Can we afford another Child??

sarmia

Thanks all!

I think I would like my little one to be 2.5 - 3 before a sibling is born, then we will get a little help with nursery fees, he will be more Independant and I will have been able to watch him grow! Plus thats gives us a year (min) to see how things go with returning to work etc, and if I need to find an evening job, weekend job etc it I can see how it goes!

Thanks again!

Sx

Kaz2904

I have 2 years and 4 weeks between my 2. There's 4 years between my neice and nephew. My SiL will have been off work for 8 years minimum if she getsa job when neice starts preschool in Sept.
She had neice 4 weeks before nephew went to school which must have been really hard for him as it was like he had been replaced. He had big behaviour issues when she arrived and they are not very close at 6 and 2. My 2 are very close like sidekicks! I think this is because DS had the benfit of his big sister teaching him how to do stuff when they were both little- ie she would still crawl around with him when he was learning. They fight like cat and dog too mind!
Don't forget that you get cheaper childcare for the 2nd child usually when they are both there together. Also the smaller gap, the less time you have to wait before you can think about getting more money or work longer hours or whatever.
My ideal situation would be to have one in September and the 2nd nearly 2 years later in the August. Then you have a reasonable gap but they will go to school within a year of each other. It's very difficult having one at school because the other one just mooches around waiting for their sibling!

ceridwen

emmaroids wrote: »

an only child is a lonely child.

as said, wait 2 years or so and do it again.

Not true - voice of experience here. I am the eldest child - and, all along, I would have preferred to remain an only child - still would! - but I didnt get any say in it.

teamscottbarnes

Hi, i fell pregnant by accident when my first was 9 months old. I was terrified and didn't think i could do it! My second is now coming up for 2 and i can honestly say that i love the age gap (17mths). They have their moments but they generally love each others company. I'm not going to say its easy and money isn't an issue but i think you make children as expensive as you choose.
My eldest has just started getting his free nursery sessions and it has helped a bit. We had a tough year when i was paying the full amount for both but the best advice i could give is make sure you're getting the correct tax credits and just think its not forever.
I'm now expecting my third, so i'll have three under three. Again i'm worrying about how we'll deal with the three of them and the financial implications but what the past has taught me is that things always work out okay in the end.
I hope this helps a bit

bunty109

I've worked Saturdays since my middle child was about 2. It's never been a problem. The childcare has been free as my OH has done it, and I even managed time off for number 3. About a year ago I started to do Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons, and recently I dropped the Saturdays when I got a promotion, and I work during the week a bit now my youngest is funded at pre-school. Working weekends can limit doing certain family things but I use my time off wisely and we do things on other days.

The other thing I'd like to add is that I fell pregnant for the first time 5 months after getting married. We'd only just got a house and I thought that there was no way we could afford to lose my wage. But things can change quickly and OH had a pay rise, and I managed to work part-time and then even give up apart from the Saturdays for a long while.....it's still a while off until you might actually physically have another child and you could wait until the eldest is at School if it made things easier. There's all sorts of things you could consider!