Baby no 2- what time of year?!

[ShleepyMumma]

I know you can’t always plans these things and actually DH and I struggled to conceive our 1st DC. This is just to get people’s thoughts on what time of year is nice to have a newborn, with a toddler in tow. Our 1st baby was born late spring/early summer. I had a really rough time and it’s made me think this time of year is awful to have a baby, but I think this was based on our specific circumstances with her birth and my post natal experience rather than the time of year.
Any Mums of 2 or more got any experience/thoughts of when they had baby no 2 and how the season helped/hindered!

My birthday is June - perfect time.

My baby was born end of November. I had bad morning sickness, not helped by any heat(!)...thr biggest downside for me was when she was born being so small and it was snowy and really cold (remember we had that really cold spell), it was difficult keeping her warm since she couldn't regulate her own temperature. But also, by the time summer comes she'll be old enough to be able to nice things.

I've had two winter babies - downside is birthdays are close to Christmas so it's lots of toys in a short space of time, add in the hand-me-downs from DS1 to DS2 and it's a lot of stuff. Plus points - starts to get lighter when you start to get more active after baby, not heavily pregnant in the summer (though a 32degree day when 6 mo pregs with a toddler nearly finished me off).

I wanted to avoid the end of September/early October baby boom after every one gets frisky at Christmas. My BF had a baby then and said staffing was horrific and she was left alone for ages.

Oh and ages mean that I can (hopefully) potty train in the summer rather than the winter - no one wants a freezing cold bum.

My first is a December baby. That's tough as Christmas (obviously), I was pregnant all through the summer which was hard work.

My second was born mid April. It much preferred going into the lighter days with a newborn and we spent a lot of time in the garden with dc1 etc.

April! No hot weather for pregnancy and light nights.

My first was a winter baby and the nights felt so long.

DC1 is September and I found it really hard because the nice weather disappeared fast and the nights felt so long when it was dark by 4:30! Due in a few weeks with DC2 and really looking forward to having a spring baby! Lighter days and being about to get out and about more for walks etc.

I would plan it to have their birthdays 6 months apart, and neither close to Christmas if I had my time again and if it was actually possible to plan these things.

Mine are December and February, but I would chose Autumn, or at least no later than April because it will help them academically. Always been a bit paranoid about "summer born syndrome".

My first DD was July which for me personally was an awful time to have a newborn as didn't have a clue what to put her in clothes wise. Also had to make sure she was protected from the sun at all times as they can't wear suncream as newborns, trying to breastfeed was awful because I was so hot/sticky etc.. DD2 we planned for late Feb, she was born 1st March. Absolutely perfect, still not warm enough to be outside all the time but not cold enough for huge coats, however the feeling of spring arriving and the lighter nights and warmer days made my mood so much better.

With the benefit of hindsight I'd definitely aim for the start of the academic year where you live.
I have so much guilt over my summer babies being disadvantaged by the system

My 4 are October, March, June then May.

Season wise I preferred the may/June newborn as didn’t have to faff around with snow suits and wrapping them up, plus could exercise doing long walks from birth as nicer weather.

But I did love my first (October) and staying in snuggled up for the first few weeks with no pressures. Whether that’s a first baby or time of year thing I don’t know.

I think Feb March is ideal because;

• not too massively pregnant over Christmas or summer
• baby is born as the weather picks up, days getting lighter, flowers blooming etc
• baby won’t be youngest in year or a newborn at prime winter bug season or heatwave season
• they will get the 30 hours funding from April whereas babies born April onwards have to wait til September

For me the positives of having a baby in the warmer, lighter months far out weighed any negatives of being heavily pregnant in summer. Personally I would have found it much harder to get out and about with a newborn in winter and really depressing with it getting dark at 4pm. I loved being about to go on late evening walks with the baby was a few weeks old to break up the night.

DS was a May baby (but this was unplanned)
DD was a September baby - I planned / hoped for this as I thought she would benefit from being the oldest in the Year

My first was July, plus points were that it was light for early morning get ups and we could easily pop out, walk round as it was nice and warm. However, downsides were being heavily pregnant and giving birth when it was pretty hot weren’t pleasant and then sweaty breast feeding! Plus it meant we were going into autumn just as we were coming out of the new baby fog.
Second baby was February and overall I think that was better, a more comfortable pregnancy, could snuggle down with a new born and then soon we were into spring and getting out and about.

I had a September baby for my second. For me the main downside is the germs with eldest at nursery. First 6 months of baby's life are during prime germ season. I did end up in hospital with a 3 week old baby with bronchiolitis this time around.

Otherwise I was also dreading the bad weather as in the newborn days with my eldest I constantly had to push the pram around for naps. It hasn't really been an issue this time as baby is easier.

My first was born in April and would barely ever sleep past 5am, whereas this one lies in until 8am. I wonder if it is partly thanks to it being darker outside.

I would have preferred them not to have to wait a whole extra year to start school as well but overall a September baby is nice. They'll be more interesting and on the move when the weather gets nice too. Really looking forward to summer!

I have 1 but had to comment as I've thought a lot about this. My DD was born in mid December. I had bad Pnd and I'm sure it was due partly to it going dark at 4pm. I wanted to get out for a walk but couldn't get out of the house early enough. Also having Christmas 2 weeks after giving birth was an inconvenience, just couldn't be bothered with it as was shocked and tired.
If I went for a 2nd I'd like anything from late January to March, as it's getting lighter and by the time you have found your feet, the weather is good for getting out and about with baby.

FWIW I think spring is the perfect time of year to have a baby. In the first 6 months, which is the toughest time IME/IMO, you get mostly good weather and sunshine to motivate you to leave the house (even if it's just for a short walk). It's also handy for drying all the laundry

And, a longer term consideration, I think it's good for the child to have a birthday halfway through the academic year, so they're not the oldest or the youngest, and they're 4.5 when they start which is good timing for most children.

DC1 was born in March, DC2 was born in September. I was/am less happy about September, firstly because I was heavily pregnant over the summer which was NOT pleasant, secondly it was winter when she was 3-5 months old which is a really tough stage (or it was for me anyway), I struggled massively with my mental health during that time. Thirdly, I do worry that she will be nearly 5 when she starts school, one of the oldest, and might get bored by 2 years in preschool... not the end of the world though and most teachers say it's an advantage to have a September birthday.

On a practical note, all the season-specific baby clothes I'd saved were completely the wrong size for example, for DC1 I had summer clothes in 3-6 months and 12-18 months, but for DC2 I needed winter clothes in those sizes and summer clothes in 9-12 and 18-24 months. Still, nice excuse to buy some new bits

I think winter babies are best. Not having to worry about heatwaves with a newborn. My first was born in November and second in February. Both born in the first half of the school year, neither too close to Christmas