What is your ideal number of children, and what would the age gaps be??

[slinging]

Funny as I live surrounded by families of 2 children, yet teach in a very middle class area full of families with at least 3 children. Keen to hear your thoughts!

[LittleSilver]

Just to comment on the 3 child family, i go to very middle class evangelical church and we have A LOT of 3 and 4 child families. In fact someone asked me on Sunday if it wasn't time for me to produce another

[littlemisslozza]

I'd love 3, possibly four. Got two DSs with 23 months between them, great gap (at least so far...). Hoping to have DC3 when DS2 is around 2.5 but having had a mc in the past I know these things can't always be planned. Fingers crossed!

[onemoretimetoday]

3 is perfect for us and the idea of an 18 month - 2.5 year gap brings me out in a cold sweat. There are 3.5 years between #1 and #2 which is perfect, big enough to not have 2 babies and small enough for them to play together. I will have 4 years between #2 and #3 and I think that will work too.

[nickelbabe]

i seem to be following the trend by wanting 3 with 2.5 years inbetween.
i might be biased because that's what my own family was: 3 girls and i'm the middle one.
my big sister started school just after my little sis was born which sounds ideal to me (although i think i'd like to give birth after the eldest had started school: ooh, which it would now because of reception! perfect!)

[Fajitas]

I thought I wanted 2. Then I got pregnant. If forced to choose now, I'd stick at one. The first trimester hasn't been a barrel of laughs.

[TabithaTwitchet]

I originally wanted 4, with 2 year age gaps. We have been failing to conceive number 2 for months (DD is now nearly 2)

I now think that stopping at 2 feels right, and feeling much more positive about a bigger age gap of around 3 or 4 years, or maybe more.

Maybe when (if!) I eventually have 2, I'll feel like having more, but at the moment 2 seems like the perfect number.

[WoTmania]

I wanted at least 3 (would love 4) and have 3. DH says thats' it.

[Concordia]

if DH and i were both ten years younger (and DH actually enjoyed under 3s which he doesn't, and i was healthy which i'm not, and we were rich, which we're not) i think i would like 3 children with a 2.5-4 year gap between each
as it is we have 2 with a 2.3 year gap, we had intended a smaller gap than this but in fact i think i would have sunk with a smaller gap.
I would like the youngest child to be in pre-school at 2.5 before the next baby is born if poss, for my own sanity and a bit of time off, as we have no family support.

[2babyblues]

I have always wanted three. I now have two boys with a 2 yr 7mth gap. Even though it is a reasonable sized gap I found that my youngest got no attention for the first year as my oldest was so demanding! I felt guilty all the time!! My youngest is now 2.5 and am really broody but I would wait to have a 4 year age gap this time I think. Though we haven't completely decided whether we will or won't due to money etc.

[EldonAve]

I originally wanted 4, with 2 year age gaps

But now I have 2 I don't think I could cope with 4 so we might aim for 3

[Tortington]

1

[Carikube]

I'm not entirely sure how many I want but as I am 36 I may not have too much say in the matter. We have 1 dd (6 mo) and am pg with dc2 so there will be a 14 month age gap. DH would be happy to stop there but has said he knows I'd probably want a third but we might have a slightly bigger gap between dc2 and dc3....

[NightShoe]

1 for me, although I would have settled for twins I have no desire to do the whole baby stage again.

[WoTmania]

oh and as far as ggaps go we have 17mo and 20 mo gaps. I wanted a bigger gap between DS2 and DD but nature had other ideas.

[girlsyearapart]

Would like 4.

Have two girls who have just turned 1 and 2.

We are trying for number 3.

If that all goes well I don't want to wait too long till we try for 4th.

Don't want any after I'm 35 so got 5 years in which to produce the next 2..

[mamalovesmojitos]

never really thought about it tbh. quite happy with my one! although i am single so if i did settle down with someone maybe i'd change my mind. no more than two though, i don't think i could spread myself and my finances effectively with any more than that.

[Rosie29]

I have 3, 5,3,8 months.
Would love one more asap!
And perhaps sneak in no.5 once the others are older and I have a broody crisis in about 10 years time!

[BarbieLovesKen]

Oh like this thread! DH and I have been having lots of chats about this lately.

Ideally, I would love 4, with a possible fifth - thats fine to say now as we only have 1 dd and due our little boy in January but things could very well change when I realise how hard it may be!!.

DH appears to want 3 and then a we'll see..

I would have loved approx 2.5 year gap but dd will be 4 and 4 months when ds is born - oh well!

[fairybubbles]

We have one DS who is 2.5yrs, would like to try for another when DS is 3.5, but if happens earlier that's fine! Ideally would love 2 DC but if we had bit more money 3 would be nice.

[Pinkjenny]

I would like 3. Am currently pg with ds and the gap betweem him and dd will be 2.7yo. I am reserving judgement to see if ds is any better at sleeping than his big sister.

If not, no more.

[tostaky]

We are planning 3 DCS with small age gap. Probably hard work though... currently 4 months pregnant with 11 months DS

[bosch]

I wanted 3 and I got 3. 22 months between ds1 and ds2; 3 yrs 3 months between ds2 and ds3.

Only now that ds3 is 3 I wonder when I am going to get my contraceptive failure and get pg with baby no 4?!?!

[Bensmum76]

I always envisioned myself with three or more children with about 2/3 gaps between each. At the moment we have our DS almost two and were trying to conceive up until a week ago when it hit me that in reality I just couldn't go through it all again. Although DS was an 'easy' baby I still struggled and think I would again with another baby. In an idea world I would have my three babies but in reality we're sticking to one for now!!