Best age gap?

[themummydiaries1]

Hello

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on age gaps.

When in your opinion is the best time to start trying for another baby?

Just for fun 😊

when you arent paying for two in full time childcare!!!
And less than 5 years making it easier to combine activities.

For me it depends on how old you are. If you are approaching or have passed 40 then I would go for as small an age gap as possible that also allows you to have mat leave.

I don’t think there is a right answer to this question. Different things work for different families.
We have 17 months between our 2. It was challenging having 2 tiny ones at the same time, they are now 3 and almost 2. They play beautifully and I love that we will be able to do family things that appeal to both of them. I can see that a bigger gap would have been easier in many ways though. We don’t have any family support.

I have a brother and we’re 2 years apart. We’re close. Sister and I have 4 years between us and we aren’t as close. Also when you’re in your 20s, siblings and mates end up pre drinking together and you have a wider social circle in general

I’ve got 17 months between DC1 & DC2. Then there 2yr 11m between DC2 & DC3.

In all honesty I’m finding the bigger gap this time harder!!

I have a 2 year gap and I think a small gap works well. Young enough to accept the new arrival without jealousy, and close enough in age to play together when they get older.

IceCold Yes to the no jealousy thing!!
DC1 was present at the birth of DC2, and was in awe of him for that first day. She wouldn’t leave my side, and was all “oooo baaaabyyy”......then the novelty wore off and she pretty much ignored him for 6 months until he started crawling and taking an interest in toys etc!

2.5 to 3 yrs I think. DS1 and 2 were nearly 3 yrs apart and it was brilliant- eldest completely articulate and out of nappies when baby arrived but they weren’t too far apart for the same activities for playgrounds/zoos/soft plays. I had a 4.5 gap between 2 and 3 which was a bit too long and the youngest has been in a different phase to the older two and had quite different needs. Haven’t personally experienced small age gaps but what I’ve observed looks very challenging in the early years!

Oh and never had any jealousy at all from older two despite longer gaps!

20 months between mine. Far enough that they are not in consecutive years at school but close enough to want to do the same things more or less.
I was two years younger than my sister but only one year apart in school and I was always called by her name and being compared (unfavourably) with her. My first child rather overshadows my second quieter child but with a gap at school this is lessened a bit.

It all depends on you; I didn’t want an age gap of much less than 3 years as financially we needed the funding for nursery for when I go back to work plus I knew I’d be having a section and wanted DD to be slightly more independent when I was recovering. I also have a 3 year gap between me and my sister and felt that was nice growing up. It’s worth remembering though that you can’t control it as you never know how long it can take to conceive.