Did you or when did you know you were ready for another baby?

[Mez80]

Hi all,
I have been wondering for a while now.. DD turned 2 in May and so the family and friends have been asking. When will you start trying for another?
DD is an IVF baby, 2nd attempt. Had a pretty good pregnancy, up until i had an emergency c section as the cord was wrapped around her neck and she was born 5 weeks early. So a scary beginning but she was a great baby and is a gorgeous toddler who DH and i love very much.
I love babies and children, i work with children but i am not clucky at all. Happy to go and ga over babies and play with them but the thought of having another some times scares me. Do i wait until i am ready? How will i know? How did u know? I think i want another as i had a sibing and thought it was fantastic but DD is so great and i love being able to give her everything (not that its about that) well not for me..DH is an only child who had everything he wanted. He is happy to just have DD but i know he would love the 2nd just as much if we did have one and he is not fussed either way, so we have unprotected sex and feel that if it happens, then its meant to be but to actually plan it all again.. we have 8 frozen babies so it wouldnt be the whole process but still a lot..and i dont know what to do with the babies if we dont use them
I work to help with finances and DH works in the city and isnt home till 7, we have an average mortgage and it helps that i work,plus i really enjoy it..then you add another baby and i wonder how i will cope. Do you just find a way? i often look at mums of 2 or more kids and i think they r legends.
I dont want to regret either decision ...
i feel, if we are going to do it, we should do it now in a way coz of the age gap.. oh i just dont know

[fionas]

We should have been trying earlier because of my age but there's been a couple of things standing in my way a)DP's a shiftworker so that makes it hard to get the timing right and b) I had shocking pelvic pain during my pregnancy with DD and for about 18 months afterwards that was very debilitating and couldn't face the thought of going through all that again.

My age and the chronic pain aside, I think I would choose about now to try for #2. I can just feel DD getting more independent and she's definitely not a baby anymore. When I say "independent" - I guess I mean wanting to play with other children, learning new words every day, being able to express herself. Also, I can see the end of nappies in sight. AND her tantrums are dying down so it just feels like she's becoming a child rather than a high-maintenance toddler. A few months ago it was a different story and I couldn't imagine looking after DD and a baby whilst being in constant pain.

I'm getting nostalgic about first words, first steps, first smiles and all those early milestones and I want to re-live them which I guess means I'm ready!

[Mez80]

Such a lovely way to explain you are ready Fionas. Thanks and good luck as well

[Erin_25]

Firstly we always knew how many kids we wanted, I think that helps. It was just a matter of when, for us we have looked at what both our parents are doing with kids grown up etc & we decided we wanted kids early....I was pregnant a few months after getting married. Though having DS was a bit of a reality check & for the first 12months I couldn't stomach the thought of another child LOL...then he got sick so he was our 100% focus for that time. Then well I guess it just happened, DS got much better....we knew we wanted another to complete our family & had to "bite the bullet" so to speak at some stage. Then we talked about age gaps, I didn't want to leave it too much longer as then I would be waking arvo naps for school pick ups etc & I want to be able to still go to things that both will enjoy together. Other issue was what if it took longer that we thought & it actually did take us 7months of trying.....so there will be nearly 3yrs between DS & our next bubs.

It will be what it will be. If you are happy with 1, don't let anyone else tell you what you "have" to do. But if you do want another then perhaps just have a chat about what works for you. FWIW I am very scared about going from 1 to 2 but very excited at the same time!!!