Okay, I am a mom of an only...but we wanted more. We tried for years to have a baby only to face miscarriages and a stillborn daughter (at 36 weeks). When I finally gave birth to my son (who is now 4) I was relieved and terrified. I knew that I couldn't go through another pregnancy and maintain the sanity needed to be a good mom, and I couldn't risk going through the chance of not getting pregnant again. So I had my tubes tied.
It was the best decision I made, as 6 months ago my son was diagnosed with Aspergers. While it explains why he has been more difficult than other kids, it also means that he requires more attention and different parenting. Now we are able to give him the attention he needs without feeling like we are neglecting anyone.
I really would have loved to have had a houseful, and I admire those that do...but now that we have the family we do I wouldn't want it any other way.

The second time around was a whole new ball game. I learned so much from my firstborn, my son. He was a challenging baby; colicky, prone to sleep problems, totally reliant on his soother, and a picky eater! (And of course I love him dearly :)

Upon learning I was pregnant with twins I decided to do things differently this time around. No soothers, no rocking/feeding them to sleep at night, setting schedules for naps and bed times (dependent on age), and NOT catering to picky eating! (Providing healthy food at each meal and snack time and letting them eat what they wanted.)

I will never know if it was the nature of my girls or what I learned from the first born but second time around was actually easier. For one we did not have the colic to tend to (so very stressful all round), and the girls were easy to get into regular sleep patterns (probably because I actually put them in bed before they were sleeping 99% of the time!)

Delivery was 10 hours shorter the second time around with no epidural. I like to think my body 'knew' what to do. Recovery was amazingly fast.

Second time around was a very positive experience. I wanted to go for fourth time but hubby thought not ;) I think having to help feed at night every two hours during the first months turned him off. Heh.(I would take turns breastfeeding one/bottle feeding the other with each feeding. He had to HELP at night this time ;)

I only have one right now.... we are expecting #2 in July. This pregnancy has been very different, and so was everything leading up to it. We got pregnant with the first try of fertility with the first, and this one took much longer. My symptoms are different and my feelings are different. We will see how it all works out! :)

This my second pregnancy. I'm due in the fall. Everything feels different this time. Last time i was tired but...I didn't have a 2 year old to run behind.
Last time I wasn't afraid of labor. Having endured natural childbirth once i'm already reading up the different forms of pain relief. I welcome this little baby, i can't wait to see him or her but I do not have a fairytale in my head. I rmember walking the floor with my first, for what seemed like hours and i'm ready to do it again.

I am a mom of one with no plans of having a second right now. I had very few symptoms during my pregnancy and a text book delivery. I loved every second of being pregnant. My daughter now 19 months, is an angel and has been wonderful from day one. I guess some of my fear about having a second comes from this question, "What is different the second time around?" How bad is it going to be. If everything went this good with the first one, it must being coming back to get me if I do it again :) I only hope the second time I do this I will love the experience just as much.

Hey...it' so great to see of my cousins on here!!! How are you? Janice....there's another box on the way...this time with good GAP stuff, etc. Tell Nate no toys tis time so he's not disappointed, but will be next time!I hope to get Cameron to Detroit for Roy's wedding so everyone can mete Him! That darned airfare!!

I only have 1 son, who turns 5 YEARS OLD in a few days. Where did the time go? Since I only have ONE, I can't tell the difference, but after having Cam, I found I would have loved to have more.

My advice would be to start earlier than I did, even if you think you only want ONE, you very well change you mind like I did, but then it's too late. I got pregnant at 37, and birthed at 38. Since I was "Advanced Maternal Age" (ha,ha) I had more problems, like bleeding throughout and pre-eclampsia, and had to induce 5 weeks early for my health. It made me and my husband weary about another, and my OB Doc wasn't real keen on the idea, until a year later when he said it would be O.K.

Well, now that would put me at almost 41 for my second child if I got pregnant right away after his approval. By then my hubby had a vasectomy!! We would have to try and reverse it. Being 20 years older than a lot of women giving birth,it takes more out of you and to add another on top of everything, like full-time working we felt would be too much.
I ALSO HAD 2 TEENAGE STEP-KIDS EVERY OTER WEEKEND TO TAKE CARE OF. (TEY USUALLY DID THEIR OWN THING THOUGH)

My advice to young Moms wit zeo or one child, keep your mind open. But people feel different once their child gets to be 3 or 4. I wish I had not been so picky, and married earlier and had more children. I know some people don't even get one, so I am lucky, and my son is sweet, so I am blessed and very appy wit him. Butwen I see a little baby, it all comes back and I wish I could ave anoter.

Hope this helps!! Cindy

When I had my second child, I felt strongly that I had rounded out the "set". When I was pregnant with my first, I was sure she was a boy. When I was pregnant with my second, I was sure SHE was a boy. What I got was two girls. And like I say, when my second daughter was born, I was soooooooo happy that now I had a "set" of girls. They were only 15 months apart in age, so it did not take long before they were wearing the same sized clothes, they share a bedroom with a bunk bed, on a Saturday morning like this one they get up super-early and keep each other amused - I don't even know they are up.

If I'd had a boy and a girl, I don't know how well this would work, but having two girls I have found to be the biggest saviour of my sanity. Playing with each other all the time they give me back my own time. Playing with each other all the time they have fights and learn how to get over the fights without me having to really think hard about teaching them social rules. Playing with each other they always have someone to bounce off their kid ideas, share their kid frustrations.

By the way, we also have two dogs. Having two dogs is a good idea like having two kids is a good idea. The two dogs play together so they are not bored when we're not home, when we take them to the park they fight with each other and strengthen their doggy-personalities. Some folks around here have "handbag dogs" (dogs that get carried around and think they are a human) and these dogs become really snappy and nasty - I always think that if only these dogs had another dog to practice being a dog with, they would not have such a superiority complex.

Anyway with kids, I'm glad that I had two - we have different problems to families who have more kids, or families who have one child. In my fantasy of motherhood I had more, but in our special circumstance (bicultural family travelling internationally pretty much every year) there is no way we could afford to live the lifestyle we lead. That said, if I were to have another one now, I would want to have TWO more and not one, because I wouldn't want the new one (who would be 9 years younger than my youngest) to be the odd one out. Now that I have witnessed the very good friendship my girls share, I would not want to make another child feel like the third wheel.

By the way, I was an only younger child (all my siblings are more than 11 years older than me) and so I guess my experiences / thoughts as a mother are coloured by this.