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Fear of having a second child

22 replies

charley39 · 27/06/2020 23:08

So.. I have a fear of having a second child and looking for people in similar situations I guess?
First pregnancy was not a great experience-bad sickness from week 4 to labour. Traumatic birth which took me a long time to get over mentally. My DS is now 2 and has been a very needy child from 2 weeks of age. Always been told it will be okay once he can walk/talk etc but nothing helped and now we are in the terrible twos (which seemed to begin at the age of 1).
DH wants a second child and we keep arguing over this. I feel a lot of pressure to have another one to please him etc and he is keen to start trying now. I always imagined myself having two children but after having such a tough time with DS it has made me doubt this. I love my DS but god is he hard work most days and the thought of him and a newborn is just unimaginable. My DH now thinks I am purposely planning things to avoid having a second like a holiday abroad in October.(I would never fly whilst being pregnant for other reasons). The constant arguing over it is just stressing me out. I wondered if anyone else had gone through similar situations.
I am aware that second child could be completely different etc or they could be just as bad or even worse and I don’t know how I would cope with that all over again.
Sorry for the long post.

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Carouselfish · 28/06/2020 21:19

I hated giving birth, the first year of DD's life was a blur, the second year mostly a nightmare. I didn't want another until she was about 4 and starting school and even then it was more with the idea that DD would have someone she was closely related to when her parents were dead than it was about me really wanting another. I'm now 28 weeks, nearly 40 and DD is 5. I am worried about a second dc changing our very close relationship and the sleep deprivation now I'm 5 years older. I don't know if it was the right thing to do. DP would love more children! How old are you OP? You don't have to have another hot on the heels of your first, if at all.

Marpan · 28/06/2020 21:30

Make it an expensive event, then he will change his mind. £50k for private birth and maternity care, then a maternity nurse to help you and the baby after £1k per week.

Surrogate for pregnancy if you want to be extreme.
Because how could you possibly take care of a child while puking every second of everyday.
Mine would pay all of the above to not listen to me moan about being pregnant again.

charley39 · 29/06/2020 05:25

@Carouselfish my thoughts were exactly the same as yours as in to wait until DS was in school as this seemed the only logical thing. DH worries that if we left it too long we both wouldn’t want to give up our sleep again and any kind of life we had got back to ourselves(not happening anytime soon I might add). I’m only 27 so there really is no rush. In an ideal world I always imagined 3 year age gap between children but the reality is that I struggle with one child most days Blush

@Marpan I never thought of it like that, that would soon change his mind! But yes I moaned the whole way through my pregnancy which was fine when we had no other children depending on us but will be a different story if we go againConfused

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orangetangerines · 29/06/2020 05:32

I had HG in my frist pregnancy, absolute horrific time (birth wasn't too bad) and when i found out i was pregnant again at 5 months post partum i cried and cried about how ill i'd be again and how i wouldn't be able to look after my already here baby...
but so far this pregnancy has been a breeze, minor sickness although feeling very tired at the start. Every pregnancy is different but that is a big risk to take on the basis that you 'might' not feel the same again (i think i just got very lucky) especially if you don't have your heart 100% on having another child
Do whats best for you and ignore your Dp he's not the one who would have to carry baby

charley39 · 29/06/2020 05:53

@orangetangerines congratulations! So glad your having a much better pregnancy this time aroundSmile Yes I do keep reminding DH that he doesn’t have to endure 9 months or pregnancy and a birth Hmm

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Scrumpyjacks · 29/06/2020 06:25

Op I also struggle with DS 21months most days on my own. We chose to have a second to give DS a sibling and to really emerse ourselves in the family life. I feared pregnancy but so far so good (limited sickness where as with DS I was constantly sick) touch wood.
When I think about the baby stage I dread it. But when I think about the toddler years and beyond I can't wait.
Really think about if you just don't want another baby or if you don't want another child as they're very different imo.
I wouldn't have got pregnant with dc2 if I wasn't confident Ds1 would be going to nursery some days while I was on mat leave too.

mylittlesandwich · 29/06/2020 06:40

I had a horrible pregnancy, PGP. I was in a wheelchair by the time DS was born. He's 7 months and it's still not completely gone. I also had pretty severe PND after he was born and I'm currently taking ADs.
We always intended to have 2 children. Probably a couple of years apart so in theory we should TTC in about a year.
There is no way in hell thats happening. We've discussed that we might have one more but it would be years from now. I'd need DS to be in school and be able to do some more things for himself in case I was as unable to function again. Your DH is being massively unreasonable. You aren't saying you've changed your mind just because you've changed your mind. You're saying it because for you the realities of pregnancy are grim. Tell him he can have as many as he wants as soon as he figures out how to carry and give birth to them himself.
Luckily my DH is happy to not have any more or wait a while whichever I decide.

Ragwort · 29/06/2020 06:43

Your DH sounds very unsupportive if you are constantly arguing about such an important decision Sad, and you are so young, you have years left if you genuinely want to have another baby. (I had my first and only child at 43).

Can you firmly remind me of the health issues you experienced when pregnant and giving birth ... and say that you will revisit your decision in one (two/three) years time but for now you just want to enjoy your child without having to worry about another one.

AllRainbowsAndUnicorns · 29/06/2020 06:48

I think you need to be clear with your DP that you are not planning things to avoid another baby, you actively don't want one right now. He needs to stop pressuring you. The burden for carrying the child and caring for the newborn is all on you, so I don't see why he feels he can dictate. Don't say yes to appease him. You have to both want the baby.

Goyle · 29/06/2020 07:03

I was monitored for much of the third trimester of my pregnancy because the foetus had stopped growing. It was decided I had pre-eclampsia and suddenly I had to have a c-section at 32 weeks. Because the ward had given me a drug that wasn't compatible with surgery I had to have a GA. I was shaking with fear as I was put under. Then they couldn't bring me round. Then I came round and all these tubes and wires were attached to me. The pain was horrific. I didn't see my baby for two days. I had attachment problems, PND, and I couldn't breastfeed. I hated it all. After 7 weeks my daughter came home and I hated babyhood. It was only when she started school that I began to like being a parent.

Yet a year after she was born my husband wanted another one. We lived in a 2 bed flat and our financial position wasn't brilliant. I also couldn't go through all that again. We argued. I would say to him, I almost fucking died you cretin, why try and put me through all that again? But his selfish viewpoint was that he wanted a boy. I said there was no guarantee that if we had another it would be a boy. He kept on and on, until I said, "You can keep badgering me for another baby, or you can leave." There was a period of sulking, but he stayed.

I think he never wanted a baby in the first place, or the compromise in his head was, ok, we can have one but it has to be a boy. Then we had a girl, so he thought he could keep hassling me until he got a boy.

He gets on very well with our daughter, they are a team. Because of my work he is her primary carer. I think he still resents me. But I don't care because he has always been a sulky bastard, and it's my fucking body thank you very much. Apart from this, we have a good marriage and we love each other very much. We are good parents to a brilliant teenage girl. I count my blessings.

Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear · 29/06/2020 07:10

I think it is awful that he is putting pressure on you like this. I too had a very traumatic experience in DS ' first year which has meant I will not be having any more. If DH had put pressure on me he would have been out of the door.

It sounds as though you have given this a lot of thought and are currently at your limit of what you can cope with parenting wise and I think you are very sensible not to push yourself beyond that limit. It may be that in a few years time you find parenting easier and you have capacity for a second but there is no rush especially as you are so young.

I would sit your DH down and tell him to shut the fuck up quite frankly.

IdblowJonSnow · 29/06/2020 07:15

Tell him very slowly and clearly that you do not want another baby.
This pressure is downright abusive. It's your body and you have the final say.
If he wants one so desperately then he can go and have one with someone else.
I'm guessing he's not planning on giving up work to look after this second child?
He sounds like an utter pig to be honest.

IdblowJonSnow · 29/06/2020 07:18

Please be very super careful with contraception- I wouldn't trust him with this. Doesn't sound like he respects you at all. Although I wouldn't want to have sex with someone who treated me like that anyway.

Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear · 29/06/2020 07:21

Please be very super careful with contraception

Yes this! If I were you I would be doubling up by doing something like copper coil and pill.

SapphosRock · 29/06/2020 07:25

What's the rush? Lots of benefits to a bigger age gap. Why not say you're willing to consider another when DS starts school and park it for a couple of years.

justtmee · 29/06/2020 10:18

If you are unsure just wait. When your DS is a bit more independent you might decide that actually you want another or you may decide you don't. Either way it's your decision, don't feel pressured by your DH or the perfect age gap etc.

charley39 · 29/06/2020 10:45

Thank you all for your replies! Nice to hear what others experiences have been.
I think at the moment I’m just unsure on another child, not ruling it out completely at this stage but right now for me it seems too much.

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Yesterdayforgotten · 29/06/2020 14:21

OP I went from 'I'm never having another baby again' to being conflicted about having a second child.Around dc1's second birthday I decided to let nature take its course and see what happened. A couple of months later I was pregant and dc2 is now afew months old. I have a 2.8m age gap. I'm not going to lie my second pregnancy was alot worse and harder than my first. I also found it incredibly tough looking after a demanding toddler full time who was not yet in nursery while pregnant. I also had a another traumatic time with the birth experience and nothing went to plan. I can honestly say it is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Would I do it again? Yes because i have ended up with such a happy easy baby ( so much easier than dc1) who lights up the family and I can honestly say now we feel complete. The pregnancy and birth may have been hellish but the baby phase has been a million times easier. I do realise there are no guarantees but the second time you know what you are doing and to.be honest it is flying over so much faster. Dc1 is getting older and easier and is a different child to the one he was at 2. Please remember op your first child will grow up and change so much within the next year or so aswell , things will get better.
I never felt ready but the feeling of somebody being missing didnt go away and I knew I would regret it later.

charley39 · 29/06/2020 15:37

@Yesterdayforgotten that’s made me feel better. I do have to remind myself more of the long term rather than at this moment but it is hard to see it when your having a tough day etc.

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Yesterdayforgotten · 29/06/2020 21:04

Ah I'm pleased it had helped op. I know exactly what you mean because I thought dc1 would never get easier and it has been a long road but I have finally seen a huge change (mind you he still has his moments but nothing like it was). If anything having 2 has been easier than having dc1 younger I'd that makes sense. I'm also hoping as dc2 gets alittle older that they will play together then I can put my feet up rather than entertaining dc1 all day! DC1 is the type of child that def benefits from having a sibling. I understand everything you say because it is exactly how I felt myself, I was petrified but the reality was honestly easier than the thought of it! Good luck op and maybe just give yourself a bit more time and discuss with your dh how you feel.

Yesterdayforgotten · 29/06/2020 21:05

has*

Yesterdayforgotten · 29/06/2020 21:05

if* excuse the typos

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