Have your thoughts on family size changed?

Now that my daughter is a year old, I thought I’d feel ready to have another baby. But I almost feel the opposite: motherhood is so much harder than I expected it and even with mental health help I don’t feel like I’m coping well. My husband has said he’s sad we may never have another because he doesn’t think I’m mentally strong enough. We always wanted three but I feel like I’d be doing my daughter a disservice by having another. I don’t know how she’d feel, if she’d feel pushed aside or like we didn’t care about her anymore. I don’t know if she’d get along with a sibling. I don’t know how I could split my attention between two. I don’t want to compare them. I don’t want to resent them. I was an only child and I live far away from my parents. I don’t want my daughter to be lonely and I also don’t want all the pressure of caring for us as elderly people to fall on her when she’s an adult. I don’t know what it’s like to have siblings and had a great childhood with friends and spending time by myself. My husband has a brother and feels that it’s beneficial for kids to have siblings. It took me awhile to get pregnant so I feel like I need to make a decision now. But at the moment I don’t know how anyone has more than one kid. I’m just not enjoying the chaos like I thought I would. More often than not I just want to have a predictable life again. It sounds horrible but motherhood doesn’t feel “worth it” to me yet. I’m just so anxious and depressed and although I’m getting help it doesn’t seem to be enough yet. Maybe I’m just not a baby person and I’m looking forward to getting to know my daughter more as she gets older. I’m just worried she’ll be mentally ill like me and that I won’t be a good mum to her.
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Honestly, I could have written this! I'm one of two, as is my partner, and we have always said we want two. However, as much as I love my LO, I have found motherhood HARD and have genuinely questioned whether having a second is worth it x

I feel the same way, just not able to cope with whatever my daughter will need at that stage and a baby. I must mention I have struggled to cope with what most would describe a very easy baby lol! I feel that I cannot push myself and then have to pick up the pieces of something I expected might happen, we will all pay the price for that. Although I am one of two, my sister is 14 years younger and I moved away at 18 so not really familiar with having siblings.

We have also struggled, our baby has always been hard work! She still wakes multiple times a night and we are totally exhausted all the time so I can understand where you are coming from. It is much harder than I imagined too and the thought of another baby right now is just a no go for us! We would like her to have a sibling but really not sure we could cope with another baby any time soon x

@Claudia my baby is “easy” apparently too, which makes me feel worse about struggling to cope. I struggle to deal with disruptions to routine: they make me feel angry and panicked. I know she’s so little but I don’t know how to keep appointments/social engagements if she doesn’t nap/eat when she usually does. She’s missed out on so much because I’ve cancelled plans over anxiety 😞

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