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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

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Original poster

5 month old baby, breastfeeding, TTC

12 replies

OneBabyWantAnother · 30/03/2011 13:14

Hi everyone,
I'm just after some experiences/advice
Title says it all really, I have a gorgeous & very chilled nearly 5 mth old and I'd love to have another baby.
Do you think it would be too early? Am I letting myself in for a couple of years of hell???
I am still breastfeeding, although baby goes for 12 hours at night without a feed...with this in mind, how easy do you think it will be to conceive (got pg first time with DC1)?
And can breastfeeding whilst pregnant have any side effects?
Thanks in advance :) x

OP posts:

02 · 30/03/2011 13:16

In the nicest possible way:

Are you mad??????

a 17m gap would be quite, erm, draining.

So, yes, it does seem like a very small gap. Unless you're likely to have trouble conceiving, it's probably worth waiting a bit. Just because your first is an angel doesn't mean your second will be :)

Asteria · 30/03/2011 14:01

my brother and sister are 12 months and 6 days apart - they are more like twins and are just about to go off to India together! There is a theory that getting all the hell out of the way in a short sharp shock is better than dragging the late nights out for years and years! My DS is 8 and although I would love another one I would die if I had to do the lack of sleep thing again!

BarbieLovesKen · 30/03/2011 14:15

Im pregnant with number 3 (31 weeks) although dd is 5, our ds is only 14 months so there will be a 16 month gap between these two.

Our two have been very, very "easy" babies to be honest, which played a huge part in the decision making to have this one. However, as 02 points out, I know thats no guarantee that this one will be too.

We decided to with the "go and with the get it all out of the way" theory as if Im honest, I hate being pregnant. Its a means to an end for me and I obviously adore the end result but I really struggle with it. We knew we hadnt finished our family and in the end, decided it would be much, much easier to keep going with the nappy changes and night feeds than have a good break and go back to it all for another couple of years. (like we did with dd). This way, our 2 youngest will be starting school within a year of one another, potty training within a year of one another etc.. (plus we'll get that horrible curse of a childcare bill over and done with quicker than if we left a gap, ifyswim)

I could very easily have a different opinion this time next year, as I havent actually had the baby yet Im not really in a position to give advice. I think alot has to do with different coping abilities though. It depends on you and your OH and how much you feel you can take on. We're very busy as a rule anyway and have high tresholds for coping with stress so I think we'll be ok, on the other hand, I've a friend who would have much less going on in her life than we would and would point blank state that she simply wouldnt be able to manage our committments. We're all different.

Will be watching with interest... gulp..

Housewife101 · 30/03/2011 16:05

I have a 15 month gap and its great. Don't get me wrong its been tough and tiring, a hard first 6 months, but its totally worth it. I look at them together now and can't imagine it any other way.

I was still bfeeding when I got pg again, I wasn't feeding through the night (7pm-7am) so that caused no issues and I continued to bf whilst pg (that was v hard if I'm honest).

My eldest is a little behind on physical milestones so she really did still look like a baby when the new baby came along and we got some interesting reactions from people (though she was 15 months she only looked about 12 months, small, not standing yet etc). For most people, 15 months is a small gap, but then I met a woman with not quite 12 months between hers and I felt like our gap was huge, its all relative.

If you want it and can manage it (ie. mat leave, work, money) then go for it. Being a big sister has brought out the very best of my eldest and they are already so close. Be prepared to look akin to a bag lad for the first few months though, though that could just have been me!!!

Housewife101 · 30/03/2011 16:08

bag lady I meant, my boobs were too big bfeeding to look like a lad!!

whysolate · 30/03/2011 16:13

I had 3 under 3 years old. My youngest two are 9 months apart and both were born in 2007. It is hard but then it is also "normal" for you. People presumed they were twins but if they asked I did tell them their age gap. Their smiles did tend to turn to shock or sympathetic looks.

I was EBF every four hours day and night when I became pregnant with DC3. He was born at 30 weeks. They are all healthy, happy children and love each others company. It is a very personal decision, good luck with whatever you decide.

everythingchangeseverything · 30/03/2011 16:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CherryPie3 · 30/03/2011 18:18

My oldest 2 (dd and ds1) are 15mths apart and honestly it was very hard work when they were very little but now they are older it's nondifferent than of they were 2/3yrs apart.
They fight, they are insanely jealous of eachother and the constant bickering can be tiresome but....they play well together for the most part (when they've stopped arguing over what to play) and they both collectively adore their baby brother.

If it's what you both want, and you're financially able to do so I'd recommend going for it. It doesn't matter too much what other peoples experiences are because yours will no doubt be different :)

Good luck!! xx

CherryPie3 · 30/03/2011 18:19

Btw mine are 5 and 6th now x

CherryPie3 · 30/03/2011 18:32

Bloody iPhone keeps correcting what I type! That should have said 5 & 6yrs old x

dottyhenson · 30/03/2011 18:48

think its fine and lovely, if that is what you want. I had 3 under 3, found it pretty okay to be honest. I was bf (alot) when dc 2 and 3 were conceived. I gave up bf dc2, when I was about 6months pg, as my nipples got quite sore ( but she was 14months and also a bit of a biter!). other than that, was fine. good luck

emjsouth · 06/04/2011 10:11

Just to let you know I have been continuously bf since my son was born nearly 5 years ago, as i have 3 children aged nearly 5, 2 and 1 and have bf through all of the pregnancy and even tandem feed afterwards. And now I am TTC no 4. People think I am mad having my children close together and so many but I love it and all my children are so close and play together really good (don?t know about my baby though as she is 1 on the 20th there is time yet) but my son thinks his best friend is his younger sister :-)
Good luck to you and you do what is right for you and dh as everyone is different.

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