Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

Age gap between babies - what to aim for and how to achieve it??

109 replies

Blondeinlondon · 08/01/2006 18:55

What do you consider to be the ideal age gap between siblings and why?

If you decided X months/years was best for you how much leeway did you give yourself for conception? eg how many months before/after??

OP posts:

BeckieB · 01/05/2007 10:50

So you're going for it Siennammm?! I think deep down I know we'll go for it too ina few months so that the gap will be just under/around 2 years. As another MN just said you really don't know what life is going to deal you, so it may end being a bigger gap after all!
Another interesting one... gender!!
As I already have two boys, a girl would be lovely but friends who have 3 or 4 chn of the same sex were all told that the more you have of one sex the more unlikely it is to change. Has anyone else heard this? One friend who already had 3 boys, then fell pregnant later on was told by her consultant that she had a 30% chance of having a girl. And she did end up having the predicted boy.
I would be extremely happy with either scenario, the thought of my little army of boy soldiers is lovely as is being able to buy things of a pink nature!!!
Que sera sera!! Wonder if the conceiving early in the cycle approach really does work?

Sassylou · 01/05/2007 17:38

Interesting thread. I have 2 DDs with exactly an 18 month gap. DD1 wasn't planned, DD2 was. I liked the idea of having it all done in one go. Everyone thought I was mad at the time esp with double buggies and two in nappies but I loved it, was absolutely great and they are so close now.
Having said that DH has just agreed to No3 which will give me DDs at (prob) 7.5 and 6 plus a newborn. Would be interesting to know views on this. Am a bit worried DD2 will resent not beng baby of the family or poss new baby could become too spoilt?

Uki · 02/05/2007 06:11

At first i wanted mine pretty close together, it was going to be 18 months, as i got pg on first try when ds was 11 months, sadly m/c at 3 months, and then got pg again when he was 18 months, so it will now be 2.2 years. (due Aug)

I think in some ways it has been nice to spend more one on one time with ds. They develop and learn so much as toddlers and he is now pretty independant at 23 months. One mum commented at playgroup today "that she thought he was 3 or 4 as he speaks so well and is so developed" (proud mum moment)

I guess you just don't know what and how it will work out, but it will work regardless the age gap
if i have another (3rd) I may like others wait till ds is at school, so new baby can have alone time too. I also think age gaps are less important than personality in children being close to each other. All my friends and myself get on/ don't get on with siblings because we have similar intrests and personalities not because we are close in age.

IdrisTheDragon · 02/05/2007 07:11

It's quite funny reading an old initial post and finding I posted on it before (in my old name of PiccadillyCircus). DD who was 16 weeks then is now 19 months . Age gap of 22 months still good, although I can see there will be battles ahead.

At the moment, I worry about not having enough time with just DS (3.5) so DH and I are trying to make sure we both have time with just him (separately - DD isn't abandoned ).

elsieanjoanne · 04/05/2007 11:56

Hi im joanne my daughter is 11months think this time is the one if it is she will be 19months if we are pg with #2 confident i could cope regulary look after my sisters dd who is 11weks younger than my dd

smk84 · 08/04/2010 20:51

DS is 12 months now, thinking of trying again once he reaches 18 months. Not sure what I can expect of a 2.3 year old. Is it possible to reason with them? I always thought I would wait for DS to be at school before trying again, but am incredibly broody now and want to know the disadvantages of having a 2 and a quarter age gap !

CirrhosisByTheSea · 08/04/2010 21:36

I think it totally depends on the child! I have two friends who had 2nd babies when the first child was 18months....one child was a little helper and was amazing even getting nappies and wipes ready for her mum....the other one was utterly oblivious, carried on utterly normally whizzing round at top speed and usually this involved the mum having to be 'goalie' to protect the newborn from flying toys/fists/feet!!!!!

so both had same age gap with utterly different experiences

blueshoes · 08/04/2010 21:43

3 years is working really well for me. Dd 6 and ds 3 play so well together they are almost like twins. Dd is all big sistery with lots of ideas and ds copies everything she does. They just take off together. Dd loved ds from the moment of his birth.

EldonAve · 08/04/2010 21:44

this thread is a blast from the past

I would now recommend starting ttc at the smallest age gap you think you could cope with

Flip

1 2 3 4 5