What are the age difference between..

[ccgirl]

My children are 5 years apart. I have a DD that is 7 and a DS that is 2. My DD loves to help. Her brother absolutely idolizes her. As a matter of fact, he jumped out of my arms this morning to say good morning to her. Sometimes she doesn't like that all of her "alone" time isn't as much as it used to be. I then remind her that at least she had the chance for some alone time, she had 5 years with us. Her brother will never know that. We make sure to have "date nights" with each of them individually though. Sometimes I wonder why I reinvented the wheel since I was long out of diapers and such but I don't regret my decision at all. My DD can really help when I am cooking and things like that.

 

[frtchr]

My kids are 20 months apart. My brother and I are six years apart, and DH and his brother are 9 years apart. I wasn't especially close to my brother growing up; we weren't estranged or anything, but we didn't have much in common. Now that we're adults, he's one of my best friends. DH and his brother talk on the phone, but they're not especially close. I think that has more to do with the fact that they're really different people than the age difference. -

 

[chrisn]

My Daughter and Son are 10 years apart! She is 22, he is 12. It was pretty much like starting all over again, but she was the best little mommy and she still tries to be the mommy. She's always telling me what to do about or with him. They are sooooooo close. They are the best of friends. He has always, and still calls her "sister." He'll be 20 and calling her "sister" I just know it. They do everything for each other and I am so glad that they have each other. It is very, very sweet to see.

 

[Ennazus8810]

Mine will be 11 months apart. Not planned, and we are very nervous yet excited. I was married before and tried fertility treatments for 4 years with nothing, then went to start them with my new husband (after trying for 2 years) and found out the day before the first set of injections that we were expecting. Then when our daughter was 2.5 months we found out we were expecting again!
However, my sister and I are 3 years apart, and my brothers are 12 & 13 years younger than me. We are all pretty close now, but my sister and I were at a weird age. We played together good, but were easily annoyed with each other too. I think a little closer or farther apart would have been better.

 

[DonnaBelle2005]

My children are 2 yrs and 4 days apart.

We are trying still this year to have another baby which would make my kids 10 & 8 years older than their sibling (if we succeed). We had a m/c this past September so are trying this year.

I have a friend who is 24 years older than her brothe (same parents) and her son and brother are 1 year apart so for her its like having 2 kids.

Honestly its a personal choice....I say don't worry about it - your kids will love each other no matter how many years apart they are.

Good Luck!

 

[LisaNJ25]

My kids are 17-10-5 and 4. LOVE the age gaps... HATE having the last 2 12 months 6 days apart.

 

[MrsPooh]

My girls are currently 21, 15 and 4! The older two were close enough to share experiences but far enough apart that we cut down on some of the bickering. They even shared a room for about four years. They are pretty close.

My youngest was an unexpected "bonus". My oldest is already out of the house and in her own condo but she tries to do things with the youngest so they form a bond. The middle one is sometimes more like a mom than a sister although they have begun to bicker alot lately.

I didn't realize how it appears to the youngest until a couple of months ago when I said we have two adults and two kids in the house and she insisted that there are three adults and she is the only kid! It is all a matter or perspective.

I wouldn't worry about the spacing you'll have. Our fifteen year spread between oldest and youngest is not so great - they will never have the same experiences. Oldest grew up in a different town, different house and our lifestyle was different. No shared vacations. Different lifetimes really. I feel bad sometimes but I wouldn't trade anything.

 

[deerhart]

2.5 years apart and they are often mistaken for twins!

 

[ebtbmom]

Have you considered having an only? I have an only and it's wonderful. We do everything with him that he wants to do, are able to afford great vacations and trips with him and provide him with experiences that we couldn't afford if we had another.

Of course, it's not for everyone, and sometimes I still question my decision. But then I hang out with my family's kids for a while, and I'm glad I have an only!

I don't think 5 years is that much age between kids though, most of the time, the bigger the gap, the better they get along.

 

[kim929]

I have 4 children the age diffrence between my oldest dd and second child is 3.5 yrs, then I had my ds 1.5 yrs after her then my last is 6 yrs younger then my 3rd child.

 

[CheshireSmile]

My sister and I are 18 months apart, and my mother was not happy about this. We look a lot alike (well used to) and were frequently mistaken for twins. My mom didn't like having two babies so close in age, and my sister did NOT take well to being 'dethroned'. We didn't get along well as kids or teens, and even today at 24 and 25 we are not close, I think cause we lacked any real bonding in our earlier years. When I become a mom I'd like to have space between my kids like yours has potential to be, give each baby the chance to be in the spotlight before moving on to the next life stage.

 

[Esteri]

Sorry this just struck me as really funny ... I don't think you would ever have someone say they regretting having another child..."Oh I really wish we never had little johnny, what a bad decision"

In our more heated moments we might think it, but we'll never say it!!

In any case our boys are 4 years 4 1/2 months apart. When se decided to have a second - DH and I discussed our experiences with our siblings (he's 2 year from his sister, and I'm 4 years from my brother). We decided that longer was better. We were trying for 3 1/2 years - but knowing our oder son at 3 1/2 and knowing him at 4 1/2 - I'm glad it worked out like it did. At 4 1/2 he was ready to be "grown up".
.

 

[Derby]

each of your children ? we are trying to get pregnant and our dd with be 4 1/2 almost 5 when we have the baby. I am starting to freak out that it might be too big of an age difference between 2 kids... can anyone share their experiences?

At this point there's nothing you can do about it, right? It's not like you can go back in time and start TTC. So there's no point in stressing!

I am personally a fan of bigger age gaps between kids b/c I like for each to have their time to be the baby. We have one DD who is almost 2 and are deciding when to TTC #2 - we want them at LEAST 3 years apart, if not 3 1/2-4.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

My kids are 26 months apart. DH's bro is 17 mo younger and sister is another 20 behind that. My brother and I are 4 years apart and we've never been close as we hit our milestones so far apart. However I think if you focus on acceptance and love it may help out a lot. My mom always favored my brother and it caused a lot of resentment between us.

Good luck!

 

[wdwdasiy]

My brother and I are almost 10 years apart. I left for college when he was 8 and he was in my wedding when he was 13 (my DD's age) He and I are great friends but we did grow up like only children.
My DH and his older brother were born in the same year January and December. Wow! They really did grow up like twins and they don't always get along very well now. They love each other but there is a lot of tension at times.
My DD and DS are 6 years apart (DD 13 and DS 7). They fuss but they really love each other very much. DS cries when DD goes to summer camp for two weeks.

 

[starsweeper]

My children are virtual twins (only 2.5 months apart), but I was 5 years older than my brother. We always got along very well. In fact, I was more like a second mother to him as a teenager than a sister. I went to many of his practices and games for baseball, basketball, and football when it didn't interfere with my activities. Now that we're older, it is more sister-brother. He's still single and busy, so we don't see each other as often as I would like, but we try to get together every couple months and he loves spending time with my kids when he can. I think 4-5 years is a good age gap.

My DH and mother both have siblings that are a 2 years apart and 6-7 years apart. Both my DH and mother are closer to the sibling that is farther apart, and had a more difficult relationship with the sibling closer in age. This is still true today.

 

[canadianjovigirl]

My girls are 6 years apart....never got pregnant the second time until the first one was in kindergarten and then she started grade one in sept and my youngest was born that month (2months early). It was great when they were younger, and tougher now as my oldest is 15 and the youngest is 9. We adopted a boy who is in between them (11 years) and it rounds out our family nicely....

Any specific questions, ask away........

 

[StephMK]

I would not have chosen to have my first two be 6 years apart either but it has worked out just fine. DD#1 has always been close with DD#2 though at certain stages, they have been like two onlies. We had DS 2 yrs after DD#2 & the younger two are best friends.

DD#2 was just telling me recently she misses her older sis, DD hasn't been around much as she is busy w/HS show choir & musical rehearsals. DD#1 & DS do not always get along but I think it's because they are so much alike & a little competitive. I see DD#2 as the bridge between them and will keep them connected as siblings as they get older.

Occasionally, our oldest feels a little left out but then there are things she & her sister share & DS feels left out. That just might be a product of 3 kids - 3 of anything always leaves someone out. Until we moved, DD#1 BFF was an only so it worked perfectly to bring her along then we had 2 sets of kids. She still comes w/us to the beach each year.

There are lots of ways to make it work & there are a lot of times it is nice to have the age difference to participate in individual activities with them. DH is 10 yrs younger than #1 and 5 yrs younger than #4 and all 5 of them are pretty close today. It does not matter that 4 of them are all close in age & he is much younger.

Enjoy your family, however it ends up. I don't think there is a "perfect" age gap, you just find ways to enjoy it.

 

[GRUMPY D]

I'm also a bad one to ask just look , theres 14 years between are oldest and middle and 6 years between the middle and youngest , yes thats 20 years between oldest and youngest talk about one in collage and one in kindergarten , and I'm glad to say they all lookout for each other , the oldest watches the other two all the time and are middle one helps out with the little one

 

[summerrluvv]

8 years and wouldn't change a thing