G, I understand the innate need to make our babies happy and comfortable, but can I tell you from a place about 10 years away from yours....they really don't appreciate half of the sacrifices you make. Also, if you make comfort their 'normal', you make it harder than it needs to be for them when they are trying to be responsible for their own wellbeing.
My boys never wanted for anything when they were growing up. To be fair, I knew that they needed to learn money management when they were growing up, but XH typically made up for long work trips away with expensive gifts, travel to exotic destinations and wads of cash. Even with all that largesse, the boys only ever understood how lucky they were in an intellectual sense. They didn't actually feel lucky.
Now unfortunately, as adults they are both battling what comes to those with a sense of entitlement. Since D has done it's financial thing to us as a family, one child struggles with envy of rich kids having more than he does and the other is finding it hard to understand that he has to work hard to get anywhere. I really regret contributing to these issues when they were younger - I look back now and feel that I should have tried harder to give them less and teach them more about hard work and gratitude.
