I have been really waffling ever since my first baby was a year old on when to get pregnant again. I am not currently pregnant… but lately have wanted to be. I feel like I am hearing of more and more people expecting… I know of 5 people expecting between January and March in 2010. Ever new person just adds to my itch on wanting another. But I can’t decide when… start trying now or in 6 months from now?
I went through a tough postpartum stage with my first. Some close friends don’t even really know about it because I really didn’t want to talk to many people about it.
My son is at an age that is loves having other little ones around (he is a 1.5 years). He gets super excited to go to “school” (group daycare) in the mornings.
My hubby is dead against having a baby between September and December. So that leaves July and August… if we get pregnant now there is a chance we could have a July or August baby. Otherwise we’d have to wait to try until at least April, as he wants to avoid having a December baby.
Doing my research I’ve found that parents will advocate for whatever they have in their family… be it siblings close or further apart.
Positives for waiting until the spring to get pregnant for me are:
- I just joined a new swim club, get up to speed quicker. Pregnant I wouldn’t be able to push myself.
- Get allergy shots for 6 months before having next child.
- Get through this flu season and able to get all my flu shots (I’m considered in high risk section because of my allergies and asthma make me more susceptible to illnesses).
- Get my jewelry business up and running… not sure if I could do it pregnant or not… but my initial research tells me with the right things (proper ventilation, masks, gloves etc.) it should not be a problem.
- Gives me a few more months for my hormones to level out, get over PPD, before getting pregnant again.
Positives for getting pregnant now:
- Cause I want to be pregnant, lol!
- I think my son would really benefit from a playmate, he loves company so much.
- Get it over and done with… we are in that stage now anyway. Up at night anyway, in bottle and diapers anyway.
Children will be either 2 years and 3 or 4 months apart… or 2 years and 9 months + years apart, will that 6 months make a difference?!
What do you think? Please leave a comment or email me with a comment.
Tags: baby, child bearing, Health, Parenting, Pregnancy
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Our son was born when our daughter was about 2 years and 9 months old. It was a little sooner than we had really intended, but it has turned out to be a good age difference. Lennie was old enough to be able to get excited about having a little brother, and she’s a great big sister. They’re very close (though they also go at it like cats and dogs a lot of the time). Finn was gestating and born at the time that Lennie had started to get easier to manage. She was starting to sleep better on her own (we did the cosleeping thing) and on a more sane schedule so that we had long stretches of evening to do our own thing without much regard to childcare. Bringing a new baby in after that taste of “freedom” was a bit of a shock, and having two at those ages was for us much much harder than having just the one. Now, Finn is 2.5 years old and we’re approaching that manageable stage again. I don’t suppose I’ve offered much help, really. The split we wound up with is a good age for the kids but was kind of rough on us, so maybe having a shorter time between the two would be more sane for you and Lloyd. On the other hand, waiting a little longer might see William at an age at which he could understand a little better what’s going on and learn to embrace the new baby rather than seeing him or her as a competitive threat.
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Wow – tough question. I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you, other than to say that our two are 23 months apart and I don’t think I would have wanted them any closer. Of course you’re already past that time frame so no worries there.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said “parents will advocate for whatever they have in their family… be it siblings close or further apart.”I’m more curious about why Lloyd is so dead set against having a baby between September and December? Does he not want them to be the youngest in their class or something along those lines? I was born in January so I was usually the oldest in my class growing up, which I liked, but our first son, Liam, was born at the end September and it seems to be as good a time of year as any to be born. Besides, since you are the one who is carrying the baby – I think you should probably have control over when you want to be pregnant, be that spring, summer, fall or winter.
In any case, good luck with your decision and prepare yourself for the challenges of raising more than one child. We’re currently debating on whether or not we want a third… We’ll have to decide soon if we want to keep the 2 year spacing going…
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Kevin – that is exactly what Lloyd is concerned about (being youngest in the classroom). He is a December baby, and was held back for the next year and doesn’t want the same fate for his kids.
It will happen when it’s meant to happen. I am a strong believer in mother nature taking care of things. So even if we start to try and don’t get pregnant right away then it’s just not meant to be… but since we got pregnant so quickly first time I just have to convince hubby of this.. good luck right! lol.
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