How much pre-planning did you do when TTC #2? Specifically time of year....

[hudsonam]

We had a Christmas baby with the first one, so we are definitely hoping to avoid that time period. We didn't plan it at all the first time. Well, we planned it, but didn't think that far ahead, and we were lucky and got pg on the first try, and I didn't expect that. So we are definitely planning what time of year to start trying. :)

[hudsonam]

We had a Christmas baby with the first one, so we are definitely hoping to avoid that time period. We didn't plan it at all the first time. Well, we planned it, but didn't think that far ahead, and we were lucky and got pg on the first try, and I didn't expect that. So we are definitely planning what time of year to start trying. :)

[cmo]

We also tried to avoid the Christmas season. I have a December birthday, a friend with a Dec. 25 b'day, and 2 friends with DCs born within a few days of Christmas, and for all of us, the busyness of the season does steal a some thunder from birthday hoopla, and makes party planning a little more challenging. DC #2 came along fast when we were TTC, so it didn't come up, but when TTC #3, I admit to taking a month off (DC3 turns 1 next month!).

Chris

[cmo]

We also tried to avoid the Christmas season. I have a December birthday, a friend with a Dec. 25 b'day, and 2 friends with DCs born within a few days of Christmas, and for all of us, the busyness of the season does steal a some thunder from birthday hoopla, and makes party planning a little more challenging. DC #2 came along fast when we were TTC, so it didn't come up, but when TTC #3, I admit to taking a month off (DC3 turns 1 next month!).

Chris

[megs4413]

yes! we were aiming for a baby in March/April/May...we wanted to avoid a truly "winter" child and i diidn't want to be pregnant once it was getting hot outside. so we were aiming for just after flu season, but before summer. SPRING! dd's birthday is in april, and we thought it was the perfect time of year to have a baby. i also wanted my first trimester of pregnancy to occur over the late summer because we had lined up help (i have HG and am hospitalized for a good portion of the first tri) from a college student who would be out of class.

having said that, my due date is in march, but i'm getting ready to deliver in the next few weeks (possibly) so we planned planned planned, but sometimes it's not up to you! we may just hit the height of flu season and all the cold weather!!! and we were lucky to conceive quickly in order to hit our "window".....that could also be an issue.

whenever a baby comes into the world, is the perfect time.....good luck with TTC!

[megs4413]

yes! we were aiming for a baby in March/April/May...we wanted to avoid a truly "winter" child and i diidn't want to be pregnant once it was getting hot outside. so we were aiming for just after flu season, but before summer. SPRING! dd's birthday is in april, and we thought it was the perfect time of year to have a baby. i also wanted my first trimester of pregnancy to occur over the late summer because we had lined up help (i have HG and am hospitalized for a good portion of the first tri) from a college student who would be out of class.

having said that, my due date is in march, but i'm getting ready to deliver in the next few weeks (possibly) so we planned planned planned, but sometimes it's not up to you! we may just hit the height of flu season and all the cold weather!!! and we were lucky to conceive quickly in order to hit our "window".....that could also be an issue.

whenever a baby comes into the world, is the perfect time.....good luck with TTC!

[redhookmom]

The third time I did give some thought to the kindergarten cut off. My first was very young kindergartner and I had to decide between preK, K and preFirst. The same will be true for my second. So, I did sort of plan for an old kindergartner the third time around.

[redhookmom]

The third time I did give some thought to the kindergarten cut off. My first was very young kindergartner and I had to decide between preK, K and preFirst. The same will be true for my second. So, I did sort of plan for an old kindergartner the third time around.

[octmom]

We started TTC when we were ready for #2 and didn't try to plan for any particular time of year. It took a while for me to get pg the first time around, so I just wanted to get pg again and didn't care what time of year the baby would be born. We were lucky that it didn't take very long for me to get pregnant the second time.

Jerilyn
DS, 10/03
DD, 3/06

[octmom]

We started TTC when we were ready for #2 and didn't try to plan for any particular time of year. It took a while for me to get pg the first time around, so I just wanted to get pg again and didn't care what time of year the baby would be born. We were lucky that it didn't take very long for me to get pregnant the second time.

Jerilyn
DS, 10/03
DD, 3/06

[o_mom]

DS1 is a September birthday. I would avoid August/September/October from a school standpoint. DS1 will be just weeks away from 6 years old when he starts Kindergarten. That is way too late, IMO, but unless we shell out big bucks for a private school it can't be changed. We knew it was not ideal when TTC, but when you are paying the RE out of network rates you don't sit around waiting for a "good month". :-)

So, when planning DS2 and DC3, we were basically trying to avoid that again. I also hated being 8-9 months pregnant in the dead of summer, so that was another consideration.

[o_mom]

DS1 is a September birthday. I would avoid August/September/October from a school standpoint. DS1 will be just weeks away from 6 years old when he starts Kindergarten. That is way too late, IMO, but unless we shell out big bucks for a private school it can't be changed. We knew it was not ideal when TTC, but when you are paying the RE out of network rates you don't sit around waiting for a "good month". :-)

So, when planning DS2 and DC3, we were basically trying to avoid that again. I also hated being 8-9 months pregnant in the dead of summer, so that was another consideration.

[billysmommy]

With dc1 I knew I wanted a spring baby (I really wanted to have the summer off!!!) and we were finally ready to TTC the end of August. It happened the first month and ds was born in the beginning of May (exactly 3 weeks early)

When we TTC dc2 I wanted to try for another spring baby (I really wanted another summer off and could use most of the same maternity/baby clothes as last time as we didn't find out the gender with ds1) and we started trying in June. Well I got pregnant the beginning of Sept (1 week after the date with ds1 - yes we have exact dates :) ) Ds2 was born in May also - 5 days after his brother's b-day and exactly 3 weeks early also!!

The only thing I was hoping for was for their birthdays to be at least a week apart but we'll just have lots of parties the first week of May :)

[billysmommy]

With dc1 I knew I wanted a spring baby (I really wanted to have the summer off!!!) and we were finally ready to TTC the end of August. It happened the first month and ds was born in the beginning of May (exactly 3 weeks early)

When we TTC dc2 I wanted to try for another spring baby (I really wanted another summer off and could use most of the same maternity/baby clothes as last time as we didn't find out the gender with ds1) and we started trying in June. Well I got pregnant the beginning of Sept (1 week after the date with ds1 - yes we have exact dates :) ) Ds2 was born in May also - 5 days after his brother's b-day and exactly 3 weeks early also!!

The only thing I was hoping for was for their birthdays to be at least a week apart but we'll just have lots of parties the first week of May :)

[candybomiller]

I do NOT want to have a November baby. If I don't get pregnant this month, we'll take a month off before we try again. The time between Halloween and Thanksgiving is really, really hard for me and I don't think I could handle a newborn and PPD on top of already being severely depressed anyway.

[spanannie]

After having 2 children born in late June, and seeing how the vast majority of people are holding their kids back now, if I try for #3, I will definitely aim for a fall baby. It would be nice to have a child which is naturally the oldest in their class, instead of having to make the decision of whether or not to repeat PreK or K (which we're having to do right now). My son will be 1 yr - almost 2 yrs younger (than the held back children) when he starts K if I don't hold him back.

With my first 2 kids, I didn't even think about timing. I just happened to conceive them both within one day of each other, so they have the same birthday, 2 yrs apart.

[kdeunc]

I wanted my babies born in the same "season". We are pretty lucky with TTC so I have two december boys, 2 years and 8 days apart (DS 2 decided to arrive 3 weeks early). If we have # 3 we are looking at a spring baby, no more December birthdays!! :)

[elephantmeg]

We planned (and got luck to get preg 1st try with #1) to have a spring baby so that when mat leave would be over, work would be a little less busy (early summer) and flu season would be pretty much over. We're going to shoot for about the same for #2-maybe try for March instead of Feb

[infocrazy]

Since I am a WOHM, I was all about the summer maternity leave! Especially living in Michigan! We have been very lucky so far TTC and DS1 was born end of July, and DS2 is due mid-May.

All in all though, we feel so blessed and will take 'em whenever we can get 'em!

[wencit]

I did a lot of pre-planning with #1 and knew that I would be happy for various reasons if the baby was born sometime between March through October. I considered school cut-off dates, Christmas/New Year's birthdays, cold & flu season, my birthday, DH's birthday, our wedding anniversary, Chinese astrological signs..... (Yes, I have a neurotic, type A personality!)

We got lucky on our first try, but like PPs have mentioned, if I had any trouble conceiving, all that would have gone out the window and been trumped by the fact that I wanted to have a baby, period. If and when we try for #2, I'll probably try to aim for the same general timeframe and hope for the best.

[kijip]

When we first tried for #2 I was living under the delusion that I had some sort of control over it and we not only aimed for a spring/ early summer baby, we were hell bent on having one. I remember being so silly that I thought that if we did not get a summer baby, we would stop TTC and just wait for the next summer. LOL. Of course after 2 MC, we no longer gave a rat's butt about the time of year. I can seemingly get pregnant within 1-3 cycles of trying with no issues but had 4 totally unexplainable mc in a row before we called it quits. My last lost pregnancy would have been born in November 2005 so the whole aiming for summer thing was long gone. When we start trying again, I will be just as thrilled with a December baby as I thought I was going to be about another summer baby.

[emily_gracesmama]

We did try to plan the first time, my husband's work schedule is heavy from March-October so we wanted to have the baby ideally in October, but I had an ectopic the first time which threw us off for a few mths and then I got pregnant with our daughter who was born in May 05. Started thinking about #2 when she was 13 mths, "accidentally" got pregant that month, but miscarried which threw us off for trying for about four mths, by the time my body was back to normal and then had a chemical pregnancy the next time out. Then when we were supposed to wait a month before trying again, I got pregnant with current baby due in August. Planning for us never seemed to work out, I am glad that we at least sort of started trying when our daughter was 13 mths since it took us another 6 mths to get a successful pregnancy. We take the baby when we can get it whatever month it comes :)

[karolyp]

Since I live in FL - I tried to plan it so I wouldn't be preggo in the summer! I couldn't imagine being 7-9 months in July or August - that would be so hard!!!

[Piglet]

We didn't plan any of our kids by time of year. Once we were ready to TTC, we went for it. I hardly put any thought into the birth month. You always find good and bad for any time of year. DS1 was born in the middle of summer (July) , which is nice for mat leave and flu season, but isn't great when you are 9 months pregnant in the heat or for the fact that all his friends are away on his birthday. DS2 (March) was great because I wasn't really PG in the summer, but I missed the school cut-off with him by 10 days. I don't mind that I will have to hold him back a year, but I don't like that I *have* to hold him back - I want to make the choice, not the school board. DC3 is due in May, which is fine with me - I was just happy that it took us less time to TTC#3 than it took for DS2. If you look at virtually any month, you will see pros and cons. It all depends on your perspective, I think.

[hillview]

We have infert issues to deal with so we started ttc as soon as we felt like it after DS.
/hillary

[SnuggleBuggles]

I was so prepared to plan it. I wanted to get pg in March so that I could be home in the AM alone while ds is at school and rest. I thought that being in the 2nd trimester in the summer would be fine- I didn't want to be in the 3rd trimester in the summer. I certainly didn't want to be due end Aug/ begin Sept.. And if I was pg 3rd trimester in the fall I could nap while ds was at school. Seemed like a good plan!

Then I started thinking about ideal timing wrt schools. I would prefer a winter or spring b-day so that I didn't have to consider another summer boy or feel like I had to pay for another year of preschool just b/c dc missed a school cut off by a few weeks if they had a fall b-day.

I didn't really care about family b-days but I didn't want a Christmas b-day.

Of course, all that went out the window when I got baby fever and started trying in Dec.. That would put me very pg in the summer and due in Sept.. So much for common sense and planning! We'll see next week if our attempt #1 was a success (unlikely but looking hopeful currently :)).

Beth

[suzska]

Honestly, we shot for that same time period with both our children. For pretty much the same reason--I didn't want to be hugely pregnant in the summer. (I had to listen to my mom's stories when I was growing up about having my brother in 100 degree weather....His birthday is in August.) We got lucky both times and got pg right away. In fact, Alina's due date was 3 years 2 days after Evan's at the end of March. And I took the hpt for Alina 3 years to the day after I had taken the first one for Evan. That sort of made it extra special for me. But they both came early. His birthday is March 11th. Hers is March 7th. And DH and I have birthdays in April. I have a TON of relatives and cousins-in-law that have birthdays in April, so every year at Easter my aunt gets a huge cake with all the April birthdays on it. And we have to sing Happy Birthday to each one, separately. (I was really shooting for April birthdays when ttc because of that, but ended up with March babies. And my cousin who is an April baby was shooting for the same thing, and she ended up with a May baby. But I agree, anytime is the perfect time.)

Really, we were very fortunate when ttc. These things can't always be planned.

Best of luck ttc!

[TraciG]

You know we decided spur of the moment ( kind of ) we fianlly got medical insurance & I'm going to be 37 in April & Sydney is 3 BUT now that we started trying this month I just realized if I end up being pregnant the baby will be due the same month as Sydney & that doesn't thrill me at all !!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe just now I realized this, that wouldn't be fun planning birthday parties so close together !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

[pb&j]

In an ideal world, I'd love to have another jan/feb baby. For the totally ridiculous reason that I already have the right size maternity/baby clothes for the right season. I'd hate to have a baby due in Aug/Sept - I only have 1 pair of maternity shorts! ;) But given our history, when we're ready, we'll let nature take its course, and really won't care one way or the other.


-Ry,
mom to Max the one year old
and my girl in heaven

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/37124.gif

[MarisaSF]

There's a rare medical condition that runs in the family that is supposedly more common among children born in winter months (no idea why), so we hoped to avoid winter months and have our babies born April-October. If we didn't get pregnant during those months, we planned to wait for the next year.

When we found out we were expecting this May, we were excited because it will be easier for DH to take vacation then. He doesn't get a real paternity leave and it's easier (and more flexible) to take time off in the spring; the summer weeks get blacked out pretty quickly. We didn't plan that, but it was nice benefit.

[punkrockmama]

Nope. We just let it happen...A lot... ;) That's how we planned ours. :)

I do like the idea of my kids being not too far apart. For us, a really big gap is not something that we'd like to do. So that's about as much thought as I put into it.

[saschalicks]

DS #2 was not planned. If I hadn't gotten pregnant w/DS#1 when I did I would've put it off for a couple of months so I wouldn't have had a a baby from mid July through October. No need to be in your last tri-mester in the summer.

[fattytuna]

I was born during the hottest days of summer. My mom always reminded me of her misery towards the end of her pregnancy. DD was born three days before my birthday. So I also remembered the miserable days towards the end. But in my opinion, I still think it's easier for me to have the baby in the summer - you don't have to worry about keeping them warm all the time when they are newborns. But there's always pro's and con's - the downside is by the time they are 5-6 months old and you can start taking them out, winter comes. DC #2 is due a week before DD's birthday. They will be two years apart. Didn't exactly plan it that way. But I don't mind. Although I might feel differently in the years to come since I have to plan two birthday partys a week apart every year.

[barbarhow]

Totally planned both of ours but we had no idea of what our TTC status would be so there was definately wiggle room. Our first was unbelievably a honeymoon baby. I had planned to use the sponge during our honeymoon because we were going to Paris and Provence and I knew we would be drinking wine, wine and more wine. My very good friend, who is an MD, pulled my DH aside at the wedding and said to scrap the sponge plan and just go ahead that the timing was such that we would not implant until after we got home. We tossed the sponges and got Jack. I had hoped for a spring baby so I could take the summer off of work. He came a little earlier than I thought I would have wanted but who could complain. With Anna we waited to TTC-I cahrted for 3 months prior to ttc. We followed TCOYF and were trying for a girl. It worked. She was born mid may and I took the summer off from work. PERFECT.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03, a Red Sox fan
and Anna 5/12/05, my little Yankee fan!

[SpaceGal]

DH's family is huge and there is practically a birthday every month. So with DS #1 we had let things happen and tada a February baby. For his family there are only a couple of people with February birthdays.

With DC #2 I knew that I wanted to be able to reuse DS #1 things so that meant aiming for the winter seasons...then we thought March would be nice, not very winter but still winter and also no one with a birthday in March.

So here's to hoping that DC #2 will be born in March, he/she is due March 10th and who knows if he/she will come early or not. I do hope not too early since DS is on 2/21.

Other than that, we did sorta preplan...next time I think we're aiming for the summer but who knows how I'll feel about #3 when I'm still pregnant with #2. :)

[C99]

My DH's family used to do the same thing w/ birthdays. They have since largely stopped the practice and just celebrate birthdays individually.

We did not really plan the timing of birth in any of our pregnancies - and in any case, my son was born 5 weeks before his EDD, so I learned early on that you don't always get what you plan!

[bisous]

We definitely timed and planned when we would have our children. But for different reasons than most everyone who posted here! My first DS is an October baby which was actually really nice. Yes it was tough to be pregnant in the summer but it was great to have the long winter months to get fit again before bathing suit season. Yes I am that vain! We originally planned on a spacing of 3 years between children but that was put off a few months by my Masters degree which I wanted to finish before the baby was born. Turns out our DC will be 3 years and 9 months apart which will be just fine. This one will be a summer baby and I'm not terribly thrilled with the prospect of going to the beach while 8 months pregnant but I'm happy that I'll have the fall, when DS is in preschool to recuperate and relax.

[JoyNChrist]

I was determined not to be pregnant during the summer, and with any luck I plan to avoid it with each additional child.

Louisiana is just SO hot and humid...April to October are miserable. I'm not super-comfortable with skimpy clothes as it is (and I tend to stay pretty thin), so I knew there was no way I'd be comfortable not being able to be covered well when I was pregnant. As I explained it to DH - "If you're cold, you can always put more clothes on. If you're hot, you can only take so much clothing off, then you're just stuck. I don't want to be the crazy naked pregnant lady." :-)

So we tried for a spring baby, and that's what we're getting. We'll probably try for the same time period (January to April) with our future children as well.

Of course, that's just a "plan" and we all know that they sometimes don't work out that way. So we'll see...

[hez]

How much pre-planning on time of year? None.

[MissyAg94]

Florida Mom here with an August baby. And you are right...the last couple of months were spent in tank tops, shorts and really swollen feet! But I don't get PG easily so I tried not to complain...too much. ;)

[jk3]

Anytime is a good time. Sometimes you don't get the luxury of planning.
Jenn
DS 6/03
& cautiously expecting in May!

[millerpjm]

Ok, let me start out by saying that DH's family gathers once a month to celebrate any/all birthday/anniversaries that fall within that month. When we were TTC #1, the family did not have any birthdays or anniversaries in February, March, or April, and all joked (sort of-they were sort-of serious too) that grandchildren needed to fill the spaces in those months. We just happened to get lucky the first month, and DS was born in February. He also has a cousin in February and one in April. Now, having told that story....

When TTC #2, did you have any specific months/times of the year you wanted/did not want to have #2? Did you try to plan or just "let it happen"? TIA!

Jen

[millerpjm]

Ok, let me start out by saying that DH's family gathers once a month to celebrate any/all birthday/anniversaries that fall within that month. When we were TTC #1, the family did not have any birthdays or anniversaries in February, March, or April, and all joked (sort of-they were sort-of serious too) that grandchildren needed to fill the spaces in those months. We just happened to get lucky the first month, and DS was born in February. He also has a cousin in February and one in April. Now, having told that story....

When TTC #2, did you have any specific months/times of the year you wanted/did not want to have #2? Did you try to plan or just "let it happen"? TIA!

Jen

[betsydenny]

We are totally strategizing #3. Don't want an October baby bc DH has big meetings out of town that month. Ridiculous to have to plan around these things but neither of us wants him to be away if I go into labor so we are holding off till next month which ought to set us up for a Thanksgiving baby or a month later with a Christmas baby. Not ideal but I want to get on with it.

Checked out the due dates on baby center according to my period and everything. And we even have an ovulation monitor (rotated between friends- worked great the past 2 times for us and about 4 other kids too!) so we can get the best shot at it. My Dad laughs at us for being so scientific about it, but DH and I are total planners. Our friends have known for months athat February is our target for conception. Total TMI but they are amused and supportive. Thank goodness.

We did think about school cut offs and are in a bind on that as NYC cut off is Dec 31 so a fall baby would be the youngest but NJ (where we might move someday) is Sept 31 so baby would be the oldest. Basically tho we just want to get on with it so once Feb hits....

So there you go. Maybe someday we will be less strategic but I doubt it. Had 4 kids named before the first was concieved- guess we are just planners...

:-) Cheers, Betsy

[thomma]

I never wanted a Fall baby because I teach and didn't want to miss the first few months of school. Then I got smacked in the face with infertility issues and didn't give a hoot when I was due.

Kim
ds&dd 5/03