13.5 Months Old Baby? Is It Wise to Plan for a Second Baby Now?

My girls are 2 years, 2 days apart. It was hard for me at first, but when they hit 1 and 3 it got much easier. Today they are almost 5 and 3 and I love watching them grow and play together. I wouldn't have it any other way, especially since I ended up with 2 girls. My hope is they stay close all their lives. So if it feels right now, I say go for it!

Dear S., Why not? We are not always guaranteed to conceive when we start trying so have fun! I had mine close and they grew up to be good friends, My best, Grandma Mary

heavens no.
it's absolutely insane.
do it anyway.
:) khairete
S.

OK ignore Pie G.'s response. It's uneducated, sad and and makes assumptions about your life.
I'm 33, and will be having my second here in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to having 2 teenagers in our 40s. They'll be old enough to be by themselves in situations, and we're still young enough to do all of the things that we love (like travel around Europe).

We all along planned to have our kids 2yrs apart (God willing). I had DS when I was 31, and we started trying for #2 when he turned 18mos. I got preg on the first try, and now I'm due Aug 11. So the kids will be 26mos apart.

I think that's perfect spacing. And under no circumstance do I feel old, tired, etc...As you know, it's hard work, but it's also what you make it.
So I say, GO FOR IT!

It's fine to plan for kids scarcely two years apart if that is what you want. Only you can know what spacing you want for your kids. I never wanted mine that close together. I planned mine 4 years apart and that's been an awesome spacing. My older one was a little more independent, less needy when I had the baby, there's no competitiveness or jealousy, I won't have two in braces or college at the same time. I never wanted two babies at once, and I just took a couple of months off after each was born. Plenty of people have kids two years apart, so if that's what you think will work out best for you, no one else can tell you what will be best for you. Good lucl

Go for it. Two years apart is great!

hi S., obviously, this is a personal choice. but if i couold go back in time i would've done it. i'm now 38 yrs old w/ a 3yr old daughter. my husband n i are seeing a fertility dr. to help us conceive our second baby. i don't want to scare you, but i see very young women in the waiting room some are your age and younger and are having issues!! so i would say start trying now! good luck! =)

If you are ready then sure, go for it. My kids are just under 3 years apart. We were trying for a 3 to 3.5 year age difference and got pregnant on the first try (at 37!). It would have been nice to have the extra 3-6 months. I think it depends a bit on your first child's personality. My oldest is a boy, very active and sometimes a real handful. It took a lot of energy to manage him between ages 1 and 2.5. Being pregnant at that time whole have been very hard for me. By daughter is 18 months and much more easy going. Had she been first I could have spaced them closer. The first 6 months or a year with the second baby is HARD but it gets better. Line up whatever help you can. On the other hand lots of families do well with a 2 year or less age difference. I am starting to be tired of being home but at this point I want to wait to go back to work until my oldest is in school so we are not paying for 2 in daycare (we could really use the second income but 2 in daycare would eat a lot of the $ up).

Why not ? If you already decided that you want to have a second baby eventually...go for it !!!
I did exactly the same and actually I was the same age then as you are now. I never regret this decision!! My daughther (now 4) and her brother (just turned 3) are playing together all the time. Because of the small age difference tha
And you know what ? I did it again... I have a 8 months old baby now and it is really amazing how ALL THREE are very close.
I highly recommend !
Good luck,
A.

I haven't read any responses yet. But I think GO FOR IT. My advice is don't wait. I've had many prob since my 2nd. I don't think i'll have another. I know so many people who wait...you're young and you never know what your body will do. Don't wait for a gap...too much planning is not always good. Do it now. It will always be a blessing.

Wow Pie G. That is all I can say about that. I am 40 and had my first baby when I was 39. We had several years of infertility and lots of drugs. In the end, we stopped all fertility treatments and went with acupuncture and I got pregnant in 3 months. Our son is 10 months old and we are activley planning #2. Yes - I will be 41 when I have my next baby (God willing) and I feel great. Sure, when my kids graduate high school, I will be pushing 60 - but I don't care. If you feel like it is the right time to plan another baby - then DO IT!!

That is what I did, My oldest was 2.5 when my 2nd was born and my 2nd was 3 when my 3rd was born. It is perfect they are out of diapers, but not so set in being an only child that as long as you involve them in the pregnancy they are fine with the new addition. They are also such helpers, getting diapers toys or watching the baby for a matter of seconds or entertaining baby in the crib while you get a bottle. I would not change anything.

If you really feel ready then go for it. My 2 girls are 2 years and 1 month apart and I felt like that was perfect. I have a few friends that have kids closer than that.....like 20 months and they all say that was really hard. I guess when they are that age every month helps for their development so there is a huge difference between a 20 month old verses a 25 month old. For me my first daughter was potty trained and sleeping in a twin bed by the time I had my second and I think that helped make things easier. I really liked the 2 year space and that is what I plan to do again.

I went off BC pills when my daughter turned 1 and was pregnant three months later so I think it's an okay time to try and get pregnant!! Especially since you are already going to be off work! Honestly the biggest expenses in additional kids are diapers and daycare. If you don't have to worry about daycare, then that is not even a worry! My kids are two years and 10 days apart and it's great!!!

My sister and I are 2 yrs apart and most of my children are between 2 and 3 years apart. I smile when I see this spacing between children...it seems like a natural cycle. We nursed as long as possible (between a year or 2) and then became pregnant as we weaned. The kids have great relationships. Blessings to you :)

I'll echo Becky....I have two boys 2 years and 1 day apart, I'm a 32 year old working mom (my boys just turned 3 and 1 the end of May)....they are great, they love each other, my life is insane but I wouldnt change a thing!!! The first couple of months are tricky, I was nursing a hundred times a day (okay it only felt like it) and had a very active 2 year old....but we managed, I think it was the beginning of him willing to sit and watch a tv show which helped me a bit! Good luck!

I think at 32 you should be happy thT YOU HAVE ONE BEAUTIFUL,HEALTHY CHILD,NO AFFENCE BUT iM THINKING YOU STARTED A LITTLE LATE IN LIFE TO BE THINKING ABOUT CHILDREN BEING CLOSE TOGETHER,FIRST OF ALL i HAVE TWO WHICH ARE 3 IN AHALG YEARS A PART,AND ITS CRAZY HECTIC,ALWAYS RUNNING AROUND AFTER A TODDLER,MAKING SURE SHE IS IN THE HOUSE WITH ME,THEN MY 1 YEAR OLD STARTING TO WALK EVERYWHERE,IT crazy,SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO RE-THINK THIS,ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK,ITS HARDER TO LEAVE TWO BEHIND THEN IT IS ONE,YOUR 13 MONTH OLD CAN START DAYCARE,NOW YOULL HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN WITH MAT LEAVE AND EVERYTHING,EVEN IF YOU DO HAVE THEM THIS CLOSE TOGETHER YOU WONT GET PAID FOR MAT LEAVE THIS TIME,MAKE YOUR DECSION WISELY,THINK ABOUT THIS FOR AWHILE ,LET IT MARINATE,iM NOT ABOUT TO SIT HER AND SUGAR COAT THINGS FOR YOU..iTS CRAZY AND DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE 45 WITH TWO TEENAGERS,ONE IS ENOUGH TRUST ME..ESPCIALLY IF YOU HAVE AGIRL!!!!

My kids are 2 years and ten days apart :) It is perfect for our family! In fact it is what I always "planned" (of course we all know God makes the plans,) ever since I was a little girl that is what I wanted. Mainly because my brother and i were also 2 years apart and we got along so well because we weren't very far apart in age. We had a lot in common in order to play together and in order now to understand each others season of life.

I say you do what is best for you. Only you will know.

My boys are 18 months apart. I won't lie. It was HARD for the first two years. I SAH with them and the whole diaper/potty training/nap refusal/whatever was SUPER HARD to deal with the first two years. Now they are older and it has gotten a lot easier. I'm glad now that we ended up with our family this way. The boys are bestest friends.

Our kids are 20 months apart in age. It's a little expensive at first since you are paying for daycare on both at the same time, however, they will be going to elementary school together. It's almost like having twins (I raised my brother and sister who are twins, so I know). The problem I found is the younger one (our daughter) always wants to do what our son is doing. Example is that he is starting out in Boy Scouts... she is now asking when she can join, even though she is too young for Girl Scouts. Same with sports and school. It's a competition all the time with them.

My friend's boys are about the same ages apart too (we were pregnant at the same time with both children). She lucked out to have the same sex with the second child since they can pass down clothes. With ours, since they are boy and girl, we have to purchase new outfits every season (or go to the thrift shop).

I'm a professional too, but found that while they are young, it's hard to keep up at work. You can't give 100% at both places. But they are older now and it is getting easier, with the exception of tantrums, LOL!

My girls are 22 months apart, we also planned it that way. It had its good points and its bad points. It was nice because all of my oldest toys and cloths and things were still in great shape for the baby and I liked that they could play together better and I was hoping they could relate better than my sister and i did who are 6 yrs apart. On the down side 2 kids in diapers really is expensive, my 2 yr old was very active and I was so tired with the baby and now they are only 1 yr apart in school , highschool is gonna be expensive! lol, oh well! It was challenging and rewarding and I wouldnt change my decision for anything! Next yr my oldest will be in 1st grade, my other daughter will be in Kindergarten and they are really good kids and get along pretty well and are into the same things so it makes trips, and movies and stuff alot easier!

It really is up to you and your husband as to when is a good time to have another, and even then, it doesn't always work out as you plan, but I do believe it works out for the best no matter what. I wanted my kids to be 2.5 years apart but it took a few months (around 5-6) to get pregnant with my first, so we started trying for #2 when she was 13 months, and it happened on the second try when she was 14 months. My girls are now just under 2 years apart. My oldest will be 5 in two weeks and my little one just turned 3. There are pros and cons to this... I have NO regrets of course, but sometimes I wish it HAD taken longer for my second so I could have enjoyed my oldest's toddlerhood more. It is a blur, between being pregnant then having our second be colicky and fussy as a baby. I forgot my oldest daughter's whole second year of life, I think! I also feel like I am such a better parent now, that I wish my youngest was 2 and not 3.... it is just going way too fast. That could be one reason we want to have a third, god willing!

The pros are that you get through that diaper haze all at once, my kids are literally the best playmates and have the same interests, right down to TV shows and music. Some people mistake them for twins sometimes! I was also able to use all my oldest child's hand me downs since the styles had not changed much and they are both girls. Things were fresh in my mind and I handled the newborn phase pretty well.

One thing I have learned is that my kids actually seem to get busier now and require more work than when they were babies and toddlers, actually. It is hard sometimes when my little one won't nap and my oldest is needy and wants me to spend a ton of time with her... I can't get a lot done on days like that. But I know how fast it goes so I try to keep that in mind when I'm frustrated. Good luck with your decision, I say go for it when you feel ready (though we are only ever so ready!).

I think it is a great idea, especially for a mother who wants to return to the workforce, to have children closely spaced. I am not the type of person who is capable of both parenting very young children and giving the full attention I need to give to my job (social studies teacher), so I have elected to not work until we are done trying to have kids. That's me. Unfortuantely, I have to wait quite a bit longer for the next baby as I have a lot of weight to lose in order to have a healthy pregnancy, and I've had 2 c-sections, so I have to allow my uterus proper time to heal.

If you don't have those types of complications, and you are emotionally ready for the challenges of having 2 little ones, I say go for it! I think that most women who are even open to the idea of having their kids close together are capable of doing it. It's NEVER the "right" time to have kids, so you just gotta go with your gut.