Spacing Between Children

I have 3 kids and they are very wonderful and the ages are 12,10,and 5 about to be 6 in another month.My 5 year old wants to be the boss of everything in the house even the boys.Right now I wanna have another baby soon and I not gonna try at no specific time.It will happen when it happens and I understand what you mean about spacing them out,cause my first 2 are right behind each other a year apart.

4 years is a lot of time between kids. My girls are 18 days shy of exactly 2 years apart. I was really worried at first. The first year or so was kinda hard. The baby needed me constantly and my two year old wasn't completely independent yet. When the baby started crawling and then walking, it was hard to keep up with the two of them. But now that they are almost 2 and almost 4 (their birthdays are this month), I am so happy with their age difference. They play very well together and are really good friends. My older one is very helpful now and since the younger one wants to be like the older one, she is helpful as well.
One side note, I know a lot of kids who were potty trained before siblings showed up, and they regressed a lot. It may be worth it to have a baby and then potty train. Potty training only works on your child's schedule, not yours. And looking back, it would have been a lot harder to potty train while pregnant rather than potty train with an infant (which we did). Good luck!

My boys are 2 years 9 months apart and it is great for us. They are close enough to play together, but far enough apart that I didn't have two "babies" at once.

I would suggest not putting too much time between your babies. With your plan your kids will be about 4 years apart. That may make things harder later on when you are wanting to do things. They will be so different in what they want and can do that outings and trips will be more complicated. I know the first couple of years is what you have in mind now, but remember, if they are a bit closer in age they are probably more likely to grow up as "buds". My boys started playing together when my youngest started walking. They play (and fight), but love each other like best friends. Also, I think it's a lot harder to go back to the baby stage when you have been out of it so long.

I think it's all a matter of opinion, but just remember, there is more to it than just that first year of baby/toddler. Good luck!!

My kids are 3 1/2 years apart. Even though I could get pregnant it still took a bit. Just because you got pregnant on the first try for the first, your body has had a few changes in it and it could take you a while. Besides the longer you wait to try, the more you decide you don't want one. When I was in the hospital with my daughter, my son talked with me on the phone. After I got home he asked me not to go away like that again because he didn't like it. So you see you have the other older child not wanting to have a sibling around or not more. But you are the ones wanting anotehr baby. My kids today are 34 and 30 soon to be 31.

We too had an easy time getting pregnant with #1, in fact he was literally a honeymoon baby! However, the second didn't come as easily. It took 7 months of trying for us. So just keep in mind, it may not happen so fast. Mine will be 26 months apart. I am very nervous about two in diapers. They will be the opposite sex also, so I am not sure that they will be good friends. But for my own sanity, I wanted to get the baby stage over and have two that can at least somewhat enjoy growing up together. My nephews are exactly 3 years apart, and they get along wonderfully.

My two are 16 months apart the first six weeks were difficult, but I am glad they are so close together. I would say go ahead and try God will bless you when it is the right time.

Hi J.,

One problem with waiting until your son is older to have another child is your older son is not going to want another baby coming in and taking his spotlight. He is very used to being your only. I have seen this with a few of my friends. Ultimately though you need to do what's best for you and your husband. Just a thought though! Good luck

Mine are 2 1/2 years apart and that was very difficult timing for me. My first son was ready for potty training soon after my second son was born. If I were to do it again, I'd try for 3 years apart.

MY girls are almost exactly 3 1/2 years apart. It works great for me because my oldest is very helpful. But I have another friend who her girls are the same aprt as us and fight constantly and she wishes she would have had them closer. I can say this if youa re wanted another one I would start trying now. You never know how long it will take to get pregnant some people get pregnant rigth off the bat. My husband and I it took 18 months to concieve our second. But good luck to you in whatever you do.

i got preggo with my 2nd when my 1st was 15 mo. old so they are almost exactly 2 years apart (we didn't really plan it that way, wanted more like 3 years between them!)
i like them being so close because they play VERY well together, and because my 1st daughter never really remembered being an only child so the transition to being a big sister was much easier for her. as soon as i started showing we told her about her baby brother or sister and she would always lift up my shirt to look and hug and kiss the baby. from day one she wanted to be involved in holding and feeding and helping out. of course there was jealousy...she would always want to be held when i held the baby. i'll tell you that you know you've reached your prime as a mother of 2 little ones when you can nurse the baby and change a poopy diaper on the older one at the same time!
now the cons...there is the obvious added work when both are so young. both of mine were in diapers together. my oldest is still not potty-trained and she's almost 4, although i think part of that is just her stubborn nature! but it's also because it's sooo hard to give the older one the one-on-one attention that is required during potty-training with a baby around. i'm sure that if she was an only child and i could have given her more of my time she could be fully potty-trained by now. but i don't think it's hurting anything for her to still be learning at this age.
other than that, with close spacing, expect a messy house a lot of the time! there's just no way to keep it squeaky clean and give enough attention to a 2 yr. old and a baby at the same time! but you get really good arm strength and learn to juggle really well LOL
so that being said, my hubby and i are trying for our 3rd right now and my 2nd will be 2 in may. so we definitely wanted to wait longer than 2 yrs. between babies this time around! i just think it's completely different for different families. it depends on what you want, what your priorities are, and what you think you can handle. good luck with whatever you decide =)

My first 2 are 15 months apart and the 3rd will be 2 years younger then the 2nd. Although it tends to get a little wild around mealtime, I wouldn't change it for the world.

It is funny you ask this bc my husband and I were having this conversation las night. Our oldest son is turning 11 soon, daughter is 3, and I am pregnant w/another girl due in May. We were saying how wonderful it was to have our 7 years with our son. And now with our 3 year old daughter, it is a little different bc she is still pretty demanding, just like the baby will be. Like helping her potty, bathtime, and still constant supervision. When she was born, Addyson was at the age where he was independent in almost every aspect. I feel like nothing was taken from him and given to her. I am concerned about how I am going to handle having to tell Brooklyn "just a minute" while I am tending to the new baby. I am just not used to that. On the other hand, I do love seeing families with kids really close in age bc it seems to be easier to plan age appropriate activities. It is a hard choice. Good Luck!

My kids are 14 mom apart just the same as my brother and I were. It has been great because activities and even homeschool have been so similiar for each and they enjoy each other's activities and friends (they are not 14 and 15)

I have 3 boys. My first is from my first marriage. He is
5 1/2 years older than my middle boy who is 3 years older than my baby. They are almost grown now. They all get along and are very close. They always have been close. I always told them how much they loved each other and t=how they were best friends. (Brainwashed) Anyway, it doesn't matter. Do what is easiest for you. Good luck!

My children (three of them) were three years apart. It worked great because I didn't have two in diapers and they were still close in age. They are now 21, 24 and 27 and are still very close.

My 2 kids are 21 months apart and it is perfect for us. If I were you I would start trying now, because you dont really know if you are going to get preggo right away. We got preggo right away with our first and with our second it took 7 months. Good luck!