the frustration of being put on a standard birth control and no way to keep track of it (phone too retarded to support more than a few alarms, not enough space to download an alarm app or a period tracker or anything).

The conversation came up between my SO and I about whether or not we'd accept responsibility for a young family member if something awful happened and the need for a new guardian arose. Even if it would be more hypothetical for you (if you lack immediate young family members), would you do it?

My husband is snipped, but I am not (I'm considering it). We are monogamous, but I am still paranoid about pregnancy given the way so many states are trying to get rid of abortion access altogether. Things go through my head like "What if his vasectomy fails" and "What if you were raped"?. I'm 35, and my mother had an early menopause at around my age, and I keep hoping I will start skipping periods soon. So far, you could set your calendar by me. :(

College? Career? Travel? Taking care of existing family members? Hobbies? Financial goals?

First, I'd like to say that this subreddit is an excellent idea! There are so many issues that deal with the decision to not become a mother that only women can relate to! I really see this as becoming a safe haven for CF women to let loose and gain insight, advice and friendship.

The interaction of CF women is seriously important, as we age it's almost always assumed that motherhood is on our minds whether or not we have personal aspirations. The choice to be childfree can be alienating, especially if you come from a family oriented region or family. Though there's a laundry list of added challenges to being a childfree female and they can cause just as much stress as a positive pregnancy test.

For one, the choice to be childfree as a woman tends to garner that slight glint of judgement in a mothers eyes that says, "You aren't a real woman yet." It's the look of shock and disbelief that anyone, especially a woman would not want a crotch dropping of her very own. Though for me these interactions are rare, I have read a number of stories where a proud childfree woman gets cut down and pissed off by an entitled mother who cannot see outside the bright blur of her child's halo.

I feel for these women, I feel for all women who choose not to become mothers for any reason. No one should ever feel inferior because they made the decision not to breed, it's simply atrocious that people automatically view you as less of a woman because you don't feel the need to reproduce.

In my short time on the original childfree sub, I have learned a lot from the strong, intelligent and focused women there. Yes, we may be the odd one out at times, but as a collective we are a strong community. When I first stumbled across the sub and it's colorful insults for children, I finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god, I am normal."

How many of you were ever made to feel that, as a woman, not fawning over infants was somehow unnatural? When some women hear an infant cry it's like they can feel it's pain, and I'm mentally whispering, "Make it stop, make it stop make it stop."

I don't have anything against kids personally, I do remember being one for a short period but I wasn't exactly fond of children then either. I never thought babies were cute, when I was eight my niece was born and until she could adequately communicate I dreaded my older sisters visits back home.

Thing is I like kids when they're mentally stimulating, engaging and at not pooping themselves. My sisters kids are awesome, I'm a great aunt and try to be as involved as possible, but thankfully my family was realistic and didn't expect me to do diaper duty.

As women it's like the choice to not be a mother is unfathomable, and to some extent, I get it. The female body actually releases more endorphin's and dopamine when a woman looks at the face of her child, essentially making that little diaper devil the most expensive and addictive drug on the market. The thing I don't understand is why would you think lesser of someone for taking the role of motherhood seriously enough to decide that it's simply not for you?

There are the standard arguments, "It's different when it's yours." and the little gem, "You'll change your mind in a few years." Though nothing infuriates me faster than suggesting my life and marriage is somehow lacking because I don't have a child.

(If you aren't in a relationship, you can skip this. There are lots of CF unmarried ladies out there and I'm sorry for all the crap you get too, The world needs more independent women.)

Thing is you can't expect everyone to live out your way of life. Marriage and babies work for you? That's cool, but don't you try to tell me what my life needs and doesn't need, I think the one living my life knows me and my partner best. My husband isn't leaving, there's these other things we have together called similar interests and really good conversation.

It seems to me that women are evolving, there are enough people on the planet after all, reproduction was once the primary objective, but technology and globalization has put our world population at a staggering seven billion. Regardless of how far we've come, humans as a race have always tied child rearing and responsibility to women which we have to admit has hindered feminine advancements.

For the very reason that the woman is supposed to be at home, hands in the sink with two kids at the kitchen table we were viewed as an inferior gender for a really long time. We had to fight to vote, to hold down a job and even in today's times equal wages for working women is still a big issue.

So for the woman, who has said no to babies for whatever reason it may be, I salute you and I am proud to be childfree because we are fighting another societal expectation and demanding to be respected as more than just a propagation tool.

Sure, sex can lead to babies and all, but after 100 or so pages of fuzzy feels and smut it's all "I'm so excited to have his baby!" and "Zomg I'm gonna be a papa!" I think I need to stop reading about 20 pages before the end.

Anyone else?

I thought it would be nice to have a topic where people could share pictures of their pets here, since some of the childfree definitely feel that their pets take the place of children!

Not every woman likes getting their period.

I love mine. Yeah, I'm more emotional and I'll get cramps and cravings and all that. But it's my "You're not pregnant" reminder.

And for that I love my uterus.

Crosspost of this post that isn't mine :

I'm still furious, so I figured this was a safe place to rant.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about menstruation. There is a belief that women MUST have a period. On the contrary, there's absolutely no medical need to have a period when you're on contraception. The "period" women experience on the pill is not even a real period. It's a withdrawal bleed because the last week in the pill packet are sugar pills! The pills were designed this way because when they were created, the researcher asked what women wanted and at the time, women wanted their periods as a sign to reassure them they weren't pregnant.

I got lucky. I was on the depo birth control shot and lost my period. My obgyn informed me this wasn't a problem unless I wanted a period. No thanks! Eventually I switched to the pill because I'd like to donate my eggs someday and most places require you've been clear of the depo shot for a year or more. My obgyn instructed me to skip the last week, the placebo, and just go to a new packet.

A year went by and I hadn't been back to my obgyn. The prescription recently was about to expire so I scheduled an appointment. My original office had closed down so my records were sent to the new office. My old obgyn wasn't there anymore, so I saw the nurse practitioner.

She proceeded to tell me that I would need to begin having a period. "Why?" I asked her. My old obgyn had reassured me it was fine not to, and all my research has lead me to the same conclusion. She told me it was not fine. She told me they'd had someone telling patients that and that it wasn't true. That I must have had that "bad" OBGYN. That not having a period was unhealthy for me. I told her I was experiencing no symptoms. She said I "WOULD". That I would be frantically calling her when I suddenly have a ton of withdrawal bleeding while on the pill. Uh... that's not a medical emergency. That's not a reason to have a period. It's something that sometimes happens to women on the pill. It's not dangerous. Finally, she informed me that she would write me a three month prescription, I could skip the placebo week for two months but that I would need to have a period every third month. And she acted like I should be grateful for "only" four periods a year. No, I can have NO periods a year, and that's my choice!

I didn't argue with her because I was afraid she would recant the prescription, but I'm absolutely appalled that this woman tried to push her own agenda on me. Now I have to find a new office, where someone will respect that some woman don't want a period and that there's nothing wrong with not having one.

I'm upset for all the women that she's probably forcing to have periods because they don't realize they have other options. That she's forcing because SHE believes women should have a period. Why? Because it's part of a woman's "identity". Sure, some women feel like a period is part of their identity, but no one has the right to push that belief onto me.

Wish me luck in my hunt for a good OBGYN...