Well it's official I HAVE BABY FEVER again! In fact I've had baby fever for at least 2 months now, but the arrival of my best friends baby girl just moments ago has just accelerated it further and has prompted me to update my blog with this post.
Deep down I know Simon and I aren't quite ready for a second little one just yet, we've just got settled into a good routine with Cooper, work and daycare, and we are enjoying spoiling him and watching him grow, hitting every big milestone and in awe of his achievements. We are also enjoying the time we have alone together again now Coops is a little more independent and sleeping well, but most of all we are enjoying being a family of 3.
There's a lot to think about when planning for number 2, there's the logistics of having 2 under 2 or there abouts, the space at home in a 3 bedroom house, money and the amount of time to take off work. Financially we'd manage, although the cost of 2 in daycare scares the hell out of me, we'd make do for a year or so until Cooper headed into pre-school, I've never wanted money to be a reason not to have another baby, but the reality is in this day and age it has to be, at the very least, a consideration, after all you want your children to have the best life they can.
There are 2 major things that play on my mind when the thought of extending our family enters my mind; my Dad's reaction/opinion on the matter and my career/contract at work.
The first thing I can deal with, like the reaction when we told my Dad we were expecting Cooper, I know he will be concerned not just for me during the pregnancy or the stress of having two young children on our relationship but also about our finances and how we will be able to afford it. To clarify, my Dad is an accountant, he has always been one to stress about our bank balances even from a very young age, always stressing the importance of saving and never extending ourselves too far. He also knows we are saving for our first family home and he knows the stresses of raising a family / childcare and the cost of living in Canberra (one of the most expensive cities to live in in Australia) has on us. I respect my Dad a lot, I love him very much, but if there is one thing that causes arguments or tension between us it's money and his opinions on how we spend it or save it. I know that he will be thrilled for me when we announce a second pregnancy, but I am also all too aware of the financial advice and concern he will openly express.
Secondly there is work, my contract is 4 years long, I am currently a little over half way through and as you may have read in an earlier post I'm really in a good position career wise, with a supportive manager and good team of people around me. I would be lying though if I said I wasn't at all concerned about how another bout of maternity leave would affect my career and contract extension options. Truth be told Simon and I have actually thought long and hard about the timing of our next pregnancy and how it will affect my career and his study, but should we really be that concerned? After all a baby is a great thing to have in your life.
With Cooper everything was planned, we started trying so my Maternity leave would coincide perfectly with end of financial year at work and finish with the first working day in the new year. True to form my crazy obsessive compulsive nature to be organised meant that my replacement at work came in with the new budget complete finalised and every current research project 100% up to date with reporting and filing. It was also timed perfectly so that I returned to work with exactly 2 years remaining on my contract. However that was before I was struck down with this crazy baby fever and were planning a nice 3 year gap between our little ones, allowing me to devote the remaining 2 years of my contract to establishing myself as completely irreplaceable in the office and having my contract renewed before trying again. Now those plans are out of the question, and even though at the time I did not enjoy pregnancy with Cooper, the thought of another baby growing in there makes my heart swell with love and excitement and I've started to think about when the right time is for me this time? How will it effect my job, career progression and most importantly my contract renewal?
So I guess I'm wondering how many other couples time their pregnancies around their career, the timing of their return to work after maternity leave, or for that matter the amount in their savings account? Surely I can't be the only one?
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