Second child - when is the “best” age?

[Whatandwhen]

I know there isn’t a right answer, but I’m curious to hear people’s experiences. If you have more than 1 child, what was the age gap between them? Did you enjoy that age gap or would you have had one sooner/waited?

We currently have a 12 month old. Definitely want another, we’ve just been discussing when we would like to start trying and just interested to hear people’s experiences (if you want to share) 😊

I got pregnant when my daughter turned 1, so 21 months age gap between the two girls. It's perfect for us.

We have 1 child. My husband and I have always said we wouldn't even think of trying for another until our 1st is settled at school. We wouldn't have wanted another baby while our 1st was so young. A 5-6 year gap would be perfect for us. When he's settled at school I feel I'd be more able to give my 2nd baby the same attention I gave my 1st. He's 5, he started reception this September. Initially we may have thought about trying for another within the next year or 2, as we feel he will be properly settled by then. Obviously now with the situation we wouldn't even consider trying for another so soon. Will all depend on how things are and what happens.
My mum had her children 10 years apart though. There's 10 years between my brother and I, 10 years between my brother and sister, and 20 years between my sister and I. Which was so nice because I was able to me so much more involved.

We started trying for a second when my DS was six months old. There is a 17 month gap between him and DD (one school year) and they have always got on really well. They are now 15 and 14.

Almost exactly 3 year age gap here. Most of my friends have a 2 year gap but my pregnancy was so hard and DS1 was a really intense baby/toddler, I definitely couldn’t have managed any earlier.

DS1 has coped brilliantly with his baby brother arriving, better than I’d ever imagined. That said, DS2 is only 4 months old so time will tell about how they get on once DS2 is moving, talking etc.

Definitely benefits to this gap. DS1 has matured a lot, even over the course of the pregnancy so that’s made his understanding and ability to wait a lot easier. He’s independent in toileting, getting dressed, fetching things for himself etc. He had his nursery hours funding.

DS2 took 6 months to conceive so the age gap might have been a bit smaller, but there was no way I could have been thinking about getting pregnant before DS1 hit his second birthday.

I’m hopeful that 3 years is a small enough gap that they can still share interests. I do have a little twinge when I see these threads and everyone raves about the 2 year age gap, but I know I could never have coped with that some hopefully this is the right gap for our family.

2 yrs 4 months between ours. I personally think we should of waited for a slightly bigger gap, I thought about the gap before ttc but not being pregnant with a toddler... I found pregnancy was tough as the oldest is still so reliant on you for everything, I didn't want 2 in nappies so potty training with a big bump was not fun 😏 and also the start I found with them very hard. But then at the same time I know they will be good friends when they are older and now it is easier, so maybe it was the right gap for us ... just to confuse you 🤣

I think everyone is different though, it depends alot on what you are like as a person, support you will have etc.

I am thinking of dc3 but I think I would leave a bigger gap this time maybe 3 - 3.5 years.

It's a very exciting time and all the best whatever you decide 🙂