We had planned to have two or three children, at least. We stopped at one after contemplating what it would be like to go through another pregnancy and delivery like the first one (maternal autoimmune disease, on bedrest from 5 months, 4 weeks early delivery with 36 hour hard labor and maternal hemorrhage thrown in, and a total of two weeks with the baby in neonatal ICU in the first month) and then contemplating caring for another high-needs infant while still trying to stay sane and raise our high-maintenance son. We knew that we had to plan for a worst-case scenario, and couldn't see a way to manage if that came to pass. It was a good decision, I think.
The universe, however, had other plans for us, and we ended up raising my niece, who was six years older than our son, from the time she was thirteen. We are currently in the middle of twelve years straight of teenagers living in the house - woohoo! (Something else to consider when spacing children).
ETA: I think any time to have children is probably the worst possible time, except for all the others.
Last edited by aculady; 09/08/11 10:34 PM.
