1 Year 'till TTC - What would you do with the time?

[cazd]

What would you do if you had 1 free year before starting a family?

I've got 'till January 2010 - that 16 whole months - to do whatever I like.
My OH has (i suppoe quite sensibly) decided that we need to see out our 3rd year in business before we commit to starting a family.

So...

If you had a whole year with no ties & no commitments - what would you do with it?

Would you travel, study, change your career, re-decorate, re-locate?

I need some inspiration!
Painting the spare room yellow is about as far as I've got!

 

[Reedy]

How about taking one last holiday just you & OH
Thats what i would do I think x & maybe re-decorate as well if the house needed it

 

[buffycat]

a holiday is a good idea...somewhere special for the two of you.....

also.....take the time to build up your career a bit, and do some saving......


fingers crossed that the time will pass really quickly for you !

luv & hugs

 

[jacobs mummy]

get as much sleep as possible, drink all the wine you can, go out clubbing... because it all stops when LO comes along!!!!! just joking... okay no wine for 9 months! and no sleep for 16 yrs... he he

i'd take as many holidays as you can - weekend trips, summer holidays etc as it gets difficult when you have to pay for babies to travel too... also your limited to where you can go! unless you can leave the baby at home (prefarably with someone) so you can take a weekend trip away with other half only... but then you spend the weekend missing them and wanting to go home.

i'd enjoy dates... going the pictures, meals, local bar... all these things you take for granted when it's just you and other half. It's harder to do when you have a LO... but not impossible if you have parents who'll baby sit free of charge!!!!

get healthy...

H x

 

[Katia-xO]

I'm gona be at college, at work and generally having a good time for a year or 2 first! x

 

[becstar]

Start taking folic acid! Apparently taking it for up to a year before conception can dramatically reducce the risks of premature birth.

 

[Chris77]

I would save as much money as you can during this time. Also, I agree with Reedy, go on one last vacation with DH. After the baby is born you won't be alone again for at least 18 years!

 

[LeaArr]

Practice
But in all seriousness, make a list of stuff you can't do with kids in tow and go through the list. Do everything on it. Have fun. Time will fly by.

 

[luckyme225]

Travel! Take a last vacation, just the two of you why you still have the chance!

 

[sandy299]

Well I have a year from right now. We are most likely TTC in September '09. We are going to be buying a house next spring and going on a vacation to Seattle next summer. We are also going to college football games, going out and drinking with friends (socially only) and I am definately taking advantage of sleeping in.

I hope that was help...

 

[Mrs Doddy]

Go on holiday, get the house straight and start saving loads !!!

 

[Dizzy321]

Take a lovely holiday just u and OH.....make the most of long weekend lie ins......drink lots of wine.....go out to romantic resturants and bars.....enjoy time with friends.....stay up late x

 

[honeybunch2k7]

I would visit some amusement parks. They are way less complicated without small children.

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

Go on holiday! and save money. And as others have said go out for meals and things. Make sure you make the most of your alone time. xx

 

[mr&mrsfleming]

HI,

Hubby and I are going to start trying in Sept 2009 - before then we have a lot planned. We have a holiday of a lifetime in Florida, tour around Europe on the back of hubby's new bike (he has his test a week on Monday!!!), and we have a load of other stuff including Alton Towers, Cornwall and Scotland tours. I would like a 2nd Dog so that it's all trained and ready to go when LO arrives and i'm also going to be volunteering at a shelter. We're both going on a diet to get healthy, eat right and generally get into good condition!...

I also need to complete my dog training and grooming courses. Hubby and I are doing our advanced SCUBA course and we also need to save up (on top of all this) to make sure we're able to cope! Never let it be said that we're not ambitious!! He he......

But seriously, we're simply making the most of this year. Having children is an adventure in it's own right, so we wont have time for all of the others. This is an opportunity to be Husband and Wife, enjoy each other's company, travel, spend frivolously and generally enjoy alcohol, holidays and sleep!!

Roll on Sept 09!! I can't wait to be a mummy....Already have Dylan (the fox terrier!) though so maternal instinct is directed solely at him. A year will fly by, especially if we have all this planned.

 

[cazd]

Blimey! you guys are gonna be busy!

Thanks for your suggestions guys

Truth be told though- I think I've done everything I want to.
I've been all over the world (we got married in Vegas) and now we have a our little dog - we don't want to go overseas and leave her behind.
I've booked a holiday at Center Parcs (so she can come with us) and it'll be nice and relaxing.
We've had lots of fun at Alton Towers and Thorpe Park.

We do love sky+, box-sets and sing-star! but that doesn't need to stop.
Our house is pretty big with a good-sized garden so friends tend to come to us for evenings and BBQs.
We're part-time mystery diners so eating out is more like a job for us.
We are going to make the most of our bikes - we've got big old sports bikes to play on but that's about it really...

We're big wine lovers but now I want a baby I've lost the thirst!
Its like I'm preparing to be pregnant - I want to be in tip-top health.
Thank god I gave up smoking!

I've started taking folic acid so thanks for that tip and although my OH doesn't want to give up his 'games room' (storage space for guitars!) he's coming round to the idea of re-decorating it yellow.

One thing I haven't done yet - is save any money.
Wonder how much it'll take to look after a little baby?

(BTW... OH was banging on last night about how many mums die during childbirth but I'm sooo broody that I'm completely blanking all the negatives!)

xxx

 

[honeybunch2k7]

Blimey! you guys are gonna be busy!

One thing I haven't done yet - is save any money.
Wonder how much it'll take to look after a little baby?

(BTW... OH was banging on last night about how many mums die during childbirth but I'm sooo broody that I'm completely blanking all the negatives!)

The figure Ive heard is $3000, or at least that's how much they say you should have saved up.

Over yonder in the fantasy baby thread people are making lists of baby needs. That may help you get a better idea of what a baby needs and how much it could potentially cost.

 

[cazd]

Oooh - that's a fab idea.
I want to start stocking up up the spare room ready to make a nursery but my OH won't have any of it until we TTC...
grrr

 

[sandy299]

Yes...babies are expensive but you can cut costs if you buy things second hand, use coupons, breast feed instead of bottle feed. I know I will be working at home so we won't have to worry about child care. There are also a lot of other things you can do. We plan on at least saving a months worth salary (at least we hope we can) before we have a little one. Of course if we don't plan on TTC until next Septmber so we have a year and 9 months or more depending when we get pg.