Hi all!! I'm glad a found this board b/c it's be nice reading some of the posts and seeing others in a similiar boat as I am! Here's some background on me, I'll try to keep it short. I have an awesome 2 yr old who was born 07/07. He is just the light of mine and DHs lives!! I also have baby fever big time! Currently I have been working FT as a pre k teacher and DH is in school (working for his A&P license) and working PT. Needless to say money is more than a little tight, and we would need for our financial situation to be different in order to add another little one to the mix. DH was going to be graduating from school in May 2010 and we were planning on TTC starting this coming December. I have been planning for this for a yr now. Well, DH had to drop a couple classes along the way and isn't going to be graduating as quickly as we thought. In fact, it will most likely take him another year b/c one of the classes he needs to take is only offered in the spring semester. Once he is done with this coming spring semester in May 2010, his class load will only be one or two classes at a time, so he will be able to work ft, but not making as much as he would have if he had his license. I can't fathom waiting a whole extra year to TTC, baby fever is so strong, it's all I think about!! But I don't want to have another little one and have even more financial stress. What if DH isn't able to get FT hours? I would be willing to work still, but don't want to be working the FT schedule I'm at now. I know if you wait for everything to be perfect to have a baby, you will never have a baby cause things are never perfect!! But at the same time, I don't want to be irrational about bringing another baby into our lives, just because I really want one. About a month ago I was SURE I was pregnant, about a week late, which never happens, I was so excited and then very sad and depressed when AF arrived. DH was happy too but didn't let himself get too excited about it b/c he wanted to know it was a for sure thing, whcih is prob what I should have done. But currently, DH has become unsure of TTC, he would rather wait till he's done with school. But sometimes he is on board, sometimes not, you know how men are!! lol Well, I believe I have done a very bad job of keeping this short, but any advice would be welcome!!
I just wanted to say hell and welcome. Yes bf can be a HUGE thing to overcome, and your very right waiting for the "perfect time" is impossible being that there really never is a perfect time! But, imo you are doing the right thing waiting until your finaces are a little more stable for baby #2. Yes I certainly know how you feel thinking there is absolutely NO way you could wait a whole year, but maybe things might pan out a little differently in that time along the way things could change and it could end up not being a whole year! I know the wait can be killer, Im still waiting for #1, but I think your onto the right idea of trying to have all your ducks in a row first. :)
Thank u to crystal_voice for the beautiful blinkies!
Thanks for the advice! I tend to stress out a LOT about money, so it is definitely good for me to put finances at the top of my priorities. No need to cause myself added stress especially if I am going to be caring for two young children! In my mind I HOPE DH would be able to have good hours by the time school is out in May and I'm pretty sure he will, but there is that "what if". Also, I look at the other side of it, he could have a great job lined up, we TTC and get pregnant, and what if he got laid off? There are no guarantees, and if I keep waiting for everything to be picture perfect, it could all fall apart anyway. But if we have a "we will make it through the tough times together"attitude I feel as though we should be okay, because we will have ups and downs through life regardless. Plus there is the added want to have my children be close together. I've always wanted to have my kids while I am younger, and have them be close together in age. Could be because my youngest sibling was 16 when I was born, and no other siblings came after me. On top of all that, I just have never experienced this type of BF before. Have loved babies and wanted children all my life, but not like this. After my son was born for the 1st year I definitely was not thinking about having more any time soon at all. Then after a year the idea crept into my mind, but I still felt like DS was a baby himself, and w/ DH having a year left of FT school, I just pushed the idea away. But around the time he turned 2, having a sibling for him just became an unbearable need. It's almost as if it's a physical need to be pregnant, I just can't wait to become pregnant again and the waiting is torture. We definitely were safe this month, b/c if we were to get preg that would mean EDD would be right about DS's b-day and want him to keep his special day for himself, ya know? Well I really feel like I'm rambling here, please don't judge me!! lol This is a great forum to get out all your feelings though, let me tell ya!!
Welcome to the board Laura! I'm so glad you found us and decided to post an intro. Deciding when to TTC another child is certainly a big one, and everyone has $$ issues these days. I think that if you could wait until DH is done with school, that is always best to have that done before adding more to your family. On the other hand, there never is a perfect time for sure. Maybe you could reevaluate in May and possibly start TTC then. You may not get pg right away and might end up having the baby after he is done.
If DH is on board (even some of the time) then he must feel OK enough about things to go for it, so even though waiting is hard the time will go by fast especially having a toddler so see how things feel in the next several months and see what you think. I hope you stay and post around so we can get to know you better.
