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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is an 18 year age gap between children too much?

75 replies

Biggem36 · 21/07/2020 17:18

Hi, what is the biggest age gap between children? I'm 35 and have been with my partner for 17 years. I have a daughter from a previous who is 18 in a few months. OH has no children. Lately I have felt that I have left it too late to have another child as the age gap would be too big and it would feel like parent and child for my daughter rather than sisters. But I have this longing for another child that I want to have with my OH and to give him a child. Its something we've never talked about and the years have just passed. OH adopted my daughter so as far as hes concerned, she's his. He raised her. Now I feel like I have left it too late for us to have more children.

OP posts:
OnlyFoolsnMothers · 21/07/2020 21:03

I’m 27 and my dad had just had another baby. It was one of the reasons I went no contact with him really why?

TipperarygirlinLondon · 21/07/2020 21:14

Not at all...I had my son when I was 24 and my daughter when I was 41. They have an amazing bond and my son was ...and is..such a huge help. Go for it...it really completed our family.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 21/07/2020 21:17

It's a personal choice. I couldn't think of anything worse than having another baby just as my child reached adulthood but that's just my feelings. If it's what you want go for it.

JonHammIsMyJamm · 21/07/2020 21:22

He adopted your DD before she turned 1 and thinks of her as his DD. They have a parent and child relationship built from babyhood. You have already ‘given him’ a child. This baby would be for you, not him.

27Yardsofdentalfloss · 21/07/2020 21:23

I know of loads of big age gaps! My friend and her brother were 22 and 18 when their little brother was born. They couldn't be closer!! My sister in law had 20 years between eldest and youngest - although there was another in between. That's just two examples. You're still really young anyway, 35 is by no means old to have a baby, so I wouldn't give a second thought to the age gap.

mamaduckbone · 21/07/2020 21:30

My brother is 18 years older (sister 16 years older) and we have a good relationship - not a traditional sibling relationship but definitely not a parental one either. Looking at it from my mum and dad's point of view I don't know how they did it though - back to sleepless nights and nappies just as their children were grown up and independent.

1moremum · 21/07/2020 21:31

My oldest were 23 and 20 when their half sibling was born. We raised two children and now are raising an only child, who became an uncle just after his 5th birthday.

We always intended to have more kids, but couldn't afford it at first. and when we could afford it, one of the now teenaged DD's was having psychological issues. we lived in the states, so that cost us money on top of time and effort and heartbreak. By the time DD and our finances recovered, I was nearly 39, and it took almost two years to get pregnant. We reassured ourselves that not getting pregnant was also fine: being double income with no children, being able to travel, to finally have nice things, to top up our retirement funds big time, all sounded good. We decided to try one year of fertility treatments as sold by our health care organization. I got pregnant the month we finally got fertility treatments approved, but before we attended the first appointment!

We hoped for a second, but moved to the UK (DH's home country) while I was pregnant. DS was born when I was 42, and I was too old for fertility assistance on the NHS and pregnancy just didn't happen this time. Within 5 years I had noticeable symptoms of beginning menopause, more and more erratic cycles, and after another 3 years, no cycles.

so, it's not necessarily too late, physically. On the other hand, I will not deny there are times I sort of regret not taking the other road, the one with more traveling, less frugality, and more retirement funds. Our life with DS has had more travel and less frugality than life with his older siblings did, but when he was diagnosed autistic, my ability to go back to work was delayed. I was finally looking for work in February...

unexpected things like autism and not being able to go back to work are the hard parts. having a baby, at last, with DH was wonderful. It is wonderful to see them together. Unlike you, a child, or more, was part of our original plan. It came up when we were dating: did I even want more children, because he did. If I didn't, then he didn't see the point of moving forward and getting to know my DD's (we had mostly seen each other when they were visiting their dad.). A dozen years later, he had accepted that we had maybe left it too late, and was beyond ecstatic when I peed on the stick that finally said "pregnant".

But it sounds like your DH might not want the experience you are currently brooding about. He accepted your DD and hasn't asked all this time for more. He may have seriously different expectations for the next 20 years than you are now developing. you already know how LOOOOONG 18 years is and how much can change. I still fear one of us won't be here when DS is 18. No matter what their situation, a lot of mid-30's age women get broody. Their partners rarely are, unless, like my partner, having a child was always the plan.

My youngest brother was only 39 when mom died, only 32 when dad died. He was a late baby, the rest of us were 10 to 17 when he was born. Like DH and I, mom and dad had moved when the rest of us were grown so he grew up alone. (They had moved 'home' to where they were born, so he did grow up amongst a herd of cousins and second cousins, the rest of us hardly knew our extended family) But, as a result, youngest DB was the only one of us near enough to deal with their illness and deaths directly. That was a lot of weight for such a young guy to carry. My DS will be much the same, except without the support of a large extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins on hand. My mothers parents lived to their 90s. I admit that played into my decision to try for a baby at 39/40/41. My now grown baby brother's presence played into it as well. At that point, it seemed things had worked out fine for my parents and him. My dad began having dementia the year my son was born and died the year he turned 6, my mother the year DS turned 12. Both were in their 70s. I suddenly feel much differently about my life expectancy. I know it wasn't reasonable to assume I would live as long as my grandparents, but now I am stressed I will only live as long as my parents, that I won't have another 20 years after DS is grown.

Looking back, I can't say for sure we made the right or wrong decision to try to get pregnant at that age. I love my son. I love having been able to be home with him, I wasn't with the DDs. I love having a child with a partner who wanted that child so much. OTOH, I have been a parent since 1984, and have at least another 5 years to go and I am so tired of being a parent to a child. You could have 20+ years of active child-free lifestyle before you retire. Your daughter should have 20+ years before she has to deal with elderly parents. your potential child might get 20 years too. Or maybe they won't.

rosina38 · 21/07/2020 21:35

My sister is 16 years older than me. We have the best relationship

rosina38 · 21/07/2020 21:35

My sister is 16 years older than me. We have the best relationship

starshineangelxx · 21/07/2020 21:35

My daughter had a girl 18 years ago now, when my granddaughter was 15, my daughter had another girl (2017) and a year later she had another girl. She says its the best thing she ever did, I have to agree :)

WorriedMummy2020 · 21/07/2020 21:41

18 years between me and my only sibling. I'm the younger one. Neither of us were planned but both were much wanted. Fertility issues meant my parents didn't expect any children. I grew up as an only child as my sibling moved out to live hours away when I was 2 and married a year later and continued to live at least 2.5hrs, sometimes more, from me ever since.
We have become closer as we have gotten older but weren't really close and in regular communication until I was in my 20s. She was busy with her own young family for years before that.
We don't have a typical sibling relationship I don't think. I'm closer in age to all her kids than I am to her. We're more like aunt and niece.

NameChange84 · 21/07/2020 21:42

My mother had my siblings 20 years before me. She married my Dad who was childless, slightly younger and wanted children. She was much older than you when I was born. I’m not super close to my siblings as they’d already left home but other than that I’d absolutely say it’s been very positive all round. If you want a baby, go for it. You had your daughter unusually young, lots of people are having their firsts at 35. Don’t worry about the age gap.

My friend has just at 40 had her second, a big surprise. Her son is 18 and dotes on his baby sister. They are blissfully happy and I know she’d say go for it too!

Charleyhorses · 21/07/2020 21:50

I think it's irrelevant tbh.

Oldraver · 21/07/2020 21:59

There is 19 1/2 years between my two boys. It is fine for me but realise it isnt for some.

I would say give it some thought but try not to think about what the 'normal' thing is, You have to go with what you feel rather than convention

gg12346 · 21/07/2020 22:02

my cousin sister and me are close to each other and we are of same age .Her real sibling is about 17 year younger to her.I cant see any difference she is more of a mother than she is a sister to him .She cant relate to him and considers me to be a close sibling than his own real brother .But yes the bond is there .I would say its a bit too much .Now with parents old , they wont be there to watch his wedding etc ,he has just passed school and so he will be a liability on her forever .

copperoliver · 21/07/2020 22:09

There's is 18 years between my sister and I, I love her like a daughter and I mother died when she was only 22 so all we have are each other. I'd say 18 years is fine my sister and I adore each other and wouldn't be without her. X

ChiaraRimini · 21/07/2020 22:15

Lots of people will say it's all wonderful, will work out fine etc but it's bit that easy.
The new one will be an only child, effectively.
That can be fine, or you may have a child who is lonely. My youngest DD is like this-she is jealous of friends with sibs of a similar age and has struggled in lockdown with no play dates. I guess if your older one had struggled as an only then you would have mentioned that as a worry, but it does vary from child to child. Also it is hard work to go back to the early years, not just having a baby but the toddler, pre-school and primary ages where there are a lot of demands on your time. Go into it with your eyes open.

ChiaraRimini · 21/07/2020 22:16

Lots of people will say it's all wonderful, will work out fine etc but it's bit that easy.
The new one will be an only child, effectively.
That can be fine, or you may have a child who is lonely. My youngest DD is like this-she is jealous of friends with sibs of a similar age and has struggled in lockdown with no play dates. I guess if your older one had struggled as an only then you would have mentioned that as a worry, but it does vary from child to child. Also it is hard work to go back to the early years, not just having a baby but the toddler, pre-school and primary ages where there are a lot of demands on your time. Go into it with your eyes open.

CantSleepClownsWillEatMe · 21/07/2020 22:16

I think the age gap isn’t hugely relevant but like pps I do think it’s a little odd that in 17 years this wasn’t a topic for discussion and I have to wonder if it’s more a case of your biological clock ticking a little louder.

I mean there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just you’re focusing on the wrong thing. The real question is do you and your dh actually want another child? If you both do and you’re confident in your relationship, can manage physically and financially, then there’s no reason why not. Personally I’m not a fan of the “go with the flow” and “if it happens it happens” approach when applied to having a child or not so I’d want to be clear he was fully on board in terms of the shared responsibility and impact it will have on your lives.

TheBouquets · 21/07/2020 22:24

I have always wondered what my DD thought when I had another DC when she was 12. At the time she seemed excited to have a new baby arriving. I think there was a shock for her when the new baby turned out to be a bit unruly whereas DD had always been the quiet studious type.

I have wondered myself how things would have gone if I had not had the second DC. I would not dare to ask DD how she feels about it all now that she is all grown up

I have a sibling who is 2 years older than me and the battle is still raging on despite our ages!

It does rather look like you think you are doing this for DH but really it is you who wants another baby. You really need to check how DH feels about a baby now. You are about to enter a stage of life when you have every freedom and I dont think I would give that up lightly.

tozroz · 21/07/2020 22:26

I was in a quite similar situation, there's 19 years between my DS and my DD. DS was from a previous relationship but DH has known him since he was 8 and treats him as his own (DS's dad was never involved). DH didn't have any dc of his own before we had DD. I think it was important to us for DH to experience being a father to his biological child, and for me to experience having a child while in a committed meaningful relationship. The age gap feels smaller for us, as DS is autistic so he is emotionally much younger, he won't go to university and still lives at home (and will do so for the foreseeable future).

It's a bit strange going back to square one as a parent. I never returned to work after having DS as his autistic needs were too high. I did retrain in a new career before I got pregnant with DD but to be honest I wasn't keen on it by the time I finished training, so becoming a sahm again was a neat way to escape that path.

HollowTalk · 21/07/2020 22:28

You've been with your OH since your daughter was a baby. Why didn't you have another child within the next few years?

copperoliver · 16/08/2020 22:45

There is 18 years between my sister and I, I'm so happy to have her. I love her like a daughter. X

Crankley · 16/08/2020 23:17

I was watching a tv programme (can't remember which) in which a woman said she had a 35 year old and a 2 month old who she had at 50, which I think is a rather a lot but don't see any problem with an 18 year gap.

TheSoapyFrog · 16/08/2020 23:19

There's a 30 year age gap between me and my youngest sibling. Definitely not too late

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