Just "The One"

This has always been something that grated my last nerve but today it happened again. I was trying out a new gym and talking to another mom in the nursery. In explanation of something that she did that she thought might be a little over-protective she said "Well, I just have the one..." as in the one child that she was possibly overprotecting. I have no problem with parents doting on their children. I do it myself. I am also a little overprotective. However, don't act like my child's specialness is diminished each time I have another one. I may have three but we don't live in the olden days when Ma and Pa had spare kids in case one died. All of my children were wonderful gifts; none of them is the human equivalent of a spare tire. I will admit that when I was pregnant with Carson and Cullen was just a little guy I wondered how we could ever love another human being as much as we loved our first baby. I soon learned that there was enough love in this old heart for many children. Cullen was about four when a friend squirmed about me putting her child in the third seat of my vehicle. "It's more dangerous in the back; can you put Cullen back there?" As if that wasn't bad enough on it's own she then proceeded to say "I only have (insert child's name here)". So my child is expendable because I have backup? Now they do aggravate me on occasion (OK, multiple occasions daily) but even at their worst I will never run screaming from danger and throw back one of the kids screaming "Here, take this one! Me and Pa had some extra younguns!"