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Number two is still baking, but I can compare pregnancies. I had a ridiculously easy first pregnancy. Very little nausea, I basically felt great the whole time except for some hip pain (the chiro sorted it out), and in general it was okay. This pregnancy has rocked me, my sickness was so much worse, the pain was worse and happened earlier, and chasing a toddler has been hard. But it's been worth it because I know it's just a stage in life and I won't always be limping about with a bum hip. We will be able to keep our toddler in school while I am on leave, so at least during the day I will only be caring for the baby.

We really struggled that first year to figure out the parenting things. Our second child was SO much easier. Not because he was better but we knew better.

I got pregnant 3 months PP and I didn't plan it. So I didn't have an opportunity to absorb how parenting was and if I wanted another one yet. I think that was a blessing in disguise because if I had to make the decision to try to have a baby I'm not sure I would ever have for Baby #2.

So now LO1 is 18 months old and LO2 is 4 months old and it is great. The first couple weeks were a challenge for LO1 to get used to her brother being around, but now it is great. She really loves him and tries to share with him and play with him. Also, LO2 is a very easy baby. So that helps.

But honestly, everything the second time has been so much easier. You know what to expect, you trust your parenting, and you know that the bad things (like no sleep) will come to an end.

Go for it!

Way easier for me. Only 3.5 months in, but life hasn't really changed other than having another person to feed and get dressed and get out the door! My toddler loves her sister and baby is super easy and already STTN which helps. You're already used to the lifestyle of keeping another person alive and happy 24/7, so it's just easier knowing what to expect.

My kiddos are 32 months apart and while I wanted a gap closer to 24 months apart, I'm really happy with their age diff. Maybe bc DS is a boy so the gap works better vs if he was a girl? Either way, he loves his sister and melts my heart every damn time he does something sweet. Meanwhile, my boy is a HUGE momma's boy so transitioning to 2 was a bit hard due to the juggling act. Plus, DH isn't as an active participant in child caring this go round so a lot of it landed on my shoulders, which didn't help at all! I heard going from 0 to 1 was harder than 1 to 2, but I beg to differ!

This is so me. I love the idea of a sibling for my kiddo (2 years old) and having another little person in this family, and I loved being pregnant the first time- but I am JUST getting back to feeling like 'me.'

@T.H.O.U.: THIS is exactly what I'm hoping - it will be easier because we 'know' more.

@catomd00, @erinbaderin, @travellingbee: you guys all give me hope! thank you!

We always know we want 2. DD is 21 months and we were going to try around now to get a 2.5-3 year gap, thinking we'd have a easier time with this gap. But alas, I got pregnant a while ago and I'm due in Jan! I feel like this was meant to be b/c then I can't be the one in control (otherwise I may chicken out on trying lol).

I feel like just like the first time, I probably can't really prepare for life with 1, then life with 2 100%. I feel like the biggest worry I have is actually just finances. After having 1, I feel like I can deal with whatever having 2 will come!

@littlebug: same here.

My kids are 22 months apart. Most of our struggles were similar the second time around, but with the added difficulty of having a toddler to care for. LO2 is almost six months and I'm finally starting to feel like I have a handle on things.

The hardest thing for me has been feeling like I've lost my identity. With one child I still found time to be ME. This time I feel like I am always just mama. It's gotten to the point where I'm seriously considering returning to work part-time.

I'm 27 weeks along with #2 so I can only comment about pregnancy but so far it's been about the same. I was pregnant prior to this one as well (lost at 12 weeks) and that pregnancy was actually much harder in terms of morning sickness and dealing with a toddler at the same time. This one has physically been very similar to my pregnancy with LO, not too bad but not too easy basically. It's definitely harder being pregnant with a toddler running around but it also seems to make the weeks pass more quickly, which is a plus in my book.

In terms of how things will be once LO2 gets here, I have no idea, but LO1 was a really hard newborn so we are assuming the worst and hoping for a nice surprise. I had quite a bit of anxiety and very little confidence in myself as a first time parent so I'm really hoping that my experience will make it easier this time around.

For me, having a 2nd wasn't double the work, it was maybe...30% more work. Also, my second girl has always been a better sleeper than my first, so she was a pleasant surprise in that regard. She has a very fiery personality though and is very tantrummy so we'll see how that develops now that she's older.

I had both girls at home 24/7 the first 4 months, so the difficult things were scheduling stuff--how to keep LO1 occupied while nursing LO2, that kind of thing.

We've had our rough days, but overall it was not as hard as expected. Probably the hardest part was the pregnancy, since I have terrible unending severe nausea, and that was hard to deal with while working full time and having a toddler.

For us, having two has been more than twice as hard, but the reward of having this sweet baby in our lives and seeing the siblings interact is worth it 100%. We're still in the trenches with #2 at 3 months old. The kids are 32 months apart.

Having the second baby was a surprisingly intense adjustment. I think I thought "Oh our lives are already crazy, just add another one to the mix." But it really shook up our family dynamic. At almost 4 months out I feel like I'm just finding my footing. It was an adjustment for my husband to have to take on so much of the parenting of our older child. I felt really split in two and emotional about it. My hormones were not helping matters. I would cry because I just wanted to sit and stare at the baby all day, but I also wanted to read books and go to the zoo and bake cookies with my toddler. I will say I'm only 3 months out and this is significantly better. We're able to do more because the baby isn't nursing every hour anymore, and the toddler genuinely enjoys the baby now that he laughs and smiles and can interact a little.

DS1 was a tough pregnancy, a tough labor, and he was a nightmare infant (colic, reflux, refused to breastfeed correctly, screamed incessantly at a pitch that blew out my ear drums, gave me intense PPA/PPD from the months of sleep deprivation, etc). Once we had him on a rigid schedule and sleep trained, he was much more enjoyable and by the time he was 12 months, I went back to work and felt like we were in a great place....and then we got surprise pregnant with DS2!

DS2 is 3.5 months old and the boys are 20 months apart. The first month was just healing and adjusting but we had lots of family visiting to help and what not. Its the second month is where it got hard - colic, reflux, growth spurt, leaps - the sleep deprivation got really tough at that point.

We are a schedule family, so by the 3rd month, baby had a good routine and STTN so that made things a lot easier. We kept DS1 in daycare and he just started preschool so that helps too. While I was pregnant, we shifted a lot of toddler care over to my husband because I was exhausted from pregnancy and because I knew we would need to go man on man coverage once the baby arrived. So DH got DS1 up and fed in the mornings, did drop off, did bath and bedtime routine at night, and did any MOTN wakings for him so that if DS1 needed comfort he wouldn't have a parental preference issue. That helped a ton because I had a planned c-section and obviously after baby we did have some clinginess and what not, but DS1 was used to daddy doing a lot of stuff for him so it wasn't this sudden shift after the baby arrived.

DS2 is a more easy going baby so that is super helpful, but we also had a lot of precautions lined up in case he was as difficult as our first. We had information for night nurse services, my OBGYN stayed on top of me about my PPA/PPD because I had it last time, I was proactive about getting reflux meds for DS2 instead of months of waiting and going back and forth with the doctor, etc.

DS1 adores his brother and DS2 thinks his brother is the funniest person ever. I am really happy that they will be close in age and that DS1 will never remember a time where his brother wasn't around. Its going to be tough juggling the daycare bills and saving for college with them only being 2 years apart, but that's just how it is I guess! DH was just like let's get this all over with and get through the baby stage now!

My sons are almost 3 years apart and so far going from 1 to 2 has been wonderful and MUCH easier than everyone said it would be. The main reason we decided to have a second is because DS #1 is super outgoing and has high socialization needs that we were struggling to meet which we knew wouldn't go away. He is not a great case for an only child. There is definitely not twice as much work going from 1 to 2 in my opinion because you've already become a parent and changed your life all around accordingly, you're just packing more stuff and loading 2 kids into the car instead of 1.

@littlebug: we're similar.

DD1 was a really easy baby and we had an easy transition into parenthood. i was one of those annoying people who was just super stoked on parenting and even the hard parts were a fun challenge.

DD2 wasn't difficult, just different and I had DD1 who was newly a threenager and if baby slept it, it didn't matter because i was up early with DD1. the first 7 months were hard. i was exhausted, impatient with everyone and overall just a big grump. BUT, the highs were just as high. i loved that DD1 was almost 3, so she had a lot of autonomy where i could do baby duty. i am the default parent because DH works 24 hour shifts, so when i'm on, i'm ALL on.

overall, we just knew we want 3 kids, so it's something we have to do. now we're in a much better groove, even with DH being gone 13 out of the last 15 days.

@mrsrain: this right here! You read my mind,

apart from the ppa, ppd and newborn hell, and a husband who couldn't support me emotionally the first time around, losing myself is another problem I think about. I feel with one child I'm Still me and then also a Mom, but with 2 or more I would only be a mom and not myself anymore. I hope that makes sense. I only have the one so I can't speak for the transition. But I will firmly be in the one and done camp because of multiple reasons listed here. I want to add though that me and DH agreed on 2 and he still would like 2. I could have happily had 0 children, so 1 really is our compromise.

@turquoisemama: I can totally relate. I think about whether I (we) want & should try for #2 every single day. We're both "old", so don't have time to wait for a larger gap. LO is 15mos & was a pretty good baby, but she's definitely needy, energetic & a bit spirited at the moment, so I wonder if I can handle her while pregnant & with a new baby. I solo parent a lot b/c DH works a lot & will be job searching/starting his own company sometime in the next year, too. This will be good for our family in the future, but it's a huge unknown for our family balance, along with our other worries. Funny thing is that he & I worry about different things with adding #2. For him it's more about my & baby's health and for me, it's more the day to day once baby's here. We may just leave it up to God & if we are so blessed, then we'll make it happen. We can't shut the door, but we are too afraid just yet to dive in.

@caterw: I am counting down the days until I deliver so I can actually act like a person again instead of a hormonal lump who pretty much lays around all day/night at home. I try to play, but it just hurts so much. I pulled something in my leg trying to run to H to pick her up when she fell at the playground and it was a good five minutes before I could walk without holding on to the fence.

DS is 4 and DD is almost 9 months, and it's been a challenging year. Objectively DD has been a harder baby, but it didn't feel like it...it felt very "been there, done that". I have a ton more confidence in my parenting ability.

DS is potty-trained, and has been a big help with DD, but he went from being the center of my world (I was a SAHM for 18 months, then even when I went back to work DH works a different shift and doesn't get home late so it was always me and DS.) to having to share my attention with a needy infant. That's been the hardest part for me, I think. But he's never taken it out on Gracie, he's just extra clingy towards me. He adores her, and wants to play with her, and wants to cuddle and kiss her, and tells everyone how much he loves her. And she is just crazy about him. She follows him everywhere, and he can make her laugh easier than anyone else. That's everything for me.

I was scared to try for a second, but you never know what your pregnancy and baby are going to be like. It might be easy-peasy! But that sibling bond I'm starting to see, that's worth all the difficulty in the world for me.

It's been really hard.

#1 felt much easier - she was an easier pregnancy, slept through the night starting at 5 weeks, was generally cheerful and happy. Plus I was just so over the moon for her. I loved every single aspect of pregnancy and parenting and was just super obsessed with being a mom (I prob annoyed everyone around me).

#2... He's been harder. A very challenging pregnancy (I had GD, insomnia, awful nausea ... Just everything about it was hard). His sleep is terrible. He's almost 10 wks old and still waking up every 2-3 hrs. He hasn't slept for more than a 4 hour stretch maybe 3x, max. He cries a lot more and is only happy if he's getting held.

It's also hard not being able to give my 100% to either child. I'm so tired and sleep deprived; I'm not at my best for my 4 year old during the day. I know it'll get better once he starts sleeping more so I'm just waiting for that moment