Second Pregnancy Planning

Maybe you’ve got a bouncing baby who’s ready to take his first steps or a toddler who’s just waved bye-bye to diapers or even a bigger kid who’s ready to go to “real” school. No matter what age your firstborn is, you may be feeling nostalgic for those early infancy days and thinking dreamy thoughts about baby number two. So how can you determine if you’re ready to handle a second pregnancy — and a second child? While only you and your partner can truly decide what’s best for your family, there are a handful of factors to consider when figuring out if you’re ready to start planning your second pregnancy.

YOUR HEALTH DURING YOUR SECOND PREGNANCY

Just as you wanted to be as healthy as possible before making baby number one, you’ll want to be as fit as possible before tackling your second pregnancy. While experts say it takes at least a year to fully recover from pregnancy (what with the vitamin depletion, strain on your reproductive system, and weight fluctuations), there’s no rule that says you need to wait a full year before trying again. If you’ve gotten back to your prepregnancy weight, you’re eating well, and you’re feeling energetic enough to plow through a second pregnancy (well, as energetic as you can feel while taking care of a little tyke!) there’s no reason not to go for baby number two as soon as you’d like. Here are some pros and cons to consider if you’re thinking about back-to-back pregnancies:

Health Pros for Back-to-Back Pregnancies

If you’re concerned about your age and fertility, the sooner you start your second pregnancy, the younger (and probably more fertile) you’ll be.Your first baby will likely keep you moving (good physical activity!) throughout your second pregnancy.You probably won’t have time to agonize over every pregnancy symptom since you’ll be busy round-the-clock.

Health Cons for Back-to-Back Pregnancies

During your second pregnancy, you won’t be able to rest (or sleep) as much as you’d like since you’ll have your firstborn clamoring for your nearly constant attention.Unlike your first pregnancy, you’ll be required to do some heavy lifting.

Another factor to consider: how you want tospace your children. Chances are if your little one's clamoring for a younger sib, you'll get bitten by the baby bug all over again. So once your (rubber) ducks are in order, get ready for the baby-making to begin again!