And it's exactly those situations that I worry about corruption and extortion. Madonna's adoption is a good example. The girl she wanted to adopt wasn't an orphan. The boy (I think) she eventually did adopt wasn't one either. She didn't even bother residing in Malawi for a year, which is what the law (I think)…

I don't know if it's ever been offered. I'm not arguing. I honestly don't know. China I can see that being the case since the preference is for boys. But what about Russia? Do Russians who pursue adoption take priority over foreigners?

It's not about that. I'm worried about a loss of the connection to one's own culture and history. If an Egyptian couple can adopt an Egyptian child, why should the desires of a American or Canadian family take priority over that? The Egyptian couple should have the first choice on that. But that's not what…

Interesting addition to the adoption debate. I get ragey when I see wealthy people adopting children from other countries — Russia (used to be), China, Democratic Republic of Congo, etc. I firmly believe that prospective parent(s) in their own countries should have the first right of refusal before looking outside…

This is what I don't understand. If you don't want to follow basic rules of a religion, then simply just don't follow them. Own your decision. Weaseling your way around them is just cowardly.

Don't mock! I know of a Mormon girl that went to my high school who literally did everything but have sex. Personally, I think she missed her calling as a defense attorney, but hey...when you lay out such rigid rules, you should just assume people are going to lawyer their way around them!

I'm not a millennial. I was born during the Carter Administration. So I didn't grow up with the internet or anything else either.

Here's a hint: my friends don't insult me. If they did, they wouldn't be my friends.

You bring up an interesting point. Do I engage or do I ignore?

I'm not surprised. People who really don't know themselves or aren't comfortable with themselves will act like this: haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate on one habit or characteristic and then do it themselves tenfold.

Can someone please explain the concept of "negs" to me?

You don't. I resigned myself to never marrying or having children. Then one day BOOOOOM. Found the right guy. We're rushing everything (see my original post) because of my age. Once I was forced to accept it (and it sucked), I was starting to move on from the life I thought I was going to have.

Wow. Thanks a lot for what you just said. I guess I never thought about it that way.

I know what you mean! When we got engaged, I said, "We need to have kids NOW!" I'll be 35.5 years old when we start trying so I know I wanted to do it soon. But now I feel like everything is completely rushed and haphazardly done. I would have liked to take more time to get to be with my fiance. Now it just seems…

I can't wait til I start showing. When people start saying judgy crap, I'm just going to say, "Uh...I'm not pregnant? I guess I'm just fat. THANKS!" or "Oh I'm not pregnant. There's no way. My husband said he was on the pill."

They were certainly better with the older children. I'll give them that. They were strict disciplinarians so by the time I rolled around, I think they literally wore themselves out.

A friend of mine went to Starbucks when she was pregnant and ordered a regular coffee. The barista who made it gave it to her and said, "I made it decaf. You know, for the baby." My friend was so stunned she just stood there completely shocked. Barista thought she was doing her a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge favor.

Midwest. My mom was 40; my dad was 50. All my grandparents were dead by the time I was born so I never had that. I was born in 1978. Even true today, my friends' grandparents are usually the same age as my parents.

Well I'm 35, and I assume I'll have a lot of difficulties. I'm going off BCP after the wedding in August. My doctor has already told me I have to try for six months before a fertility clinic will see me.

Missing the point for some. I don't want to be an older mom. I had older parents. They were 40 and 50 when I was born, and it sucked. They were so exhausted by the time I was a teenager that they just couldn't parent as well as they did my older siblings.