What's the ideal number of DCs?

[Cloudminnow]

What do you think is the ideal number of DCs to have? And what age gap would you recommend?

There is no ideal number.

For me it was 1, for you it might be 10.

the ideal number is the number you wish to have,.

some people only want 1 or 2, so that is their ideal number.
others want lots and lots, so that's ideal for them

ditto age gaps.
personally i think around 4 years is a great age gap but there are pros and cons of short and long gaps

So how do you know if 1 would suit you and them better than 4 until it's too late?

Because you know the rationale for why you want that number/ the implications of another child on your health/finances/lifestyle/earning power etc.

Bucharest is right though. How many is the right number depends on so many personal factors (as does the ideal age gap). For me, it's 2 with 2 years between, but there are many on here with huge age gaps (as in decades) and that suits them.

for me it was one.

We have 2 children with a 3 year gap. I'm really pleased with the age gap as no 1 is able to help out a bit, goes to preschool a few mornings so I can have some time with baby etc.

However my "ideal" would probably be more than 2 but due to age, lack of money and space 2 is ideal given our situation.

7 - with the country estate and retinue of staff to match.

YuleingFanjo, why one?

how do you know?

well if you really desperately want another baby then I think it's unlikely you'd regret it one you had it!

it isn't something you can plan in advance i don't think.
i kept getting broody onand off from when ds1 was about 8 months old. i'd go through periods of "i want another baby" but after a bit i'd think "agh no i don't"... when he was 2ish i KNEW that I wanted/needed another child ,so we went for it.

There is not an "ideal" number even for you. Its not like a maths question, it is life, there are pros and cons to everything. You make informed choices, you hope they are good ones, but sometimes it will feel wrong and sometimes it will feel perfect.

I knew I wanted child number two but there were moments when both children were young when I felt that sticking at one would have been more sensible. Right now they get on great and two feels a really good choice. In the future I may feel broody and weigh up the pros and cons of three. None of these numbers are "right" they are just options.

Mine was going to be 3 originally, but I ended up with just one and couldn't imagine anything nicer :) There is no ideal

6

However many you would like at the rate you can handle.

For me, I only ever wanted one. Even now I have her, Im still set on one.

There was seven years between me and my sister, which I think is perfect, others think it's nuts.

for me its 2. i have a 2.8 dd now and want to start trying for no2 soon.
i was an only child and always knew i;d have 2 dcs. that hasn't changed for me.

Utterly depends on what you want. Looking around my university friends, there are people who are happily childless, ones with 1, 2, 3, 4 or even 5. I think the friends with 5 probably feel it's too many but they didn't have the choice. I always wanted 4. Always felt as though as there was one missing until she finally was born and now I feel I have just the right number. I won't say I wouldn't happily have another baby, but the point is that I don't want another child. I know I have the number I am happy with, if that makes sense.