When did you have your second baby?

[areandare]

I have a little boy who has just turned 1. He is my whole world! I absolutely love being a mum, and although it was a struggle at first because it was all new we have really settled now and I’m loving every second of motherhood.

My little boy has always been so good, don’t get me wrong he is unbelievably busy and does not stop from the moment he wakes up! But he’s always been a great sleeper, a very happy baby, fab with his milk and food, etc.

I know that one day I would like to have a second baby, I’ve always wanted 2 children. Only very recently I’ve been wondering when would be the best time to do this. Me and my sibling have a 2 year age gap and it’s always been great.

My worry is though, how much harder is it going from 1 to 2? We only have a 2 bedroom house so they would have to share a bedroom (when the time comes) unless we moved before then. Lastly, my little boy has been a breeze so surely im unlikely to get that lucky again?! The routine we have right now is great and I am worried about ruining that, but I also do know that I would like a second in the near future.

Im waffling now but I would love to hear your experiences on going from 1 child to 2 😊

There are 3years ,3 months between my two.
Like you, my first one was amazing, great sleeper, lovely child, slept through and so on.

Ds 2 arrives and what a difference!
Ds2 didnt stop crying, clingy and was bloody hard work.
However that only lasted until he was about 4 and then he flipped and he became a wonderful child. He is still wonderful at 26 years!

@notacooldad thank you for sharing your honest experience. That’s exactly what I think will happen to me, they say you never get 2 the same😂

There is a 3y1m gap between mine.

DC2 absolutely awful sleeper even now at age 2 and would never have been able to share a bedroom with DC1.

Yes i’ve found 1 a breeze compared to 2. It’s much more difficult to get things done without needing to keep an eye on the pair of them winding eachother up

Five and a half years between my two.

Going from one to two was far harder than I expected. As others, first was a dream baby. Second was a completely different kettle of fish!

2 years and 5 months. Mine were easy and so the transition was easy really. My DH helps too.

3 years 11 months between mine. Eldest was at preschool when youngest was born, and then started school when she was a few months old. So that made parenting very easy for me as I mostly had one baby or toddler to deal with at a time, I could do extended bf for each child and take give each one individual care eg swimming lessons and baby massage and parent and toddler gymnastics.

2 years 8 months between mine.

Going from 1-2 in the baby stage was a doddle. I couldn’t believe how much easier things were second time around.

Now they’re 5 and 2, they’re a bloody handful but they’re really close.

I’m done at 2 and maybe I’m unusual but I’ve really enjoyed the freedom that each ‘last’ brings. I.e no more sterilising, getting rid of the cot, no more nappies etc. It feels like we’re regaining so many of the freedoms that become really difficult with a baby. I’d struggle with just getting the freedom back with an older child then giving it away again with a newborn.

18 months between mine, youngest is now 10 months old. I had my hard baby first and my second is the most calm and happy little thing, going from 1-2 honestly felt so easy and they adore each other. If I’d had them the other way around though it would have been a total different experience, my first still is a terrible sleeper, total velcro baby never would be put down, hated the pram, still has never slept in her cot, cried unless being held for pretty much the whole first year of her life, if she had been my second baby I would have been truly stuck😂

2y7m between DS1 & DS2, and currently pregnant with number 3, which will be a 2y3m gap.

Loved the gap between 1 & 2. Felt like we got loads of time with DS1, got to really know him as a proper person before another baby came along. He was very talkative and potty trained before DS2 arrived. He dropped his nap just as DS2 came along, so I only ever had 1 napping at a time and wasn't juggling their schedules. They now share a room at 4 and nearly 2 and love it.

I feel guilty that DS2 never got time with us completely on his own (but, that's the nature of being the second baby I guess?) but DS1 is starting school next week, so DS2 and I will have Fridays together until this third appears next year. I am excited to give him lots of 1 on 1 time. I am slightly nervous that he might not be potty trained before baby3 arrives but I guess two in nappies isn't the worst thing ever.

Anyway DS1 was the biggest chiller and I felt sure the universe wouldn't give me another of those, but DS2 is also generally a happy little thing, and other than periods of illness he's not been a difficult baby. His first winter was rough, but once he got over every virus under the sun he's slept and eaten well. So there's a chance number 2 won't be the devil in disguise 😄

2.5 years after the first. 23 years ago now and I would choose the very same again. It’s been perfect.