Thinking of having a second child

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This may sound naff for those who have done it and esp. to those who have 3, 4 or more. My DD is 8 months. We love her. We want another - how the bloody hell do you cope? Our house is small, but sure its big enough. DH's salary isn't fantastic but sure we could make it stretch. My Mum had 6 but she is no longer with us otherwise I'd ask her. For those who have 2, was it bloody awful in the beginning?

2 year gap here. For the first few months it was much easier than I'd expected. I was able to spend lots of time with dd1 while dd2 slept during the day, and dd1 helped to entertain dd2 when she was awake. I often carried dd2 in a sling so I could carry on doing activities with dd1. Of course there are some tough bits - e.g. when both children are crying/tantrumming, one has a leaky nappy, a pan is boiling over on the stove and then the doorbell rings all at the same time - but most of the time, things felt under control. I think most parents have more of a sense of perspective 2nd time round, and know how quickly babyhood/toddlerhood passes.

We went through a rocky patch when dd2 learnt to crawl; dd1 got very jealous. That lasted for 3 or 4 months, on and off.

Now they are coming up for 2 and 4, and get on very well. They have similar interests and play together co-operatively, and even pretend to get married to each other They miss each other when separated.

3 year gap which suited me (and DD1) very well. She was through the nightmare terrible twos without me having to cope with a newborn. First few weeks were hard with two, but so many people had said to me how awful they were that I found them better than expected. Would like no 3 but will aim for at least 2.5 year gap.

Ds is 4 and I don't have another. I was broody at 9 months and then again at 15 months, but ds had a lot of medical needs and so we ignored my broodiness.

Since he was 2.5 I have not been broody. I realise how much hard work the first 18 months is and simply can't be bothered to do it again.

am having our third on Friday and we had no problems with no2. The gap between each of our children turns out to be 2 y 4m - not planned really just the way it happened.

Our eldest has sn and so dd2 jsut had to fit in with whatever was happening at the time. So from the time she was born - she has attended sn playgroup, therapy sessions, hospital outpatient appts. THat is just her reality.

It was rough on us in the early days - simply because dd2 was a demanding babe compared with dd1. Dd1 slept through from 3 weeks, rarely cried, and was so undemanding in a day to day way.

Dd2 was very vocal, did not sleep through etc.

However - We started trying for dd2 just before we emigrated to Aus thinking it would take us a while - I was 36 and it took me no time at all to conceive - in fact dd2 was conceived on our first cycle of trying.

We also had somewhat of a routine which seemed to work for us too. I went through stages of wondering how we would cope with 2 given dd1 was not talking or walking etc. We coped - now we are about to have three we wonder how we will cope with three!!

forgot to add - now my two dds are the best of mates - they love playing together - the first person they look for is each other if they have been apart. We have the odd squabble but they are great.