PLEASE be completely honest with me!!!!!!!

MOMINFEB

In your opinion, how hard was it going from 1 child to 2? We are thinking/talking about another baby when DD is around 1 year old and I'm really curious JUST how bad it is. Be blantantly honest.....no judgments from me!!

HarrietNJMommy

It depends on so many factors that it's a different answer for everyone.

For me, going from 1 to 2 wasn't such a big deal. Going from 2 to 3 was way harder.

It's hard for me for the first year since my kids have all been bad sleepers. I also don't have help around, so getting breaks is difficult. And my last 2 never took a bottle, so I couldn't go too far.

It's not "impossible". If it were, people would only have 1 child.........

There are good days, better days, okay days and days where you will want to rip out your eyeballs - hang in there and take it one day at a time.

GL!

Mr.&MrsS

I dont think it is bad at all. Sure, we have bad days but we also have great days. Having two kids isnt going to make your life any easier, and if you think it is hard with 1 then I would wait a little longer before trying for #2. Mine are 16 months apart and I would do it over again in a heartbeat.

ETA- I will say that the first 4 months were pretty rough. But I think newborns are hard in general, no matter what the age of your other children.

lovemytwoboys

Honestly, it was really hard for us. It was especially hard, because DS2 wasn't planned for so soon after DS1. My boys are 13.5 months apart, so DS1 was still a baby to me when my youngest was born. It is a lot of fun right now and they love each other to pieces, so I am beginning to see that the positives outweigh the negatives, but the first 6-ish months were a nightmare for me.

I think it would be better for you though since you wouldn't plan to start trying until your daughter was a year old. If my youngest had been born when my oldest was the age he is now (2), I think things would have been so much easier and the adjustment would have been smoother.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Roco&Leche

The first month was hard.  And my DH travels a lot for work so it did not make things any easier.  But DD and DS are both great sleepers so that helped smooth things really quickly.  After DS was 6 months, life has been getting better and better.

It does help that I have my mom 10 mins away.  My neighbors from across the street are awesome and always willing to help out.  And my nanny lives 2 blocks away.

I also had a super flexible schedule at work and was working from home a lot. 

howleyshell

Mr.&MrsS:

 But I think newborns are hard in general, no matter what the age of your other children.

This.

Imagine a toddler.

Imagine sleep deprivation with a toddler in the terrible 2's.

The bottom line is that "it won't be like this for long"

The baby stage goes quickly and then you're left with 2 kids close in age and that's a LOT of fun. 

HappyTXChick

For us, it was harder going from 0 to 1, than 1 to 2.  0-1 is going from no responsibilities to huge responsibility.  And then 1-2 just added to our routine already in place.

BUT, I will say that my DH is VERY involved with our children.  We equally cook, bathe kids, DH likes taking them places, etc.  If he were not very involved then I could see how going from 1-2 could have been very tough! 

abonner11

We are still adjusting. But not many people have children 11 months apart. Doing things solo, like taking both kids to Target is a challenge, but when we are both involved its alot easier.

Trissie18

Honestly going from 1 to 2 was not a huge deal for us.  The boys are 16 months apart and we have a routine for both mornings and evenings/bed times.  My DH is absolutely wonderful and really pitches in to help.  Both of our boys are very laid back easy going guys which definitely makes it easier.    Plus DS#1 absolutely loves his baby brother (he is the only one who gets kisses on the lips and hugs all the time - everyone else usually gets a cheek to kiss) and DS#1 doesn't remember being an only child so there is no jealousy.  They are really starting to interact now so it so much fun to watch. 

shouldbworkin

It was really, really hard for us to go from 1 to 2.  One was easy and didn't change our lives two much.  Two, especially 2u2, was brutal.  We really had to make an effort not to let the kids overtake our marriage, but it happened anyway.  At the same time, having 2u2 wasn't that hard for me either.  I thought it was easy as compared to having a 1 and a 3 y/o, at least.  Now that they're 2 and 4, things are great and our marriage is great.  the first year or two can just sometimes be rough, but it's short lived and if you take care of your marriage, you'll come out on the other end no worse for the wear.

LDQAM516

Its been a breeze for us...never thought in a million years it would be like this...finding a good routine and strict sleep schedule is KEY...