Pregnancies close together

[planetcrazy]

I want to start trying for baby no. 2 when no.1 is 6 or 7 months (i'll be 35 so I feel we shouldn't wait too long, especially if we decide we want a 3rd).

Keen to hear from others who have had pregnancies close together. Is it a crazy idea? Have our bodies recovered enough? (I feel great at 5 months pp)

'to' me

My great friend, who's a physio, said there is plenty that can be done for mild incontinence and she's amazed how many women just put up with it! Get yourself to a woman's health physio thatlldopig. The longer you leave it the more difficult it will be to fix.

Planet keep working on it and get a second opinion too? I hope it can get better for you.

Another slight physio related thing is diastasis recti which can be worse with pregnancies that are close together. It's basically a separating of the stomach muscles (I've got it as I've got a 2.5 yr old DD and 4 month old Dtwins)...bit of a bummer in that it means you look pregnant even if you slim down. You can do exercises, but it's always better to fully recover from one pregnancy before launching into the next. Here in Canada they recommend you wait till your eldest is 18 months before trying again...just a thought.

soso interesting thanks. Where would I find a womans health physio? Sounds expensive.

And rednellie I think I've got that too! I've got a bulgy 'cat gut' tummy, but when I lie flat, it feels kind of separated in the middle and I can freakily feel things moving about before I go to sleep. I know what I mean but it is hard to describe! What is the reason for waiting the 18 months in Canada then? Can't be purely cosmetic (about looking pregnant when you're not I mean).

There are 10 months between me and my sister - my Mum says it was a bit like having twins, except one could do more ! Growing up we played together a lot, and often had joint presents at Christmas - the 3 storey sindy house was the best! We are still very close - my sister is my best friend.

I'd wait and see how you feel when dc is 6 months old. It probably depends how 'easy' your baby is, plus how long it takes to recover from the birth. It's very hard to predict all this.

Personally I want a bit more time just with DD, to get back to work and get DD established in nursery before we have another one. Although I am 36 so won't wait more than a year or two. I think you will know what you want at the time. There is definitely no perfect gap for everyone, so no reason why you shouldn't do it.

I started trying when DS1was 6 7 months and a month later I was pregnant again. There is 17 months between them. DS1 is now 3 and DS2 19 months.

TBH at times they can be a nightmare - they can be so naughty together and also it can be really intense. I think people don't realise how tough it can be with a close age gap because whilst one in theory should be starting to understand the world around them the other one clearly doesn't and this causes hard discipline problems.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel - I know that in less than a year DS2 will be starting pre-school and it is nice that they are starting to play together.

Sorry I didn't get that you've already had the baby! If you feel up for it, I'd go for it. Fingers crossed for you!

I got pg again when dd was 6 months. 2 wks after I stopped bf. Was planned as I was 33 when I had dd and I wanted 3 so didn't want to hang about. Worked for me as I then had ds followed by dd. 3 in less than 3 years! Was (and still is!) busy but they are great wee friends and love all the same stuff.

Am now 38 and toting with idea of no 4 but not happening so I do believe after 35 it is harder to get pg so I would say o for it. I have enjoyed all 3 so never worried about waiting to enjoy on baby before another argument. In fact took a year mat leave with 2 and 3 so they all benefitted in a way they wouldn't if I hadnt had close together as I had more time with them when young.

I've had less than a yr each between my 3 pregnancies (i think i got pregnant when ds1 was 8 or 9 months, then ds2 10 months?)
I never noticed any physical side effects of that, apart from i never finished losing weight between having each one so makes it harder to lose afterwards cos u have 2x accumulated baby weight to deal with. dont know whether u need to lose any or not maybe u dont but that was the main issue for me so just thought i'd mention!!
I did get GP n midwifes advising me to try and space them out a bit longer next time though, tbh not sure of the exact reason why?? but just that having baby after baby every yr can take a strain on your body i think. but if you only do 2 or 3 in a row close together it should be fine.
If you feel up to it then go for it, you will know yourself whether u need a break or not, like as for me now i actually feel like i need a bit of a break which i never felt before with the others

Thatlldopig - I don't think it's cosmetic, as if you have got that separation then you can get really bad lower back problems as your core strength has gone. I think the 18 months is that it takes that long before your body fully recovers. Mind you I waited that long then had twins so ended up with some of those issues anyway!

We've got an 18 month gap between our 2 girls and are going to have slightly over three years this time (so come October we'll have three under five!). We started TTC when DD1 was 6 months old. She slept through the night quite young though! I was still BFing but the main problem was expressing milk for nursery, I could express hardly anything quite quickly, although she BF until I was 6 months pregnant. Returning to work was quite good, I was pregnant when I returned to work and because I work with teratogens I told my line manager quite quickly. I didn't get given any line management responsibilities and was given a little project to work on which was quite self contained which meant work was less stressful than it might have been otherwise, basically I was beingnpaid my normal salary to do the job a grade below. Oh, and I wangled it so I was officially working full time but used my (admittedly generous) annual leave to reduce my hours to four days a week. I have pretty easy pregnancies so that was all fine and the labour was a walk in the park, went to hospital in the morning, she was born at lunchtime and we got home in time for dinner. Thankfully DD2 was a really easy baby so that first stage wasn't too bad and by the time the rest of my friends were thinking about no2 I had two little girls that could play together. They are 3 and 4.5 now and such good pals. I would recommend a small age gap to everyone.

DS1 slept through the night at 3 months - so by about 6 months I allowed myself the odd wine and hey presto! Pregnant when he was 7 months old. There were complications and DS2 was delivered by EMCS at 34 weeks and developed IRDS. He was a very poorly boy, who also went on to have fits. He's actually completely fine and worst fears unfounded but it was a very hard time coping with all that and a 15 month old.

Saying that, they're best friends now and it makes me truly happy to see them playing together - at one point it was something I didn't think i'd see. I did develop PND which responded well to treatment. All in all, I don't regret it and it's left me with the option for a third now they are 3 and 4.

My sister is 13 months older than me. Hated it growing up. Every new experience I had she had already had, and she was pretty keen to let me know about it!

Could just be she had a crappy older sister personality though...

Hi no experience of close pregnancies afraid. My age gaps are 3 and 5 years. Completely planned.

My middle sister is 20 months younger than me (but due to birthdays was in the school year below me) and grew up in my shadow. My mum says that this was something that she just never considered unfortunately. Of course not all siblings will feel like this, but it should be something you consider.

My sister and I have a good relationship now, but have both chosen to have larger gaps between our children. We both married and started our families in our 20's and I appreciate, however, that not everyone has this option.

CountryKitty has put it far more eloquently than me.

I hadn't thought of that CountryKitty - I'm expecting DD2 when DD1 will be 23 months and we planned them close together because my sister and I get on so badly and I've always assumed a 6 year age gap had not helped. Guess it probably depends on the individuals as much as the ages.

I've found I am much less fit second time around - was not too bad before DD1 was born but have had no time to exercise in between. This is a bit of a problem for me as I start the outdoor/fieldwork part of my job next week and I'm really worryig about hw I'll cope - was fine with it with DD1 but am so out of shape now it is looming ahead and causng me serious worry. But apart from that (and feeling the world is about to drop out of my nether regions due to pelvic floor having evaporated!) all is well and just as easy as the first time - and am 37.

goodness the pelvic floor thing is a real worry going forward! I've only had one child and the birth was quick and I have some issues.

thatll I have just been reading some v positive reviews about pelvic floor exercisers (the electrode ones). £50-100 on Amazon.

country Henrietta My sister is 3 years younger than me and definitely lived in my shadow (until one day I allowed her to step up onto my throne and we have been best friends ever since). Worth considering though. I'm guessing it's worse for girls than boys? I have a son

I had DS 18 months after DD and I love them both to bits and really enjoy watching their closeness... however, pregnancy with DS was tough. I thought my body had recovered but I became very anaemic quite quickly, and was just tired, tired, tired from conception to birth. But vitamin and iron supplements did help, and if I were doing it again, I'd be getting some advice on what to take right from the BFP stage. Good luck...

Yeah, my pelvic floor took a bit of a battering last time. Must try harder with the exercises!

I fell pregnant with DD when DS was 10 weeks old (best surprise of my life )

My pregnancy with her was actually a lot easier than my first. I had a of problems with DS but practically breezed through it with DD!

breastmilk I'm on it vitamin-wise! I got a bit low in iron flast pregnancy so have been watching my iron ever since and requested a blood count the other day - all good at the moment, though I imagine I'll be put on supplements straight away to avoid the same think happening.
p.s. love your alias! I resorted to formula in my coffee the other day but it was, as expected, revolting!

I am now 3m pregnant with dc2 who was concieved when dd was 6m. My pelvic floor felt its normal self after 4//5 months and ive been getting out on walks etc to keep myself fit (though i hadnt lost the extrababy weight... So have that to sort out after this one!). So i feel fit and well going into this pregnancy, or else id have waited. Still bfing dd so hopefully my milk wont drop, though that usually happens around 24wks, which will make dd nearly 12m).

Everyone ive spoken to who's done this (& i have met many incl one who had 3 in 2.5yrs said it was the best thing they ever did, and a number of friends born close to their siblings agree! (so must be a personality thing with some?). Only advice was to say the first year is very hard (and they all prettymuch said that to me!).

My dd has also been difficult (colic to 3m, only just started to sleep one 6hr chunk during the night) but im still happier doing it this way :). Like i said, i felt in good health... Poor health and id have thought twice

Im also trying out baby slings borrowed from friends at baby groups... I hope to be able to effectively sling the new baby to me so i can run after dd (she's cruizing already) and get around better... Tbh with colic i should have got one last time!!

Anyhoo, just an idea to chew over...