“When are you having Baby #2?!”
I can’t tell you how often I’m asked when we’re going to expand our family. It’s almost as if once your first baby turns 1, there’s an instant assumption that you’d begin trying immediately (as if the chaos of managing life with a 1 year old isn’t hard enough! Ha). Plus, many of my friends are starting to get pregnant again so I think it’s only natural to wonder when or if you’ll have that itch too.
Both Bill and I do want to have another child, but truth be told, we’re not ready quite yet. I’m honestly hesitant because being pregnant means I’ll be med-free again, which scares me to say the least. MS relapses after giving birth are so common and the thought of something happening to me when I have two children to care for is nerve-wracking to think about.
Last time around, I was so fortunate with Chloe and believe my heavy doses of steroids – which I started immediately following her birth – were the reason I was so lucky. Certainly I could follow the same plan next time around but you never know what will happen (oh the joys of MS!). So, back to the original question – “when are you going to have a 2nd baby?”…. 
Well, we are hoping to wait another year or so before we expand our family. What are we waiting for, you may ask? Well, we’re hoping to do these 3 things first (and yes, of course I have a pre-baby to-do list!):
#1. Get my business off the ground
My biggest focus this year is getting my business up and running. It’s hard enough starting something from scratch but doing so with two babies would be very tough. (If you haven’t heard, I’ve started my own social marketing biz which you can ready about here).
I’m hoping to use the next year plus to prove myself and my capabilities, focus on building my client base and smooth out any kinks and processes.
#2 Enjoy the perks of having just 1
It’ll come as no surprise to anyone reading this that I love my time alone with Chloe. She’s my bud and a part of me never really wants to lose that 1:1 time we share.
For us, having one child has become part of our norm. We take Chloe everywhere – to social outings to run errands to the grocery store – so hoping to enjoy that for a bit longer.
Traveling is also sooooo much easier with one regardless if you take them with you or leave them with grandma. Bill and I have a big trip planned for next winter to go on a safari in South Africa (always been a dream of mine to go!) so we’re lucky to be able to rely so heavily on our moms to do so. I imagine it would be a lot tougher to leave two so we are relishing that luxury while we can.
#3 Make sure my medication is working
Determining and selecting the “right” MS medication was a big deal and my doctor advised that I stay on my medication for at least 18-24 months to gauge effectiveness. It takes your body a while to adjust and after taking the risk of getting pregnant immediately after my diagnosis (and subsequently not going on a medicine for over a year), I don’t want to take any other chances. I’ve now been on Tysabri for a year with great results so far so fingers crossed…
But, with all that said, I’d love to have another one day and I know Bill does too. So, we will see, take our time and hopefully all will fall into place!
Anonymous
August 22, 2017 at 3:52 pm
You could wait a few years before having a second — and have your little girl all to yourself.