Pregnant with 2nd child and feel guilty

[Anellie]

I always thought I would just have one child as Im an only child but after discussing with my husband we decided to try for another. Now Im pregnant and terrified of the changes it could have on my relationship with my first child! As i have no experience of having a sibling.
I also feel awful that I havent reacted to the news the same way i did with my first.

Has anyone else ever felt like this? Any advice on getting over the fear?

Hi hun just wanted to let you know I have these same fears. I sat on the fence for AGES unsure if I wanted another one. But then I started seeing my DD with babies and other children and began to feel loads better. All will be ok. How old is your first? xx

Thank you, its really nice to know im not alone. Hes 3 so i feel like its a good age gap for me personally. Its just very hard to imagine having 2. Xx

@Anellie FWIW I was an only child too and only thought I'd have one. I just couldn't imagine sharing my love and attention with another child. I did enjoy being an only but felt it would be better to have a sibling now that I'm an adult so I wanted to give my DD that chance. I think this is harder for us as onlies because its all we know. I felt I was cheating my daughter for a long time and couldn't bring myself to try for another. Just wanted to cry when I imagined it and I felt just awful. It helped seeing her a bit more independent now. She enjoys being with her baby cousin and fussed over her so it helped seeing her reaction. She's always pointing to babies now and saying "baby sister" "baby brother" these changes have all helped. Sorry if this sounds a bit choppy I am on mobile. All will be ok, its normal to feel guilty and you haven't done anything wrong. Something that helped me was The Second Baby Book as well. If you ever want to chat please reach out anytime xx

I'm an only child, and I felt similar. First few months after dc 2 was born I felt like my heart was breaking in two, but it all settled down. DC 1 loves their sibling, and seeing them laughing and cuddling together is just magic. 3 year age gap.
Congratulations

I am in the same boat as you, I'm an only child, was on the fence about 2nd child but am now 25 weeks pregnant and have a 3 year old. I have been so worried about what our future will be like. But I've also read lots of old threads on here and the majority of people in our position had the same fears, but say they are so happy now etc. So I'm trying to go with that.