Are you Ready for Another Baby & Should You Have👶🏻👶🏽👶🏾
Are you ready for another baby? Several common questions come to mom’s mind when planning to expand her family. Parents should consider certain aspects of child-rearing such as: Breastfeeding, Diapering, and resources. Other concerns include family dynamics, and the age of the parents.
The joy of welcoming a new baby into the world is immeasurable, so it’s no wonder that many women are often eager to do it again not long after giving birth to their first little one.
There are many different viewpoints on the best way to approach family planning. Plenty of statistics show both the positive and negative effects of giving your firstborn a sibling too soon, too late, or not at all.
The literature available on the subject can be discouraging and overwhelming. Still, ultimately, the decision to expand your family is deeply personal and unique, and there is no right or wrong way to go about doing it. The remaining question is, are you ready for another baby?
Whether you feel ready to get right back on the pregnancy bandwagon or you’re thinking about taking a few years off, here are a few things to consider when choosing what is best for you and your family.
Breastfeeding Challenges
As you would know from your first, that breastfeeding is no easy challenge. Some women struggle to get their babies to properly latch, while others have an abundance of breastmilk to go around. Whatever your circumstance, this is certainly something to reconsider when planning for a new baby.
Breastfeeding Two Babies
Suppose you hope to have another baby soon after your first but are planning to continue breastfeeding. In that case, you may find it difficult to conceive, as many women do not regain fertility until they have stopped breastfeeding.
But, many women have no problem nursing right until giving birth to their second child, and some women even accomplish tandem nursing both their newborn and their toddler.
Unable to Breastfeed
In many cases, women may not succeed in their breastfeeding endeavors with their children for numerous reasons. Whether it’s an anatomical problem from the mother, or baby, or the baby has had a difficult time latching; sometimes breastfeeding will be hard and nearly impossible.
In this case, you will want to prepare to pump your breasts for milk as an option. One of the most amazing pumps I’ve ever used was the Elvie pump, and its totally worth the investment. You don’t want to be tethered to a machine when you need to be watching your toddler or grabbing a snack.
You will be pumping your breasts for at least 6 months, when babies can start weaning from the breastmilk and start eating solids.
Formula expense
If you hadn’t had luck with breastfeeding, then you will need to sort out your budget for purchasing formula. While formula feeding may be convenient, it could be a hassle to prepare, not 100% healthy for baby, and cost a lot of money. We strongly recommend the Happy Baby formula.
It has just the right amount of iron in the contents and will keep your baby happy and free of constipation and bloating pain. In my personal experience other formulas did not digest well because of the large doses of iron.
Make sure to consult with your doctor if you baby is experiencing bloating pain and constipation.
Potty Training Challenges
While diapers might seem like an insignificant consideration when deciding whether to have a second baby, many moms try to postpone a second pregnancy until their first is out of diapers. It is certainly a challenge when you have two children in diapers.
Added expense
Having another baby bum in the household will likely add another $40 – $100 a month in diaper expenses, not including wipes.
If you are a cloth diaper family, introducing another bum to the family will likely increase your time in the laundry room, leaving you less time to cuddle and play with your two little ones, unless you have a good cleaning system.
An amazing method for cleaning your cloth diapers is to use a bidet with the hose attachment. In my attempt to use cloth diapers, I did not have the hose to wash off remnants, so using cloth diapers definitely presented a challenge.
Parents’ Age and Family Size
How many children do you plan to have? The answer to this question will probably help you determine how quickly you want to get pregnant again.
Of course, mom and dad’s age also influences short-term and long-term family planning. Depending on your life stage when your first baby comes along, you may want to consider where you’d like to be when your last one graduates high school.
If you have always dreamed of having a large family, waiting too long to have your second baby could throw off your schedule.
If you expect your family to be complete with two children, you may have more time to spread them out.
Sibling Dynamics
Many parents have an idea of the kind of sibling dynamic they hope to create between their children. Often, it is a dynamic based on the one that they had when they were growing up.
There is sufficient research to inform the discerning parent on the pluses and minuses of having children close in age versus spacing them further apart. Still, there are no steadfast rules when deciding how soon to give your child a sibling.
Each family will be unique with the number of family members they have and what kind of relationships they nurture amongst each other.
Are you Ready for Another Baby?
With all the considerations discussed above, perhaps you may be ready for another baby. Children are a blessing but also do require around the clock attendance and attention, so be prepare to dedicate at least the next 4-5 years helping your child grow.
The considerations mentioned above are just the some of the aspects of child-rearing that you will have to undertake. I hope considering these factors will help you decide whether you are ready for another baby.
Common Questions About Having Another Baby
There are several questions that mothers may have about expanding their family.
Should I have another baby?
If you are considering whether to have another baby or not, this should be a discussion you have with your partner. There are several challenges that are going to need to be addressed, such as: how will the expenses be paid for the new baby, how will the mother and father balance the household, and existing children, and who can you depend on with your growing family (in other words, who is in your village).
How long should I wait to have another baby after giving birth?
This decision is a personal one, but if you are ready to have another baby you could potentially conceive another child as fast as within 90 days of having given birth prior. Typically, a woman may take 30-90 days to recover from the physical changes incurred during child labor. So you should wait after you’ve healed.
