What’s the most frequently asked question 7x7xDaddy and I get these days?
Easy…
“When do you plan on having #2?”
And while some parents may have a hard time answering this question (especially after experiencing the first few months with a newborn), the answer for us is easy.
“Soon!”
Truth be told, we were thinking about #2 before #1 ever came along and being that #1 arrived two months before our first wedding anniversary, I suppose you could say we’ve been “planning our family” since our first date (which is not much of an exaggeration).
We’ve always wanted kids. A family. To be young parents.
For us, that’s what life is all about. And that’s really all we know, having both come from extremely loving parents who put family above all else.
So in our minds, there’s no time like the present.
But don’t get too excited right now – I’m not about to announce anything huge.
While we’re planning on trying for #2 soon, we’re NOT pregnant.
At this point, there are still many factors to take into consideration:
- Spacing: this is always a big question for parents thinking about #2. Abigail is only 6.5 months old, after all…we would love for our children to be close (I’m 18 months younger than my brother and 7x7xDaddy is 2 years older than his sister – we both loved it), but we need to figure out how close we’d really like them to be. Are we ready for two in diapers???
- Nursing: I’m still nursing…this, of course, effects my “cycle” – if we’re really serious about trying soon, does this mean I’ll have to cut back on feedings? I spoke to my doctor about this and she basically said it’s possible. She said that each woman is different, but to get my system back “on track” I’d more than likely have to give it up. This obviously means we’d have to choose between nursing longer or having the spacing we’d ideally want.
- Cost: this is an obvious concern (especially after researching college costs)…kids are expensive!!! That being said, we’re not stopping at 1, so it just means we need to be wise in our saving, spending, and investing.
- Misc: gosh…where do I begin. Of course, there’s the thought of being pregnant again so soon…eek! Luckily, my first pregnancy was smooth so it’s not like I’m coming off some traumatic experience from #1 (thanks Abby!). There’s always the concern of having two babies in a two bedroom apartment in San Francisco (and ALL the annoyances that come along with that). Would we have to move? I don’t know the answer to that, but it’s definitely something to think about. This misc. category could go on and on, but I’ll keep it short and sweet right now.
Bottom line, I think it’s safe to say the following in response to people asking “When do you plan on having #2?”
Soon! We’re most definitely thinking about it. Planning on it. And we can’t wait for our family of 3 to become a family of 4. We have a lot of love to go around!
August 17, 2011 at 8:49 AM
Go For it!!! Love you guys.
August 17, 2011 at 9:20 AM
Thanks Lauren!!!
August 17, 2011 at 8:56 AM
One other thing to just toss around is that sometimes having pregnancies too close together can put the second baby at a higher risk of things like Autism. Obviously, it isn’t an every time thing, but something to at least weigh out.
But WHENEVER you guys do go for #2, I am sure you will continue to be amazing parents.
(And having two in diapers really isn’t so bad!)
August 17, 2011 at 9:23 AM
That’s definitely another good thing to think about…we actually asked our pediatrician about that study at Abby’s last appt and he said that it’s a higher risk if the older is autistic/showing signs, etc…he gave us the green light to “go for it” if we wanted to (so did my OB…she just said to wait until Abby was at least 6 months old).
And it’s also nice to hear that having two in diapers isn’t so bad!!! You’re the expert in that category!
August 17, 2011 at 9:43 AM
You and your bro were in diapers at the same time for 6 months…not bad at all
August 17, 2011 at 4:24 PM
Ya, send me that picture if you can find it – I’ll post it on here!
August 17, 2011 at 1:26 PM
Oh man, here you are planning on #2, while I’m still giving Eli the evil eye while muttering curses and phrases like, “next time we’re adopting” under my breath. Haha! Good for you guys! It’s better to have kids younger in my opinion, but maybe that’s because my mom was in her late 30′s when I was born, so the grass appears greener to me, on the other side?
August 17, 2011 at 4:26 PM
haha…well I know that during my pregnancy I was excited to NOT be pregnant for a while…it’s pretty funny (even to me) that I’m already ready to go through it again…haha
August 17, 2011 at 2:18 PM
I used to get that question about #2? Now with three, the comment is “you have your hands full”!
All our rascals are 21 months apart (same as me and my bro and tom and his bro). I waited until they turned one and they had pretty much weaned themselves from nursing. Two in diapers isn’t so bad! Sometimes diapers are easier than finding a bathroom and then not letting them touch anything in that bathroom!
It is hard right now with them all so close in age, but the boys are already great friends and I hope they stay that close always!
I think you guys should go for it!
August 17, 2011 at 4:23 PM
Sarah, this is such wonderful feedback – thanks for the positivity and the honesty about it being hard right now. We figure it’ll be hard no matter when we do it and since we’d love to have them close together (and fingers crossed are kids are great friends as well), we’re just going to go for it.
It’s nice to know it can be done!!!