Baby #2 is no longer a suggestion… it’s becoming a reality. Or at least the idea of its existence is a reality.
That hurdle’s been overcome, but that leaves many decisions to make. Namely about timing.
Peanut is one year old. I am 33 years old. Peanut Dad is 43 years old, and will be 44 in just a few months.
Do we have the luxury of time? What if our four remaining embryos don’t work and we have to do another fresh cycle? The clock is ticking — actually, several clocks are ticking. My age. My husband’s age. Peanut’s age (because we don’t want her to be more than 3 years older than her sibling). And the calendar is ticking too.
Peanut was born in early August. Which means if we have another baby sometime between June and October, we can reuse many of the clothes for the first year — particularly if it’s another girl (pleasepleaseplease!).
In addition, there’s the idea of maternity leave. While anytime you can take 8 weeks off of work is pretty awesome, there’s definitely a more desirable time to be on leave with a newborn in the upper midwest. My neighbors go inside in October and disappear until May when it warms up again.
If I could choose a time to have a critter, I’d go with May through August, because the ability to easily take a fussy infant on a walk is really, really nice.
There’s also the fact that a baby born after September 15 doesn’t require any stressful “when should my kid start school?” red-shirting decision.
Wait a minute.
Reality check.
It doesn’t really matter when I have my new critter. When she — or he — is born. What months I’m off work. Whether or not I can reuse Peanut’s clothes. It matters right now, but it might not matter one iota.
If the last journey taught me anything, it is that I am not in control of this process. I am simply along for the ride. Nature, and a little bit (okay, a lot) of science, will make the decisions for me.
I have no choice but to relax. There’s obviously a best-case scenario here (a girl, born sometime between August 1 and October 15).
In the end, I will take Little Bean however, and whenever, I can get her.
Jinxed for sure now.
Boy.
It’s okay. They are just like a girl except different.