Baby fever but DD is only 6 weeks old?

[lizsky]

Anyone else experience this really early on? If so, what did you do in terms of your timeline for TTC?

It caught me off guard that I would already be dreaming of a 2nd child, when I am just getting to know my 1st. And I feel especially surprised by this feeling given the fact that my DD is still waking up 3x a night, fussing a lot during the day, and my body is only just beginning to feel normal again.

Maybe its partly because DD's birth was a really positive experience? Maybe its age related? I'm 29 now and in my ideal world, I'd hope to have 2 more before I'm 35...I know it is not recommended to get pregnant right away and I'm not actually planning to TTC anytime soon. But my mom had secondary infertility, so I'm aware of that possibility and trying to figure out what makes sense for us.

[Kindermama]

It's all so beautiful and miraculous, why wouldn't you want to do it again...and again! We conceived when dd3 was 8 months old, so be careful what you wish for!

[prothyraia]

6 weeks? 6 hours after my first son was born, I wanted to have five more kids. Like....right then.

We waited 11 months before conceiving his brother, which was too soon, really, but I was impatient!

[akind1]

I ended up with a c-section and was asking about #2 before DS was even born (I so want a do-over!)

that said, I totally understand. I wouldn't mind #2 right away, like you I will be 29 this year, and I want to be at least pregnant again by 30. but I think for the best possible outcome - I want a VBAC - I need to let myself heal well so not going to try until DS is a year old. but if something were to happen sooner . . . well, that would be ok too!

so no, you aren't the only one!

[InMediasRes]

I had this after my second, but not after my first. I'm finding that now that DD (#2) has passed one and is getting into toddler stage, it's waning a bit. Not that it's gone, because it's still there pretty strong, but I do have break through days where I think it wouldn't be a good idea. If you are planning on waiting anyway, just know that it might not stay that strong once you get past the birth high.

[zjande]

Originally Posted by prothyraia

6 weeks? 6 hours after my first son was born, I wanted to have five more kids. Like....right then.

We waited 11 months before conceiving his brother, which was too soon, really, but I was impatient!

This is me, too. My "baby fever" never goes away!

What I personally do is figure out the very earliest that I would be comfortable with my current baby not having my breast milk & don't TTC one second before then. Most womens' milk dries up while pregnant, mine does completely around 14-18 weeks. So, my personal line is 12 mos- I won't ever TTC before my youngest is at least 12 mos old because that's the minimum # of months I'd like him to get breastmilk. (But, to be honest, if I knew I had some infertility issues to deal with, AND I wasn't a spring chicken anymore, lol, I'd probably start a little bit sooner).

[SaraBravo]

I remember dd being just a couple weeks and posting this same thread. Dd was a surprise and we weren't really in the financial position to have another baby. I even though I really wanted another baby it wasn't really a reality and I wanted to give dd as much 1 on 1 as I could but then when she was 4 months old I got a bfp and 8 months late born on his due date was ds. They are just shy of 13 months apart. I love it really. I didn't like being pg with such a little needy baby. The pregnancy scared me a lot I really realized how we really weren't ready for another baby. I actually got really depressed. It took me a while to get to a place where I could be happy and excited for this new baby.

Now though I wouldn't have it any other way. I love them being so close.

[Vegan Princess]

I too have had baby fever since having my daughter. While I was prego we thought we'd want our 2nd when DD was 2.5 or 3 but once she was born both DH and I knew we couldn't wait that long. I've been counting down until I can get prego again. I was 30 when DD was born, 31 now. I think I may want 3 but would want a bigger spacing between 2 and 3 so that life isn't too overwhelming...like when #1 and maybe #2 are in school. Anyhow, I knew I wanted to wait until DD was at least 1 to start trying. She is almost 15 months and we are going to start next month or in June....so they will be at least 2 years apart. I just worry about taking away the special mommy baby one on one time and don't want to gip her out of anything. I also see how active she is becoming and wonder what life will be like being up all night with a new one and then having to get up at 5:30 or 6 in the morning with an early riser toddler!

Cindy

[BarefootScientist]

I think there must be something your hormones do PP that causes this. It happened to me too, I don't know if it was as early as 6 weeks but certainly by 6 months I wanted another. Until he turned about 18 months. I'm just now starting to feel really ready (he's almost 3) and I am glad I waited, two kids that close would have been way too much for me.

I would really recommend waiting until your first is at least a year before you decide to TTC again. This way she can get a year of breastmilk and you can maybe have a better idea what you're in for. I know a lot of people are the opposite, but for me the baby stage was so easy and pleasant. I could have taken four more. But the toddler stage has been...difficult to say the least. And I would have conceived when my first was only 6 months, I would have ended up having two toddlers! That's something to consider.

Good luck with whatever you decide and enjoy your baby!

[lizsky]

Originally Posted by zjande

:
What I personally do is figure out the very earliest that I would be comfortable with my current baby not having my breast milk & don't TTC one second before then.

Good point! I think this will help me to be patient.

Originally Posted by BarefootScientist

I would really recommend waiting until your first is at least a year before you decide to TTC again. This way she can get a year of breastmilk and you can maybe have a better idea what you're in for.

Yeah, I know I'm a 1st time mama and I don't truly know what the toddler stage is like...but I've been a fulltime nanny of babies and toddlers, so I can sort of imagine it. I think that if I had started when I was younger I'd probably try to aim for 3 year spacing, but as it is, I'm probably going to aim for 2 year spacing because I don't know if it will be as easy to conceive a 2nd or a 3rd (my mom had secondary infertility that worsened as she aged).

I guess I'm just surprised that this feeling has been so strong despite the sleep deprivation of the newborn stage. I kind of miss growing a baby inside me and I'm looking forward to doing it again if we are able to conceive.

[BarefootScientist]

Originally Posted by lizsky

Yeah, I know I'm a 1st time mama and I don't truly know what the toddler stage is like...but I've been a fulltime nanny of babies and toddlers, so I can sort of imagine it.

I didn't mean to imply you had no idea what you were getting into. If you were a nanny, you probably are way more prepared than I was.

[geo_girl]

...choices about when to have children have never been an issue for us.

I don't get my PPAF for a (relatively) long time, which, has delayed each conception....

cheers,
charlene

[Abraisme]

I had this too, I think it's partially hormonal. I couldn't wait to have another baby when mine was only a few weeks old... It eased up around 3mo. Now I'm 9mo pp and am starting to think about it again (not that my cycle has returned yet)..

[Drummer's Wife]

My PP periods never returned until around their first birthday - but I recall feelng similar. Part of it, I think was missing being pregnant. Also, all the anticipation and excitement, especially towards the end of each pregnancy. Funny, b/c I always feel soooo done by like the 8th month and can't wait to meet my new baby, so the last weeks drag and I'm uncomfy wondering if my body could go through this again. But then I fall in love wih that tiny newborn and want 10 more.

I have four, all 23-25 months apart - and I think that anything closer would have been rough in the beginning. So, I guess I'm glad that my fertility took a while to come back b/c it spaced my babies out nicely. By the time they turned a year and were walking the babY fever was really strong, but having a newborn and a barely 1 yo would have been a big challenge for me.

[kalamos23]

I was a nanny for years for NB-12yos and am the oldest of 9 kids - nothing prepared me for DD! I still am glad we waited until 11mo to TTC so she wouldn't lose her boobies and now, a year later, we still aren't pregnant, and I still don't regret waiting that long to TTC even had I known we would have problems getting pregnant and keeping the baby.

Honestly, I would have had a 2mo had the first baby lived, and that would have been ROUGH, let me tell you, DD is high needs, and wow. Enjoy your little one while she is still little

[Thandiwe]

I think for me it was related to the high I felt from a really awesome birth. I experienced that with my last baby (nearly 12 weeks old). We had been talking about dh getting a vasec but instead I went in this past week and got the Paragard iud inserted. I decided I am not ready to be done but we are also not ready for another baby. Knowing me, in some sleepy state late at night with my husband, I would justify not using protection because of my baby-high... and regret it the next day. This way at least the door stays open, but it requires thought in the daytime!

[HappyHelpmate]

I totally wanted more babies immediately after the birth of each of mine. My first 2 are 26 mo's apart and we DO want more, but we're waiting. I think I have perpetual baby fever, but when I consider what life would be like with 2 very little ones, I'm happy to wait to space them 2-3 yrs.

OP- I think you've got the right idea, trying to space yours ~2yrs. It makes sense in your situation. But you're definitely normal for wanting one right now. They're SO SWEET as newborns- How could you NOT want more, right?

[smeisnotapirate]

I'm feeling the same way - my HBAC with Naomi (right now only 4 weeks old ) was so incredible that I feel like I would do it again in an instant. I'll be waiting a year to TTC, though, because I want her to get at least a year of breastmilk. That being said, I'm pretty sure that she won't stop nursing even if I dry up - her brother nursed through this pregnancy and now I'm tandeming a 2yo and a newborn. I'm loving this spacing and hope #3 will be similar.