Strange question- will I have enough love for another baby?

[MumOfBaby]

I know it sounds silly, but I love my DP and DS so much, that I can't imagine being able to love another baby as much IYKWIM? I'm sure it'll happen when the time comes, but I just cannot imagine it.

Did anyone else go through this?

Such a common thing. Read about it on here so many times.

The reply is always the same. The new baby brings its own love with it. You don't share the love you have for your first, it just grows and grows.

I understand though. I only have one and can't imagine feeling this way about another. People do though.

Yes you will for sure!

You do not have a finite amount of love - you just get more and more as you get more special people in your life.

Oh, it's soooo not a strange question. I remember asking my mum the same thing when I was expecting my second. I thought that DS had completely exhausted my love reservoir. I couldn't have been more wrong. I feel just the same about my DD, and now know I'd feel the same if I had 20 children!

I know this will sound stupid - but just before I gave birth to DS1 I remember wondering (in a deeply hormonal moment) if I could love him as much as I loved the cat!!! [snort]

When I was very pregnant with DS2 I had the same fears - would I love him as much as DS1. I do of course. (and more than the cat, in case I need to reassure you!)

I think these moments are normal - before you are pregnant of course you can't compare your love for an abstract idea with your love for your real, concrete DC in front of you. When you are pregnant you tend to transfer all your potential love for your unborn baby onto the people in front of you, I found I felt enormously tender to DS1 just before DS2 was born - it was almost like I was practicing those newborn hormones on him.

Anyway as showofhands put it (much more succinctly!) of course "the love just grows"

I remember explaining this to DS when DD1 was coming along. Love expands to fit. And the baby, as ShowOfHands says brings it own, and the siblings create more between them.

Yes you will. It might be hard to comprehend, but yes you will. It stretches.

Of course you will. You will be amazed that you have managed to bring another perfect little human being into the world, and will feel as passionately in love with him/her as you do your older children.

I'm so glad other people have felt the same! It's quite a gushy thing to bring up on MN, I know, but it is very difficult to imagine. I was wondering if it was because I have PND- I don't want to have it again with the next baby.

I have a ds of 18months and a baby that's 15 days old. I woriied and worried about this all through pregnancy.
My mum said you don't take any love from anyone else and you don't share the love that you have for exsisting child, your heart just gets a bit bigger, and she was 100% right. I adore ds1 but am also completley in love with my newborn. It's slightly different because although I love both of them in ways that I cannot begin to discribe and I getthat heart melt feeling when I look at either of them, I love ds1's personality and all the new things he does or says and I obviously don't have that with the baby, but there is no mistaking that there is a hell of a lot of love for him without any of it being taken from dp or ds.
Hope that made sense

My Dh and I had a conversation about this the night I found out i was pregnant with DC2.

Ds is just the light of our lives, so i can't imagine loving anyone else so much. We also feel guilty about making DS share the limelight with another sibling as he is just
the centre of our family's world.

I have been assured this is a very common fear and there will be as much love for DC2.

yes yes yes

I had the same question and fear when pg with DD2 but it was answered at once when I held DD2.

You will love DC2 entirely and completely and your love for DC1 will grow even more (oh yes, just when you thought it was boundless already) when they show tenderness towards their sibling.