Planning Irish Twins?

Risk of miscarriage is increased Also increased risk of complications in pregnancy and birth

@Aimee do you know which complications? I feel like 'increased risk of complications' is a very generalized statement that the medical field applies to any and every non-standard pregnancy situation. For example when something goes from a 0.05% chance to 0.09% chance, they use that same phrase. I'd like to get my hands on some numbers or facts if possible, so I can make an informed decision but I don't know what specific information to look into 😓

Not the same because same sex couple our initial intent was one of us carry and soon as that one was born the other start trying to concieve so they would be close age.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/getting-pregnant/in-depth/family-planning/art-20044072 https://www.nbt.nhs.uk/maternity-services/after-birth/postpartum-contraception/birthpregnancy-spacing https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/29/having-babies-less-than-a-year-apart-poses-risks-for-mother-and-child https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/110918-pregnancy-intervals

Con First child will still require alot of help doing things while you're tending to a newborn Not sure how old your current baby is?

So I planned on having kids close together but not very close. Since I’m 35, I know I don’t have much time left to carry babies. I didn’t plan this but we are now pregnant with our second kid. Our first baby is 7 months. I’d say it was a bit sooner than we wanted. It is a bit difficult having morning sickness and caring for my 7 month old. Breastfeeding makes me nauseous beyond belief which kills me cuz I loved bonding with my baby. It’s doable but be mentally ready if you do.

@Norma have you been advised of any specific concerns to watch for by your doctor? Or any increased risks that they identified? Yes the nausea would be awful...that's another con for sure.

@Megan my baby is 5weeks old. I think that would be the case anyway if we waited until we had a toddler. If anything, might be harder managing a little one that can run around, while tending a newborn. But yes managing 2 little humans at once will be tiring! That's a con I would have to accept in both scenarios.

@Aimee I am going to give these all a thorough read. Thank you!

Not really. My first OB expressed concern when I mentioned we planned to have babies close together. But this second OB seemed chill about it and not too worried about risks. She just wanted to know if I had any preconditions coming into the second pregnancy. Which I don’t. I guess those are things to consider. Prior preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, etc.

Con I got pregnant with my second when my son was 1 year exactly. It’s what we wanted but I didn’t realize how much harder the pregnancy would be on my body because the two pregnancies were so close together. My friend also had her second with the same age gap and she also found the pregnancy harder on her body. But it’s doable. Might have also seemed harder because we were also taking care of toddlers while we were pregnant 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m going to have 2 under 2. My oldest will be 20 month when I give birth. First trimester was hard cause my daughter had just turned 1 and was walking so it’s having to be normal for her. But if I’m honest I wanted my children close together because of my age and family having menopause in their 30s and I just turned 30 so if I wanted more than one I didn’t have time to waste.

I'm technically an Irish twin. My brother and I are only 11 months apart. My mum said it was hard but she benefited when we got a bit older as we both learnt things at the same time. She also didn't have to worry about a toddler running around whilst being pregnant. She couldn't breastfeed through so I think that may have made it easier once I came second. However apparently we were also extremely chill babies and rarely cried and slept through the nights from birth etc.

@Charlee OUR NAMES ARE SPELLED THE SAME

What kind of delivery did you have? Do you breastfeed? I had vaginal and my doctor said to give it 6 months, I think, before she felt comfortable. I originally wanted Irish twins but the thought of possibly having 2 non walking babies is crazy to me. I was 2 months pregnant at my son’s first birthday. I also agree that the second pregnancy was much harder on my body. Still would do it again.

@Michelle harder physically, like draining/tiring? Or were there other issues like nutritional deficiencies tjat you think it might have caused?

@Charlee I'll take 2 night sleepers too, please! 😅

If you had a c-section with the first, you risk scar separation during 2nd pregnancy if less than 12 months between pregnancies

@Haley 💚 I had a c-section and I do not breastfeed. I had a very rough 1st pregnancy in terms of tiredness, joint pain, nausea, high bp, etc. So I feel like I'm in for a bumpy ride either way. Was there anything in particular that you found harder the 2nd time around?

I fell pregnant at 6 months post partum as we wanted our kids close in age. He was 15 months old when our 2nd was born. My body couldn't breastfeed and grow a child so I had to accept I couldn't breastfeed my first anymore which I loved and missed. I found it a little harder physically as my 1st was learning to walk so I was heavily pregnant trying to bend to help him keep his balance, or when he did walk to chase him. Carrying him everything felt heavier. Leaning over the cot was harder with a bump, trying to change a crocodile rolling child for a nappy is tough 😂 ... however that could happen at any stage. Now, I love their age gap, they are so cute together, but! My almost 2 year old still needs me alot so on my own when hubby is working it's hard to be in 2 places, where as an older child wouldn't be as needy. I would say a small age gap is great, just maybe think 6 months plus

@Jane yes I have read that but I am wondering what the actual figures on that are. A 1% chance versus an 11% chance could make a bigger impact on my decision. I do not have a tight and toned little core either, instead I've got loose skin - so I feel like there is lots of room for expansion before it starts tugging on the incision. I think I'd only be concerned if it were to be twins.

@Cat crocodile rolling child has me laughing. Hmm yes, carrying a child around while pregnant would be a concern if child 1 doesn't walk yet. This is a good point.

I had my daughter via c section then got pregnant with my son 6 months later. My kids are 15 months apart. He was born a few weeks early because my uterus was very thin at the old c section site (only 6mm) and they were worried about uterine rupture. Overall everything turned out okay but there are risks to getting pregnant so soon.

@Nilo I think this is the biggest concern - uterine rupture (or maybe placental abruption). Can I ask how many weeks early did you deliver your son?

He was born at 36 weeks.

Op I was just extremely fatigued, joint pain, had gestational diabetes…basically you can expect all your normal pregnancy symptoms to be worse and happen sooner

My boy is 8months and a half and I'm 19w pregnant. The ideal minimum gap to get pregnant again after giving birth is 18 months but my midwife didn't seem concerned at all with my second pregnancy. For now, I just feel slightly more tired as I can't rest as much as I did in my first pregnancy but other than that I think it will be amazing watching them grow together and creating a bond so it'll be worth it. Having said that, this second pregnancy was not planned at all, our idea was to have a 2.5/3 years gap buuut it happened so here we are 😅

We had three very close in age. My first was January 2021, then February 2022 and last was may 2023. I found all pregnancies easy. I never had any illness during pregnancy. Is it easy having three kids all really close? Not always but most of the time yeah it is. They like similar toys and they help each other out. My last two had a bigger gap which I think was worse as I had two kids who could run and climb anywhere. With my second, the closer age gap meant my first was only just starting to walk.

My first was an IUGR baby, nausea was awful my entire pregnancy, I had aches and pains almost 24/7, and he was induced early since he wasn’t growing enough in the womb. We had NST’s every week twice a week for my 3rd trimester, it was exhausting. He’s now healthy 16 month old. We conceived our second when I was 4 months pp, call us crazy but my OB wasn’t worried about it. Second pregnancy was MUCH easier, she was born full term, no health issues whatsoever, it was an unremarkable pregnancy. Caring for my first while pregnant with my second wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Obviously we’re all different and every pregnancy is different. You’re weighing the pros and cons which is admirable. I really just wanted to share that it’s possible to have a healthy second pregnancy (the opposite is also true). At this point it’s all about risk vs reward and I know that’s a tough decision to make. Going from 0-1 kid was infinitely harder than going from 1-2 kids. Wishing you lots of health!