#2 - Kaneohe,HI

Go for it for sure. Don't worry about money, money comes and money goes...the gift of a second child for you and your husband, the gift of a sibling for your daughter, and most of all - the gift you give to the whole world and all of humanity with a new person to do great things is reason enough!

Your second baby might cure cancer, or be the best kindergarten teacher ever, or an amazing foster mom...you'll never know if you don't have him/her because you were worried about the money...what a loss for all of us!

Let us know when you get pregnant! (wink)

Hi Nashes MOM, I think it's great that you and your husband, plan and think ahead, I beleive every child needs a brother or sister. I think if most people wait til their finances are in better condition or wait till they are fianancially secure, they would never have kids, at your daughter being 11 months you do have time, it would be very exspensive to have 2 in diapers, but like you said it's up to you and your husband, it sounds like you are part of a very loving family, and who wouldn't want to share that love with another child. I have 3 my husband and I decided that we wanted at least 2000 in our savings before we had our first baby, well by the timehe was born we had close to 3000.00 in our savings, we knew from the start we were going to have more than one child, we wanted our babies no more than 2 years apart, casue we wanted them to be playmates and best friends when they got older, so we decide that my husband wanted to make Chief by the time our second child was born, he did we had two sons first who are 3 years and 4 months apart and the very best of friends and the same size, our 3rd child was a daughter and there us only 2 years and 4 month between her and Our second child, she is almost as tall as they are, all 3 are very close and are the best of friends, soGod blessed whatwe wanted, I was a stay at home mom, we lived off of one income, we didn't have everythingwe wanted, but we had everythingwe needed, and best of all my kids had their mom at home. The economy is in bad shape, but whos to say that won't change. You asked about having to kids under 2 well if you get pregnant now, your daughter will be about 20 months old, I don't think that's a bad thing, you will have your chalenging moments, but what mom doesn't. I say go for it, you sound like a mom who has a lot of love to give, and you know what that's what babies need, they don't care about money or the economy right not they just care that mom and dad is there to nurture them. J. L.

We have 3 children, and their age differences are 23 months and 18 months. I now have a almost 4.5yo, almost 2.5yo, and 11 mo. It is awesome!!! Now there are times that are seriously challenging and frustrating, but WAY more times that are sweet and very funny. My first two are girls, and they play together all the time and chatter together all the time. The conversations they have are so wonderful and often very funny. My baby is a boy, and his older sisters love to play peek-a-boo, chase, and generally boss him around. He ADORES them! When he and I go to pick the girls up from pre-school, he starts screaming with excitement to see them.

The 23 month age difference was really great. My daughter was really loving and nurturing, and sometimes too rough. I chose to discipline her only for intent, and just try to be careful about the rough hugs and pokes. (I said lots of things like, "I love how you're hugging your sister, but can you tickle her toes?") Anyway, once my second daughter was a little sturdier at about 3 months, I didn't have to be so careful and things got a lot easier. I always kept pacifiers and blankets in a place that she could reach, so if I ever needed to have her leave for a minute, I could ask her to help by getting me one. (She LOVED to help!)

I can tell you that the 18 month age difference was really challenging, especially for the first few months of my son's life. My 18mo daughter didn't understand taking turns on mommy's lap, and would often get upset when I had to nurse him. She had a hard time understanding what I meant by 'gentle', and I really felt bad having to let her be upset so I could take care of the baby. One real plus was how quickly my son could join in their play. However, that difficult time was really only a couple months, and then it got much easier.

All that being said, I imagine no matter what the age difference is, there is a period of adjustment and challenge. I suspect that it always takes a few months to get used to your expanded family, and managing the challenges that having a newborn brings. I have found that my capacities have grown as my family has grown. In many ways, I feel more relaxed and at ease with my 3 kids than I did when I had one.

Good luck to you during this exciting time. You sound like a natural mom, and I'm sure whenever you decide to have another baby, you guys will do great!

I go through the same thoughts as you, but I think when it comes down to it, no one will ever feel that they're 100% financially ready! If you want two under two, then go for it! :o) And if you decide to wait, then that's great too - just know that when you do decide to do it, not being financially ready shouldn't be your number 1 concern :o)

While I can't speak to having two under the age of two (we have a four year old and are expecting another in April), but I can speak to what thought process we went through in getting to this point. Our view is that you will never truly feel "ready" either in a financial aspect or some other obstacle that arises and makes you believe you should wait longer. I don't know your age, but for us while I'm not all that old yet, every other woman in my family had to have hysterectomies by one year older than I currently am, so we felt that as a safety measure to ensure we could have a child, we needed to trust that the Lord would only provide what we could handle. We opened the door of opportunity, and we are now blessed to be carrying a child. Like you, we have some question as to how the economy and workforce issues are going to play out, but we trust that everything will work out just fine for us in the end, even if it's different than we expected. You will have the added expense of two in diapers, so depending on your age and other factors, you might want to consider waiting until you'll be past that stage, but that's ultimately something only you can decide. I'd always thought I wanted my children closer together, but in the end I think this is going to work out perfectly. My son is old enough to understand it all, is very excited about the baby, and can't wait to help prepare for it's arrival and such. It's definitely an aspect I hadn't previously considered but ultimately is going to work out wonderfully for us in the end.

I'm not sure my insights are helpful, but best of luck to you!