Whats your ideal gap between siblings and why?

[Bub2luv]

Hi :wave:

I am ttc#2.
If successful my DD and #2 will be about 2 years apart. :yelclap: :yelclap:

Out of curiosity I decided to post this poll to see what your ideal gap between siblings would be and why.

[the_queen]

I like the gap between my 2. DD was around for the pregnancy, the birth, and the first couple of months, and then she started school - which means I have time alone with DS, just like I did with DD. She's old enough now to be independant in regards to things like dressing, showering/bathing, eating her food, toileting, tidying up, etc.

:thumbsup:

[~EmsMum~]

Im happy with the one child atm
either that or at least 5-6 year gap

[jkate]

There is 2 1/2 yrs between my boys, but I felt that was too close - didnt help that we moved at the same time either. Next gap will be over three years!!

[Niki]

between 1-2yrs for me, i thinks its because me and my sisters are close in age and i loved that growing up:D

[SamanthaJane]

2-3 years.

This is the age gap between me and my siblings and most of my friends and their siblings and we all think its great :D

Though i don't see myself having another child so soon... my plans sorta went out the window... so my next will probabaly be about 5 years away :rolleyes:

[Sara's Boys]

1-2 years is good for me because I have my own business, which is hairdressing salon, and I need to be there working for it to be a good profitable business. So I intend to spend 3-5 years managing the salon without actually working, and having them closer means I will back making normal money again sooner. Albeit I would rather be poor and see my kids grow up, but I will have to provide for them later so I must consider it. Also I love the idea of them learning from each other and not being at different stages of play.... ie a 3 year old can get on the level of 2 yo but a 5-6 yo may be beyond that...in my family that was the case. Alll my cousins who were closer in age, spent a lot more time having fun and not so much time fighting. And the ones where there were3 years+ where not really connecting and never did in the same way. But I do realise that this also has a lot to do with personality and family types.

My other secret reason is that I would like 3 before I am 30 ( I am 26 and will have no 2 in Nov this year) But if I did decide to have a fourth, I would like to think I was still at a good age to be putting my body thru that for the 4th time!

[mum23girls]

I chose 3-4 (if you can wait that long!!) They are just so much more independant and helpful.....You can sit them down for dinner and they can do it themselves, they can go toilet bythemselves, they can dress themselves (most of the time - even if they do put on two pairs of shorts and a singlet top in the middle of winter!!)

Just little things that you have to do for a toddler adds up in time.....it is so much easier!! I see so many people struggling out and about with little ones...they have more courage than me!!

Then again it took me two and a half years to go again between babies...

[Cheekychops]

18 months!!! - Cause that's what mine are!!! :smiliedance:

[Melo]

We are going to have 15 1/2 months, and i'm comfortable with this!

Hmmm ask me in 6 months and it might be a different story!!! :rolleyes:

[EskimoMumma]

4-5 years for sure. DS is 4.5 yeras and DD is nearly 9 months old.... i LOVE it. its great.

i will be in for a shock because i will be havin ga 14month age gap when this baby is born :eek:

[Bubble*Crazy]

I voted 4-5.

DD has just turned 6 and DS is 3.5 months old and like the_queen, DD is independant enough to shower, dress, get her own basic food (fruit, drink of water etc) and she's at school FT, so it's like having a 1st child again and all that goes with it in a way.

But having one at school also has it's probs! DS is usually in the middle of a sleep or wants a feed when I have to drop her off or pick her up. And I'm not able to do 'fruit duty' or 'parent helper' as often as I should (sorry ... that should say as I'd LIKE to ;)).

But saying all that, if I was to have one more (still working on it!) it would probably be next year sometime.

[Jenko]

We will have 2 and a half years between and that is the age gap i wanted so it's worked out well.

I wanted them close together, but not too close. If i had a newborn before now i know i would have found it very difficult. DD is becoming more independant everyday and with still about 5 months to go before bubs is born i should have her washing dishes and making by dinner by then :laughing: :laughing: just jokes!

[Hokey Pokey]

I voted 4-5. We had 4 years with our girls and I would not want it any less. Next time it will be 4+ years aswell.

[Briannabear]

We really wanted a 2 year age gap between ours. No massive reason except that it worked for my brother and I really well.
And also because I think Id struggle to have more children if we let it go too long in between. Id be used to having my life back to a point (iykwim!)
Our babies will be about 21 months apart. :)

[mel04]

12 months is what i have and i love it, but bub no3 will be a big gap. I would love to have another close, but it would mean upgrading the car and we just can't afford it.
The girls entertain each other heaps and love each other to bits! Wouldn't change it for the world.
Wait till i have no 3 and i'll tell you which gap was better! lol

[melbryan]

I would like as close as possible for planning purposes only. Mine are 2 yrs apart but my next I want closer. I want them to go off to school more or less close together so i can return to work and we can buy a bigger house. That my only reason though.

[pookiesossige]

A gap that's bigger then what we ended up with would have been great.. But perhaps it could work out better for us when the kids are older :detective: .. I know that there are many of you bubhubbers out there with very very small gaps, but for me, 21 months was a bit small considering the character/personality of my son and my own capabilities. It's just what you can cope with, I think. I know my limits and I'm certainly coming pretty close to them now!

[pookiesossige]

And also because I think Id struggle to have more children if we let it go too long in between. Id be used to having my life back to a point (iykwim!)

O, I know exactly what you mean! I fell preggers last time by mistake, and even though it's hectic over here at the moment, life before was getting very relaxed, peaceful and predictable - I was starting to settle for one child when I originally wanted a few! So I'm glad Ariene came along or I mightn't have gone back :eek:

[QTB]

as close as possible.... but in saying that, we knew were were going to have trouble concieving.... i guess if i could choose an ideal it would be 18mths to 2 yrs

[Elijahsmama]

Ideally 4-5yrs for us. That way we can have alot of one on one time with DS and then he'll be at kindy or school by the time the next one comes around and s/he will get lots of one on one time too. Holding out till that long is another story though - i get so clucky but ones hard enough at the moment!!

[ButterflyMama]

DF and I want to wait until he has graduated uni until baby #2 is born.. so we'll probably start TTC about 2 years after baby #1 is born. :) Heh

[PiercedDoll]

my ideal age gap is 2-3 years and my OH (other half) ideal is 4-5 years...

[blessedmummy]

yeah.. my girls are close.. wasnt planned, but it worked out great anyhow! they are 16months apart which is close! but they are the best of buddies! for our no#3 baby well.. that will be another story... probably about 3-4yrs away yet, but hopefully before im 30... cause i think it would be easier for me then when the girls are older and at school by then! (im 25 now) my mum and dad had my brothers two years apart then had me about 9yrs between my oldest brother and 7 for my other brother (in other words.. they are 34 and 32) if that makes any sense!

[MummyCharmzy]

I think 3-4 years is the ideal gap.

We have 12 months between our youngest two and that is WAY to close, we didnt plan it that way and I never would have. They're great of course but it is such hard work. Theres 2.5 years between DD1 and DS and even thats a bit close, DS wasnt toilet trained, was still sleeping in a cot etc... he was still a baby when she was born.

I think 3-4 is best, they are more independant, often going to kinder so you can have some one on one time with the new bub etc. Having them close together means you just dont get that one on one time with them.

[Milliner]

I think 2-3 years is a good gap

[BaDaBing]

I know this sounds very specific but I planned my boys are 2yrs 2mnths apart. I figured this was still very close which is what I wanted and that my eldest would hopefully be over the 'terrible twos' however this was not really the case. I think back now and if I was to go again I would like 2 yrs 4mths as by that time the eldest is out of nappies (hopefully) and also out of the painfull stage (hopefully).

Now they are 3 and 10 mnths and it is perfect, actually as I type I can hear them cackeling away to each other and having crawling races. Its beautiful... I love it.

Best of luck

[SweetSerenity]

I personally think (for me) 3 - 4 years is a good age gap :D:yes: I just dont think i could handle them being closer in age... just how i am thats all!

[my_lot]

i have two years two months between the first two

they were 5yr+5mths and 3yrs+3mths when our son was born.

the gap between the eldest and youngest was so good then and still is now. they get along better than the youngest two together. i also found the three yr gap harder than two yr gap.

when no.3 was born the eldest was at school so i had a newborn and a 3.3 yr old. they were at home together for 2.5 years ( apart from 2 days a wk of pre-school) before the second dd started school.

i will have 4yr 9mth between the last two and they will be home together for 12 months before ds starts school.

when planning no.4 i thought about the time id have two at home more than anything else.

i am happy with this gap and the ages of the eldest two to the youngest. i think if id had a closer gap for all four it wouldve been a one way ticket to a mental home!

[mel-d]

My first was 3 when No. 2 appeared in the world. I found it a good break and No. 1 was old enough to be mostly self sufficient and helpful when bubba came along. The hardest thing though was constantly telling No. 1 not to try and pick up bubba. They're good mates, even though bubba can be a bit of a bully. You think you've got it pretty well sorted after the first, but a second brings with it a whole lot of new challenges. The biggest I've noticed is now that bubba is 20 months, she wants everything that big sister has ... luckily in most cases now a second of whatever solves the problem.

[Lila]

i didn´t vote, as there is no perfect gap as such for me

we had 15 month between our big ones (no.1and2) and now have a 7 year gap between no.2 and no.3.
and we LOVE it!!
i loved it having the big ones close together they are best friends and it is fantastic.
with bubby again it is perfect too, as the big ones are old enough to understand, why i don´t have time now and stuff
they are in school during the day so i end up having heaps of time for bubby...

as i said, no one and only perfect gap for me....:)

[jaydensmum]

I think around 2 years apart is a good gap.

jaydensmum

[BabyJoy]

I voted 2-3 years but the truth is that I just don't know! :confused:

There was a six year gap between me and my younger brother and I hated him my whole childhood.. I found him annoying, noisy, and a pain in the butt! Then when I was old enough Mum and Dad made me babysit - we almost killed each other! So I wouldn't have this sort of gap with my children for fear of it turning out the same way.

We will probably wait until Laura is 2 before having a second but mainly because I want time to feel better (I have rheumatoid arthritis) and also so that she has time from me and DH - I want her to be the centre of our world for a while. If we only have one child I would still feel blessed and it wouldn't worry me that she wouldn't have any siblings.

I can see pros and cons for all the options... it's a tough question to answer if you only have one child at the moment!

[tegz_84]

we r due 4 our first bubba in 7 weeks (7th November 06). We have decided that we will be more then happy for this one to be our only child or we might try again in 4-6 years time. Reasons being: I need to go back to work as soon as i can (prolly after bubby is 8 months old) so we can afford to build our home, and I would like a decent age gap inbetween our kids, will be easier to have another bubby when one is at school.

[~rambox~]

The gaps with mine are all different and i think it depends on your personal preferrence.
DS1 & 2 - 4 years 12days

DS2 & 3 - 20mths

DS3 & 4 - 2yrs 8days

Currently trying for #5