I wanted kids. NOW.

Josh wanted kids. Eventually.

What’s a girl to do when she is ready for major life changes and her partner is not? When it was time (according to me) to get married I went with nagging and demanding with a soft ultimatum. And I got my way…eventually. I remember one year I was convinced Josh was going to pop the question for my birthday. Instead he gave me a sword. My friend Jen thought that was ballsy – giving a girl a weapon when she expects a diamond. I digress…

Josh and I were together for 7 years before he proposed. There was no way I was waiting another 7 (or more!) to have a baby. So I pondered everything I know about getting my way. My conclusion was something I learned from my marketing career: to get what you want, you need to know your audience and position in terms that are beneficial for them. We’re talking win-win, people. And we’re talking about convincing a man who was very content with our life  to accept a drastic change in our lifestyle that included: sleepless night, less sex, a cranky wife, whiny kids, and less overall “adult time”.

Tough sell.

Even tougher when trying to convince a man that is an engineer by education, a sales guy at heart, and an executive by day.

I did what any good marketer would do. I devised a 3-part plan that would be executed over the course of 6 months.  I promised that I would knock off the baby talk for all those months, during which time we could both ponder what we want, why we wanted it, and when we wanted it. I let Josh know that I was creating a powerpoint sales pitch that I would deliver at the end of the oh-so-hard-not-to-mention-babies– 6 months. Yes, you read that right. I created a powerpoint slide deck to sell my husband on the concept of having a baby. NOW. (have I mentioned I am really impatient?)

Continue reading →