Growing Your Family: What to Expect

The Right Time to Grow Your Family

At her six-week checkup after her daughter Anna Christa was born, Shelly Good-Cook joked with her ob-gyn about getting pregnant right away, but she was in no rush. "We figured it would happen when it happened," says the Alexandria, Virginia, mom. It happened a little sooner than she expected: She gave birth to her second daughter, Alexandra, nine months later.

Although she never planned on having children 10 1/2 months apart, Good-Cook is thrilled with how it's worked out for her family. Whether you want to have another baby right away or wait a long time before diving back into that newborn fog, there are pros and cons no matter how close -- or far apart -- your children are. (Of course, finances or biology might not give you much of a choice about when your next child arrives.) This is what you can expect from every interval.