How far apart should I space my pregnancies?

kailua5

I'm 34 now and TTC.  If I conceived this month (which I feeling really optimistic about) baby would arrive a couple months before I turn 35.  I was originally thinking I'd just be natural with my husband afterwards and whenever I became pregnant again, is when it would happen (in other words, not chart, but also not use any birth control).  But it could happen really quick.  Is that crazy?  I will be over 35 for second child.  Do you recommend trying for #2 real soon after #1 (because of the age) or waiting a couple years?

photo_nut

I had my first at 36, it took 6 months ttc. I will have #2 at 39, I took only 2 months ttc. Age was not an issue at all.  Age never played a factor in my decision, it was DD and her allergies and being high maintenance, so I waited 3 years between kids. My grandmother had babies until she was 44

ktwilley

Ah if only it was this easy!! 

I started trying at 32 1/2 and will be 35 1/2 when my first is born. Because of my history and my age I won't be waiting long to try again unless I find that having a newborn is completely overwhelming which is entirely possible. I don't think being over 35 in itself is a huge risk factor. The odds of things going wrong aren't that much higher from year to year. For my age my odds of the trisomys was something like 1:350, but when I did the testing they were changed to 1:8:000 or so.

Good luck with TTC.  

Sunny70

We went with the "we'll just see what happens" thing  and I got pregnant after only 2 periods, and while I was BF. Little one was 6 months old. I am a little nervous about having 2 so close in age (14 1/2 mos.) but I also didn't want to push the age envelope as I have several friends who had major conception issues after 40 and others with autistic children they had when they were older.  I will be 40 about one month after DD#2 is due. It really depends on how you feel and what you want. I think there are positives and negatives for every scenario but ultimately you and your DH will know what feels right.

JenninMA

I had DD a month before I turned 35 and we decided to try again when she was 15 months and go for a two year gap thinking it could take a while. Got pregnant right away (still BFing and only had two pp periods in between). I've found having them close together to be somewhat crazy but mostly really good.

estellababy

I am 37 and will be 38 when baby gets here.  It only took 2 months to get this baby made and we had never made a dilligent effort to make a baby before.  I think we will see how things go with this little guy before we decide to have another.  I don't want to have babies that are like 12 months apart!

mwd

It only took 3 months to TTC with DS#1 @ 38, but it took 7 months with current pregnancy @ 40. My children will be roughly 2 years and a few weeks apart, if everything goes according to schedule, maybe closer. With the second, we didn't conceive until I decided that maybe one was enough. I guess have the first child, then decide how close you want to have the kids. DS is not a high maintenance child, but evryone is different.  Good Luck!   

LyndaCarter

We waited a year and a half after the first to try again. I wanted them to be about 2 years apart for my sanity, but still have them close enough in age to play together for a lot of years. Nothing ever seems to go as planned since we lost that baby, but I got pregnant the first time every single time. We're looking at them being 2.75 years apart or so now which is close enough.

thriftyfinds4u

You said you are 34 and are TTC - when planning for baby #2 I would take into consideration how long it takes you to get pregnant with baby #1.  If you concieve right away - there shouldn't be any reason to rush into a 2nd pregnancy. 

I had my first two babies back to back at age 27 and 28.   Having my babies 15 months apart was challenging - they both wanted 100% of my attention, two cribs, two midnight feedings, etc....

I am 16 weeks away from delivering my 3rd baby - and I am 41. 

lulumamaisfun

I had my first at 20, my second at 22, my third at 40, and am pregnant with my fourth right now at 41. It took me a whole week to conceive each! I think two years apart is a nice spread.