Ready for a second baby? – 5 things to consider

Having a second baby is such a big deal because after having one, you now know how much work goes into taking care of a baby. If you have one child, you’ll have asked yourself at some point, “should I have another baby?” This question could be answered in so many different ways. Depending on how old you are, the pressure to make a decision could be on! One way to decide if you should have another baby is to question whether you are ready for another child.

5 Ways to figure out when to have your second baby

1. Baby number 1 can walk & talk

The idea here is that you don’t have to deal with two children who can only communicate by wailing and you also don’t have to worry about physically carrying two children around. If you’ve been holding out for a second baby till your first child can walk and talk a little, then you know you’re ready. Once they can move independently of you and communicate their wants and needs in two or three word sentences and gestures, you might decide it is the perfect time to have a second baby.

2. Physical recovery from the first pregnancy

If you’re still seriously suffering the side effects of the first pregnancy, you probably shouldn’t be trying for another baby just yet. You need to give your body time to fully heal. You may have had a vaginal birth. Or you may have had a Caesarean section. Either way, once you come down from the beautiful high of bringing a life into this world, your body will let you know it would like some time to recover. How much time exactly, differs from mom to mom. Your doctor may suggest that you’re okay to start trying for another baby a certain number of weeks or months later, but your body will confirm how correct or incorrect that it. It’s all about how you feel.

3. How old are you?

Sorry to be so blunt about it but if your partner and yourself are getting up there in age, want more than one child and you don’t fancy having to deal with the messy side of babies and children again in your later years, then you really do want to get to it as soon as possible. They can be a lot to deal with. You know that. Yes, that’s even true for little angel babies who never cry and eat when they’re supposed to eat. Oh, and those who sleep a lot too. There is still quite a bit if hard work involved. Mentally. Physically. Both kinds of stress may be more difficult on you if you a lot older than you are now. You may not think you’re necessarily ready for a second baby right now but what if you can’t have one much later down the line when you think you are ready?

Stephanie from mommysaurus.com based her decision to have one child on herself and her husband’s age:

I have one child and he’ll be an only. Some factors for my husband and I were our ages and our long-term family goals. Due to our age, we’d have to already be having another child at this point and we’re still getting used to our two year old. We never wanted a huge family and our income is better suited to having one child rather than many.

Stephanie

You may also like: What is the right age to have a baby

4. How much time do you have?

No one truly wants to have children and have no time available to spend with them – hoping that schools, churches, relatives or nannies will be able to take on the task of raising those children with the right values. So do you have enough time available to split between two children? Having a second child means less time to spend with each one individually. Sometimes, it may even mean having less time with both of them. This is, of course, unless you create a drastic lifestyle change from what your lifestyle was with your first child. Having less time to spend with your children may be a lot more heartbreaking for you than you expect.

Chastity from A Cowboy’s Life made the decision to stick to only one child based on exactly this:

I work outside of the home. My time with our child is limited. Splitting those precious hours among multiple children would just seem impossible to me. It seems like families are busier than ever, especially with all the activities we participate in, and I didn’t want to be spread too thin where we would not be able to provide the quality time that every child needs and deserves.

Chastity

5. Can you afford another?

They say you can never be fully ready for a baby but I think after the first one, you know how much you are happy to spend on a second child based on the lifestyle you’re used to or the kind of lifestyle you want your children to have. Thinking about it, could you have a second baby and be able to afford to do the same kinds of things for the second that you did for the first…or more?

As the infographic above shows, a poll conducted in 2013 revealed a lack of funds to be the biggest reason why US respondents did not have multiple children. Not having enough money far outweighed any other reason by a hefty 65%. The second reason came in at a much lower 11% (the state of the economy/jobs). This shows just how much bearing money has on a decision to have a second child. Finances are an excellent reason to hold off on growing your family further.

What sorts of things have you considered in wishing for a second child?

Did you go ahead despite still being unsure if you were ready for a second baby?