Having children is a very, very time consuming and exhausting hobby!
There is not a right/wrong answer here. But also you don’t have to decide now. I felt like it took a year to really feel like myself again, and my kids are 4 years apart for a reason.
My second baby was light years easier than my first. My third was kinda forced to fall into line because nobody had time to humor her.
All of that is totally valid. In my experience 6 months to a year was the worse time for me. Baby wasn’t mobile enough to play by herself but enough to need constant supervision so she didn’t kill herself. Lots of attention, lots of touch, which as an introvert was hard. Thought about just having 1 as well.
But then right around the 18 month mark things got a lot easier. She could go up and down stairs herself, eating independently, mostly sleeping though the night. Started to get baby fever. Had 2 more. The spacing is what helped me decide, I did 2 years/2.5 in between. We had secure financials, I was able to be a SAHM, breastfeeding was easy. If any or all of those things were different I would have made different choices.
Not trying to convince you at all, its just that if you asked me that first year I would have questioned the sanity of even having one, let alone a trio. Its ok to give it some time and see how you feel, and its ok to know and be done.
I’ve heard it explained as “they’re starting to realize they want to do things, but are capable of exactly none of it” (this was a career nanny friend- 6-18 months was her least favorite age).
Hardest from my kid was probably 12-18 months then 3-3.5 I think. (And medical issues and global pandemic in the 3-6 month range sucked).
It’s so hard. And going from 1 to 2 was really tough for us. But I still wouldn’t make a decision so early. Not with a 6-month old. I’d give it a couple years and then see how you feel. No need to torture yourself to make a decision now. You don’t have to.
12-18 months is really my least favorite age - so mobile, so much less distractable, no language skills. By 18 months I felt like we could cut a deal. Lol
But my dh absolutely loves that early toddler age!
“Taby”- toddler baby age! Parts of it were super fun for me, parts were super frustrating. I also had a language delayed child though so that didn’t help lol. Everyone has different favorite and least favorite ages and stages and of course each kid is different! No one will enjoy all stages of all kids I’m sure.
Your doctor is an idiot. Keeping a whole other person alive is a shit ton of work and sacrifice, why wouldn’t birth control come to mind? Sheesh that guy.
All your feelings are valid, so valid. If you feel uncertainty then ask yourself if you really need to make a decision now. If you don’t, I wouldn’t over focus on the question, especially if there’s nothing you would do immediately, either way.
Agree with this! We knew we didn’t want to think about trying for #2 until our first was at least 18 months old. So we didn’t really talk about it too much until he was 1. We ended up being one and done (reasons discussed above), but we didn’t decide for sure until he was about 5. You could give yourselves permission to stop really thinking about it until a future milestone so that you don’t have to be constantly wondering, if that would help.
We are one and done. I can’t remember exactly when we made the decision, but it would have been when kid was 2ish I think. I originally was ok with one, then came around to two as DH wanted but when actual child turned up it was really very hard. He has some minor health issues, I have medium mental health issues, we are are old and tired (it feels like) it took me a long time to be ok with giving away the baby stuff etc but it was the right decision. Just still makes me sad sometimes that it was. If X number of things had been different then we might have decided otherwise but they weren’t, so we didn’t.
In hindsight it was a great decision as I cannot imagine how hard this last year would have been with another child to look after. But of course we couldn’t have predicted that.
He sometimes says to us he would like a sibling but I think that’s mainly so he can beat them at computer games. 
The thing that helped me was some distance from the harder parts so you know you’re making an even decision. And someone said “which decision would you regret more: having another or not having another?” In my case that was a really helpful question
This. We didn’t have any serious conversations about #2 until Kiddo was around a year old.
I know you’re the personality type to immediately jump to the next thing instead of enjoying right now, but may I gently encourage that you redirect that energy to focusing on how awesome Mo will be in six/twelve/eighteen months?
And my Only consistently tells us how happy he is to not have a sibling! Just wanted to say that in case anyone considering an Only worries about their kiddo missing having siblings, which was definitely a consideration for us. Who knows how he will feel as an adult, but at least for now (11) he’s fine with it.
Asking for birth control was a wise and smart move. If your doctor had wise and smart reasons to suggest other methods of birth control they did not present that properly.
I do think you should be sure about permanent birth control before getting it. But I also know for me, it took only a few weeks to process that and be sure.
One is a fantastic number of babies to choose or to end up with.
When Kiddo was 7 we hung out with another family and their three and a half year old for a whole weekend at Disney. Kiddo adored being the bigger kid and there were four adults on hand. On the drive home we asked him if he might want a brother now and he gave a very quick “Nope.” 
Yeah like it’s possible I’ll want another in several years and would regret permanent bc. But sooo much will have to change and I just don’t have the confidence that it will. But like, maybe we’ll figure out a childcare/help situation that makes it enjoyable again? Maybe my parents will move nearby or vice versa? But short of ending up with a different, female partner who wants to give birth these still entail a child growing in and then exiting my body and I have had that experience and really have no desire to do it again or try to have another birth experience that is more positive in order to “heal” from the first one (this was pitched as a reason to have another by a friend who had comparatively fantastic pregnancies and births) because like no one can give that as a guarantee. Like ok if I could control how well my birth went don’t you think I would have done it the first time?
I’m starting to see this in mo… Like she can get on her hands and knees. She wants to move forward, but ends up scooting backwards or launching her head into the ground. Or she wants to grab something while on her hands and knees, but if she does she falls over. It would be hilarious if there wasn’t so much screaming about it.
I always grew up assuming I’d have two, three, six babies. Then when I started TTC as a single mom, I 99% planned to be one and done based on finances and logistics, but the reality of parenting has meant that I’d probably choose that anyway had I been on the fence.
I had an easy baby and toddler and every time I had the thought that the stage wasn’t so bad and it would be fine and manageable to have another, I would immediately think about what if I had to manage the needs of [stage] and an older child and that would put an end to the notion.
Now I still have an easy 3yo (as 3yos go), and I am firmer than ever that one is the right choice for me, for my child, for the parent I want to be, and honestly for the second child that won’t be. It’s okay if your best parenting choice for #2 is not to have one.
This times 1 million right here. I feel like people feel obligated to provide their kid with a sibling, without thinking about what life is like for that theatrical (LOL theoretical is what I meant. Keeping it cuz it’s a funny typo) kid. As the “bonus” third child, I feel like I can weigh in there and say that it’s a totally valid perspective to take. At the end of the day, there is a limit to the resources we have to allocate to different parts of life.
I’m just going to reiterate this again, being an only child was dope and I never even thought for a second I wanted a sibling and still don’t. My mom always told me from as early as I can remember that I was “first and last” so I never had any ideas I was ever getting one.
You don’t have to do it for the kids sake. People adapt to their situations easily
I have 3 children but the baby is kind of an only child while the older two have each other AND step brothers. Something I think about a lot is that you can’t give a child everything.
A child can have young, energetic parents who will be there for them for many decades, or they can have older established patient parents. A child can have a sibling and all the benefits that that can sometimes come with, or they can have the benefit of their parents’ undivided attention. My kids live very far from their extended family, while my sister’s children and grandchild live in the same town with my parents. But I think my kids get some benefits from living in such a big city as Denver.