Baby Age Gaps

Hi Beata - cool name! We have 2 kids, 19 months apart ages 3 and 4 3/4 now. While it was completely UNPLANNED, we feel like our "surprise" son was the best gift ever to come so early. We were going to wait a few years to let things settle down with our first child, and BOOM! While the first year was a challenge with a needy (breastfeeding) infant and an insanely jealous toddler, we got through it, and they are best buddies now with the most adorable relationship ever! While it may be hard for the parents the first couple of years, I think it's the best way to go. They've learned to share at a very young age, and tolerate each other's differences. Some will say having a 3 or 4 year gap is great...but I like the closeness our kids have and they enjoy the same toys, and play together very well. And, having had them and knowing we're done...I got my body back and it's fun heading into the future without concerns of "when" to start trying to get pregnant again and trying to plan for a newborn again...we had the crib, changing table, we didn't miss a beat! Hope that helps! Good luck!

Well I'm expecting #4 right now.
My daughter is 8 and then I had a son 20 months later. With these two it was the hardest and I think because I wasn't really prepared to deal with it that they ended up not getting the attention they needed from me. I was also fairly young. But yes I had two in diapers, in fact my daughter walked late so she had just started walking at 15 months. I had the double stroller, that in itself isn't a big deal. Of course they've played together a lot, but they also fight plenty =)!
I think a lot depends on what you are prepared for and ready to deal with. The gap between my 1st and second son is 3 months shy of 4 years. They do play together now, though this may not be the case w/all siblings this far apart. It was much easier only having one baby that time around! And he got babied a lot more!
I am due with #4 in January and #3 will turn 3 in December. We are trying hard to potty train right now! He is in a big boy bed and everything else. I honestly think 3 yrs is probably idea. You should be able to have your older one at least partly potty trained, they can usually talk fairly well, eating all your normal food w/you and can be a little helpful with the youngest. But they should still be close enough to be playmates at least for awhile. And for me having mine all fairly close I will be done having babies sooner and you can do more with them all together as they get older. There are certain things that are more difficult to do w/little ones.
Just my 2 cents =)~E.

Last month we added a little boy to our family. My 3 yr old daughter (though mildly jealous the first two weeks) has been a wonderful help. She powders diapers, helps washes the baby, even feeds him from time to time. I love the fact that they are close enough in age to develope a bond and friendship later on but there's enough of an age difference that I can focus on each child's growth and development individually. (And the two sets of diapers thing has to suck too). I think a 2-3 yr gap has numerous advantages.