Hi,
I live overseas and have DD who is 13 months. DD2 is arriving in April, when DD1 will be almost 15 months old, so tiny age gap.
I freelance and work from home, so during the day DD1 is currently cared for by a live-in maid/nanny (we can afford this as we are overseas!)
DD1 is quite sociable, and, I think, ready for something a bit more stimulating than what our nanny can provide. Not only in terms of different games/toys/experiences but also in terms of development (our nanny speaks good English, but not fluent, and is a maid who cares for a child, rather than a qualified nanny who does activities with her, if you see what I mean). She is well cared by our nanny, but not necessarily challenged and not exposed to new experiences.
I have just found a lovely nursery locally who have one space for a child to start, 3 mornings a week, pretty much immediately. I would prefer to wait until DD1 is around 18 or 20 months, but there will probably be no spaces if I wait that long. If I decide to start her part-time at the nursery now, though, come September she'll definitely get a proper place. Given that I freelance, I would break her in gently, probably just giving her an hour or two per day at first, and then building up her time there as she gets used to it. I think this would be quite ideal.
Question is - yes, I'm getting there! 
- in my shoes would you start DD1 at nursery now, get her used to it, so she has her own little time at nursery before the chaos starts? Or would you wait until after the arrival of DD2? Ideally I would wait until around 3 months after DD2 arrives, but it's an all or nothing scenario: take a part-time place NOW, or wait until DD1 is possibly around 2 years old before she gets a place, which to my mind feels too long away.
I need to balance DD1's needs with DD2's needs, but also keep in mind how hard it will be having a young toddler AND newborn to cope with day in, day out, even with live-in childcare on tap.
Am I being selfish to think about putting DD1 in nursery? If you had childcare on tap at home, would you not even consider this?
Having DD1 in nursery 3 mornings a week would give everyone a bit of a break, I think, and also give DD1 some time without the baby taking over everything all the time. However I don't want to push DD1 into nursery too soon...
Sorry. This doesn't even make any sense probably! Anybody with experience of small age gaps please help me decide what to do!
I am off out on a job now but will log in later tonight.
Thanks