For many couples who plan a pregnancy it’s a matter of yes or no. Most hopeful parents decide when they are ready, then go off birth control and perhaps start tracking their cycles, and eventually when the deed is done and the seed is planted… boom, a baby.
There are lots of circumstances where a couple does not plan the exact time they plan to conceive and have a baby. It doesn’t work for people with irregular cycles, or couples facing infertility. And obviously it’s impossible for almost anyone to plan the exact day or conception or birth.
But keeping the wiggle room in mind, there are three factors I am considering when trying to conceive.
Third Trimester Weather
It goes without saying that the last few weeks of pregnancy have the potential to be miserable. Within reason, I don’t want the weather adding any extra stress. Being as we live in the south, ideally I will not be ready to pop in the dead of summer. If we lived in the northeast, however, I would be worried about a snowstorm delaying my trip to the hospital and result in a car delivery.
Important Holidays and Family Member Birthdays
When I was a child I didn’t mind sharing my birthday with my mom celebrating Mother’s Day. In fact, I thought it was kind of fun to celebrate together. But as an adult, I absolutely despise sharing my birthday with all the other moms out there. It’s so frustrating when I try to get brunch on my special day with people who should be able to take their moms out any other day.
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I don’t want my future child to share their birthday with another holiday, or risk it being overshadowed by another family’s member’s birthday.
These thoughts in mind, I wouldn’t want to have a baby in May (Mother’s Day, my birthday), June (Father’s Day, my partners birthday), September (Sassy’s Birthday), late November (Thanksgiving), December (Hanukkah/Christmas).
Zodiac Sign
My partner says this is absolutely not a factor when we are deciding when to conceive. But for me, it’s definitely a back of the mind consideration. Arguably, a person’s rising sign (which sign was coming up over the horizon at the hour of birth) is more impactful than the sun sign anyway. The rising sign can’t be controlled of course. But the sun sign is said to indicate a person’s internal ego and lifelong traits, and the sun sign can be loosely controlled.
My least favorite sign is Capricorn, no offense to any cap readers. I find them to be emotionally manipulative and willing to use someone for their own benefit and promotion. Ideally I wouldn’t have a child with those traits. I also ran some comparability tests between Virgo (my firstborn) and the other signs, to see which ones she might balance best with.
It’s been 8 years since I got pregnant the first time, which was completely unplanned and unexpected. This time around, it’s going to be planned and intentional, and I’m keeping these three things in mind when deciding when we will add another child to our family.
