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@brhjz My son was a very easy baby. Before we made the final decision to be OAD, I used to joke that his younger sibling would be the one to humble us. But we got what was coming to us in the preschool years. There were times I could not fathom having another child on top of him.

@michaellloydpinq Same here. Our son was super easy as a baby. Ages 4-10 were hell. I'm glad we had the bandwidth to devote to just him.

@15gb2 Follow your baby's lead for now. You'll know when your child is ready for a more structured schedule. One of the best things about being a SAHP is not having to force your LO into a routine that doesn't work for them.

@15gb2 Each child is different, so YMMV. Follow your child's lead for now. One of the nice things about being a SAHP is that you don't have to force your child into a routine that doesn't work for the sake of daycare.

@15gb2 I did not attempt to put my son on a routine until he was about 10 months old. I followed his cues at first. His first few months of life he was changing so fast that by the time I thought I had identified a pattern, he was ready to do something different. Around 6 months he started to...

@ava1453 I try to keep up with the laundry instead of letting it pile up. We go through about a load a day. I collect laundry in the evening and, if there is enough for a load, I set my washer on a delayed start so it is done about the time I am waking up. I move laundry over to the dryer as I'm...

@mikecrb I think this is one of many reasons why single child families are becoming more common. Yes, it is getting harder to raise a family. The world is a scarier and more dangerous place than it was when we were children. There is truth to the fact that in many places our parents could have...

@arseniusthesilent A vasectomy would be far easier on your husband than sterilization surgery would be for you. I might be wrong on this, so check with your Dr, but I believe the risk of ectopic is nearly non-existent now that tubal ligations (cutting and tying the tubes, but leaving them in...

@arseniusthesilent How rude and patronizing! Have you considered permanent birth control? That might get your doctor to take you seriously.

@dan2082 I can empathize. We adopted due to infertility. We tried to adopt again, but it didn't work out for us. I wanted to keep going, but my husband was done. I was devastated. I wanted a second child almost as much as I wanted our first. I'd always seen myself as a mom to at least two, maybe...

@atreides82 Ignore your mom. Some kids are ready to potty train at 2, but others take a little longer. You will do more harm if you force it before your child is ready. I'm sorry to hear about your mastitis. I've never experienced it myself, but I've heard it's better to continue breastfeeding...

@jhonb Family structures are not as cut and dry as they used to be. Your child is, in many ways, an only child because of the large age gap. You are allowed to mourn for the parenting experience you wish you had the first time around.

@wh2 I find the more time we spend at home, the messier our house becomes. You're coming and going, eating all your meals in your kitchen, using your bathroom more, and the kids are of course going to spend more time playing with their toys.

@kimrossie Given that your goal is to expand your family, I would say house B is probably your better option. I grew up with one sibling in house about the size of house A, and it was a tight fit. We also didn't have much of a yard to run around (we had a pool, which took up most of the space)...

@littledot Your spouse is the only person who deserves a justification for whether or not you want a second child. Your friend does not get a vote, and neither does anybody else. There is no "wrong" reason to be OAD, so long as it is the right reason for your family.

@michaelprinzo Exactly. I know my son and what makes him tick. I can usually predict how he'll react. And I'm his parent, so I feel comfortable stepping in and correcting his behavior. I can say none of that for kids that are not my own.

@debbs3692 I wouldn't look down on yourself for feeling maxed out with one while others are having multiple kids. First of all, most parents of multiples are stressed the heck out, but would never admit it publicly. Many of us on this sub originally thought we'd have more than one, but we...

@arbin I hope you are able to see someone soon! It sucks that there is a lack of mental health services when people need them so badly.

@samanthaadams It makes me super nervous to watch other people's kids, lol. I'm so used to being responsible for only DS, I feel anxious when I have more to look after. My hat definitely goes off to parents of more than one.

@arbin Even the right decision can be a difficult one. The reality of having a baby is often very different from what parents think it will be, too. For me it was like "I love this so much why would I not want to do this again?" But we also knew that realistically it wasn't in the cards for us...