To be cheeky to ask how old you were when you had your kids? And age gaps?

[ecossegirl91]

I have one child currently, almost 15m old. Not an easy baby by any means - very bad reflux, very unsettled, kinda grumpy even now 😂 but delightful when he wants to be and still not sleeping through consistently! He was conceived and born when I was 31, very luckily on the first go after coming off the pill (which I’m now back on).

im Fairly certain a second is on the cards, not right now, probably with a 3 year gap if I had total control which of course I don’t because who knows if it’ll even happen for me, nothing is certain! I’ve just turned 33 and first born will turn 2 in the autumn.

not sure whether to bite the bullet and try when they turn 2 - that would be a min age gap of like 2y 8m or so if it happened straight away.

what did other people do? How long? What age etc?

26 when my first was born there's a 20 month age gap between my first and second

I was 32 and 36 when I had mine, they are 4.5 years apart (5 school years) - littlest one is only 8 months but I'm loving the gap so far. The eldest is so helpful and loving towards the baby!

28, 32 & 36. 3.5 year gap and 4 year gap.

I like the gaps but now one is at uni and one still early secondary I do feel like I’ve got a long way to go and that a smaller gap might have been better but purely for selfish reasons. They all get on really well.

I was desperate to have a baby before I was 30. I do wish I hadn’t rushed though and maybe done 32, 34, 36 as I was the first to have a baby and did get FOMO when friends were still out having fun and giving 100% to their careers

I was 35 with first and two years later had number two at age 37. Wanted them younger but we had fertility problems.

30, 35 and 38

I was 25 when I had DD1

27 when I had DD2

Now 28 and pregnant with DD3, due in June.

There's 16 months between 1&2 and it will work out 16 months between 2&3.

It's not easy but I love it. I would say go for it!

Same sort of story as another poster...

17 first
31 second

I wasn't a grown up first time round.

Had my first mid-twenties and my second six years later. With my first, Hospital was terrible towards the end of my pregnancy. They wanted to put dc1 in NICU for obs only, tried to call the police on me when I refused and said they didn’t understand why I was being silly because I’d have two hours to hold him before he was put in NICU. They also said I wouldn’t be able to care for him in NICU, it would be the nurses. This turned out to be down to staffing issues/training. So, I moved hospitals two days before my due date to one a few hours away that would let DC1 stay with me during obs (only admit to NICU if needed) and stayed with family. I had a fast labour (paramedics attended and kept trying to move me). DC1 was initially healthy but I found the hospital stay pretty stressful, though was very pleased we were together. He then developed health issues as the hospital move meant an in utero issue wasn’t followed up properly. This health issue led to a year of doctors visits and hospital admissions and DC1 nearly died. After all that, it took me those 6y to feel able to go through the medical process again! It was never the baby for me that put me off, but all the stuff around it!

Anyway, I was very firm with medical staff during my second pregnancy and had a beautiful home birth. Again it was fast, so midwives missed it, but I was ready and didn’t find it traumatic. I delivered DC2 in a birthing pool in my dining room, luckily very happy and healthy.

Currently hoping to have a third and it would be a gap of 3 years this time. I prefer the one babyhood stage at a time, but didn’t need 6 years to recover this time around! I like that they have a bit more independence. I’m now early thirties. So, then I’d have an 9yo, a 3yo and a baby. I find the two I’ve got play together despite the age gap and get on really well, but the slightly smaller age gap will be nice.

22 when I had my first
37 when I had my second
15 year gap

I have a 3.5 year age gap and personally wouldn't have wanted anything closer as no family help and I do a lot of my own. When dd came along it was a lifesaver that ds was fully toilet trained and could follow basic instructions/ do some stuff for himself. And go to preschool every morning!

I had them at 28 and 32 both planned.

They are 5 and nearly 2 now and I wouldn't change a thing, they are a joy and get along so well too.

25 and 29. There is a couple months shy of 4 years between my boys. I actually really like the gap and it's been great for us. A smaller gap didn't make sense for us and I actually wouldn't change it if I did have the chance.

I was 27 when I fell pregnant, 28 when I gave birth, 29 when I fell pregnant and 30 when I gave birth.

I was 31 when I had DC1, 33 for DC2 and 35 for DC3. All three were conceived quickly (within the first three months of TTC).

Started IVF at 28 and had DS at 30. Pregnant again now and there will be a 3 year age gap

20, 22
15 months gap

39 for my 1st, then 40 (almost 41) with my 2nd, 18 months in between.

I had my first at 41, second at 42. There's 13 months between them.

26 and 27

22 months between them.

19 (1970) pregnant at 18 you got married! Lived in a caravan,so no room for more. 26, miscarriage,32. Second DH, miscarriage,then 41, I thought that was really old till I saw some ages on here. I got a lot of negative/nasty comments. It was my easiest pregnancy,no sickness,no hypertension,no hospitalisation. Really healthy. But I feel it now 73, with a 32 year old,same age as her partners and friends grandparents. Never any problems with the gaps at all. They all get on great, look out for eachother, especially during lockdown.

17 19 22 28 30 32 40

Also became a grandmother at 37 and 39

So 2,3,5,2,2,8

1st - 27
2nd (18 month gap) - 29
3rd (3.5 year gap) - 32

I was aged 20, 23, 26, 40. So 3 yr age gaps and then 14 years. 20 years between oldest and youngest. A 2-3 yr age gap works well as the elder child can understand a bit, play by themselves for short periods and as they grow up they do play together.
Having teens and toddlers at the same time is a wild ride though. Lots of 'big' feelings and the teens will need privacy locks on doors to keep the toddler from destroying their stuff. Also, teens do not understand child proofing/safety nor are they careful about what they teach little kids to do. Just because you think it's funny/cute doesn't mean you should teach your sibling to do it 🤦‍♀️

I had my first at 29 and my second at 30 - the age gap is 16 months.

I had my third at 33 - the age gap between 2 and 3 is two years 5 months so I had three under four for a few weeks..

31 with my first and 36 with my second. 5.5 years between them, both conceived first cycle. We wanted an age gap of 3 years but the covid came along so we decided to hold off until things started to calm down a little

First at 23, second 31... 7 years 4months between them.

Big age gap circumstantial rather than planned but we play the hand we are dealt and it has worked really well.