age gaps

[littleweed]

just wondering .... what age gap is there betwenyou rchildren? do you think it's too big/too small or just right? is there such a thing as an 'ideal' age gap?
curious little weed

I think you should go for it littleweed, it's hard at first having two so close in age, but you soon get used to it and then it becomes easier because they entertain each other.

Good luck!!

There is 2 years and 11 months between DS (turned 5 yesterday) and DD (turned 2, 5 weeks ago). This seems a good gap to me although I was aiming to have them closer together! DS was out of nappies by the time DD came along, he was pretty sel sufficeint too and we saw absolutely no jealousy from him at all until DD was nearing 2 years old. Now, they are both jealous of the attention I pay to the other and they fight a fair bit. But they love each other to death and play well together much of the time. I would aim for a similar gap (or a boit larger) again next time. I think my mind and body need that long to recover between babies!

As an afterthought.....there is an 18 month gap between me and my brother (I am oldest of 3 children) and 2.5 years between my brother and sister. Mum had 3 under 4!!! As kids, my brother and I alsways got on like a house on fire and we tended to gang up on our little sister a lot, but would defend her to the death and loved her to bits. As adults we all get on very, very well.

So many typos.....I really should preview before I post

I can only talk about this from a sibling point of view as I only have one ds at the mo, but can't resist joining in. I'm the eldest of three girls; one three years younger than me, one (technically my half sister but we've never let the half bother us) nearly 14 years younger than me. We are all really close ? my middle sister and I loved having a baby sister to spoil and my poor (ex) stepmother never got a look in when we went to stay. Middle sister and I have always been very protective of the youngest and have played a big role in her life, especially when our father split up with our stepmother/her mother.
I grew up with middle sister: the three year age gap meant we were devoted playmates until 7 and 4 when we wanted our own separate friendships, instead of being part of the same big gang of local kids. Then we argued terribly for the next 16 or so years, used to drive our mother mad. Then got very close again.
I don't have the same shared memories with youngest sister, obviously, but we are very close in a different way, particularly now that she's just had a baby. And when all three of us get together... it's party time. There's the added bonus that even if two of us fall out, we've still got one sister we are talking to . We have completely and utterly worn out both our poor mothers, though!

I have 15mths between my two. dd is 5 now and ds is 4. They are so close, yesturday my dd was ill from school and she said to me in a very quiet voice, its boring without *. It was so sweet, she said she missed him. I am glad i had them close, i don't regret it at all. rant over, lol.

I've got dd nearly 3 and ds of 16 months and am expecting another in September. So there will be 17 months between each of them. The hard work comes from the physical side of things I think. When they are all so young they all need you to do so much for them. I had a close gap with my sister and it worked for our family though.
My main reason for getting on with it was age. I was 37 for dd, 39 for dd and am 40 now. All the pregnancies have been smooth and wouldn't say I'm any more tired than other younger mums I know.

Hi, I'm really panicking at the moment so this is a timely thread for me. I have a gap of 22 mos bet DS1 and DD and I've just found out I'm pregnant. Great news as we plan on 4, but earlier than planned if I'm honest. We got a bit carried away and date confused!!! I'll have a 23 mo gap bet DD and baby no. 3 and almost 4 yrs bet 1 and 3 - minus2 mos or so.. Anyone else in the same position. How did you cope. Can't omagine it at the moment!

Hi I have 3 children 1st aged 4 2nd aged 1.5 and 3rd aged 6 months and were actally trying for another my opinion is i you can cope with 3 i think you'll cope perfectly with 4 my mum had 5 and she says once you've had 3 it's no different if you can cope i say enjoy the challenge.GO FOR IT GIRL [SMILE]

Laa, I have more or less what you'll have (esp if you get DS2) - mine now nearly 5, nearly 3 and 14 mo. I love it and I love them all. How you cope? By being very busy. Seriously, I had childcare in place for older two which I carried on with during most of my maternity leave and it was a godsend - time to be with the baby/get chores done. SO that's a good idea. I actually found move from 1 to 2 harder than 2 to 3; new baby just adapts, feeds when you get the chance and generally mucks in. Vital IMO is to get out and about! meet friends, go to toddler groups, haunt the park, just to stop you all climbing the walls. Good luck with it.

Thanks for those votes of confidence. DH is very positive. To be honest I'm just feeling quite tired and I'm slightly apprehensive because my pregnancy with DD was pretty awful. I threw up several times a day until the day I gave birth. Hopefully this one will be less tough. I'm not working - stopped when I was 22 wks pregnant with DD, but DS starts pre-school 5 mornings a week in Sept. I have heard that goping from 1 to 2 is harder than 2 to 3. To be honest, life is so hectic and we are so busy with 2 - and about to move house! - that I can't imagine time to myself or to relax and put my feet up anyway....wish, wish, wish!!!!