Trying to get pregnant for the second time?

When to have a second child

The decision of exactly when the time is right can be a very personal choice depending on how easy caring for your first child has been, whether or not you want to achieve anything more at work before taking another maternity leave, how you think your toddler or child is going to react to the arrival of a new sibling and so on.

From a physical point of view, it’s good to allow your body some proper recovery time before getting pregnant again – ideally waiting at least a year after your last birth before you start trying for a second baby.

The other thing to consider is what else is going on in the lives of you and your first child. For example, will the new baby arrive just as your first is going to school for the first time? If so, this isn’t necessarily a problem, but you will have to be mindful that your first child might regard school as purely a convenient way of packing him off each day so you can be with your new baby.

Trying for a second baby

Don’t expect your chances of getting pregnant second time around to be the same as when you first got pregnant. If the first child took a long time to come along, perhaps this time you’ll get pregnant straight away. However don’t expect it to automatically be ‘been there, done that’ plain sailing.

Bear in mind that you are at least a couple of years older now and it might well be that with one child already in your life that you are not having sex as regularly as you once were, or that tiredness and daily stress are hampering your efforts.

If you do find that getting pregnant seems to be taking longer this time, don’t’ feel downhearted. If you can, maybe get the grandparents to look after your child while you both get away for a romantic, relaxing weekend – it can really help put you both on the right track.
And if you don’t get pregnant after six to 12 months, maybe think about talking to your GP sooner rather than later.