The Baby Expert: Time for Baby No. 2?

One question we’ve been asked quite a bit over the last few months is if or when we’ll be having another baby. Personally, I don’t know if I’m mentally ready to deal with a newborn that needs you 24 hours a day. Caitlyn’s just recently become more independent and less needy, and I’m kind of enjoying that. Why throw a wrench into it? However, that’s a selfish and not an altogether good reason.

I suppose there's always concerns about how we'll deal with it financially, but the main argument as to why I don’t think we’re ready to have another baby yet is because I don’t think the wife’s health is up to par yet. If taking care of one is already a handful, I can't picture a second one making things any easier.

Being a full-time mom has taken a toll on her and she’s constantly worn out, mentally and physically. I’ve told her that if we’re to have another baby, she needs to be capable of carrying it around in her for nine months, which means she needs to start exercising and taking better care of herself.

We had more than enough health scares with Caitlyn the first time around, and with the wife being older, chances of something happening during the pregnancy only increases. Having your body being fit and healthy is one way of decreasing those odds.

However, that’s easier said than done. The wife’s thrown every excuse in the book at me when I ask her about exercising. First, she’ll say that she has no time to exercise because she has to take care of the baby, but when I offer to take care of the baby after work so she can go run for a few minutes, she’ll reply that she’s tired and all she wants to do is watch some TV.

And if all else fails, she’ll argue back that I’m the one that needs to exercise. While it’s true that I’m not the best shape of my life, I’m hardly the one that breaks out in a sweat and runs out of breath after walking up four flights of stairs. Plus, I’m not the one who will be carrying the baby inside me for nine months.

A pair of running shoes that I bought her a long time ago to encourage her because she didn’t have any has gone unused, not because they don’t fit, but because they’re not fashionable enough, according to her. Even a trip to several shoe stores this past weekend left her shoeless because she didn’t like how any of them looked. As if how a shoe looks determines if it’s good for running.

However, all bets might be off after this past weekend when, during a moment of passion, we went for it. So much for thinking things through. Not sure if this was a one-time shot or if we’re actually trying for baby number 2 now.

Either way, I’m now looking into buying a bike with a baby seat as a form of exercise for us. But even this seems to have hit a brick wall when the wife voiced her concern about how clumsy I am. Sigh.