How close/far apart in age are your kids?

[Sunkissed19]

the title pretty much says it all. How close in age are your kids and do you like it or not? what are the pros and cons to kids close together vs kids that are far apart in age? Im really interested in the families that have extremes especially...kids that are super close together and kids that are super far apart in ages.

We just arent sure when we want to have number two and id like to get some perspective..so tell me about your kids!

[EmsMom07]

My son just turned 3 in April, and I'm due September 26th with another lil boy!!! So they will be almost 3 1/2 years apart when my other lil guy decides to arrive. I'm very happy with the age difference between them, since I knew I wanted another child after my first but wasn't too sure when I would try again since I have a really rough pregnancies and it really takes a toll on my body and myself, also my oldest is potty trained and very independent which is a plus for me =0). On the other hand though I am the oldest and was 8 when my mom decided to have my middle brother, too me that was way too much time between us because I was use to be the only child by then and really was upset when my mom had him, were still not that close to this day but we will talk every know and then, and then my youngest brother was born 3 1/2 years after my middle brother on my b-day (we are 14 years apart), were also not that close, and my brothers seem to fight all the time. I'm really hoping that my two lil guys aren’t like my brothers.

[rccresswell]

My son is 3 and my daughter is 1 and I am 10 weeks pregnant with our third.  I will be honest it is hard work but well worth it.  My kids have started playing with eachother so that makes it a lot easier.  There is no way I could have them further apart for personal reasons and that is why we chose to have them close together.  We tried to have them closer together but ttc made it difficult lol

[Chez_lee81]

Eldest is 10 and then we have a toddler who is 20months. Both boys and the best of buds. Big boy was over the moon to finally get a sibling and would do absolutely anything for him. However the toddler is very very spoilt by all of us. The new baby will be here around christmas so it will be  a totally different dynamic all togeather. I am hoping the new baby will make my toddler realise that not all things revolve around him.

[Spiket77]

Thanks for asking this question. I think About this a lot. We are pregnant for our first and I'm getting ready to turn 33. I kind of want them close together but it seems like 2-3 years apart might be best. I keep thinking that I want to just stay in baby mode for a few years instead of having to go back and forth. I know when I take care of my nieces and nephews, I much rather take two of them than one of them because they entertain each other.

[Limonada]

Daniel is 3 years 10 months old and Gil is 6 months old....so they're 3 years, 4 months apart.

Before we had Daniel, we thought we'd start TTC around his first birthday and have them closer together.  But when that time rolled around, we weren't ready:  we wanted time to just enjoy him and being a family of 3 :-)  We started TTC when he was 2.5 years old and were successful pretty much right away.  By then, Daniel was well on his way to being toilet trained (having one in diapers is SO much better than 2, IMO).  Plus Daniel is able to entertain himself (for a certain amount of time) while I breastfeed or tend to Gil....and he's old enough to be able to help with small tasks.  If I had it to do over again, I'd do it the same way.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

Ok lets see if I can get this to make sense:
Alex = 14
Abby = 7
Zach = 5 (6 next month)
Gabe =2

Abby and Alex are 7 years apart and really aren't that close, I think it has a lot to do wtih how high strung abby is tho and how she's a trouble maker
Alex and Zach are 8  and 2 mos apart.  They are a little close than her and abby but not by much.  Don't get me wrong, they love each other but they just don't have that really close bond.  The pro is that alex is older enough to help out and babysit.

Abby and Zach are 14 months apart and are about as close as a brother and sister can be.  They play together, are practically inseperable but there's a lot of fighting and arguing too.  They entertain each other, share toys, argue over toys, etc.  But I love this age difference, even with the fighting they are so close and I love it.  The only "con" I've found to this is that Zach being younger and having 2 older sister, one of whom he is very close to, he tends to do "girly" things like dressing up in abbys dress clothes.  But I Try not to make a big deal out of it, hoping it's a phase.

Abby and Gabe are 5 yrs apart.  Abby loves him to pieces and will play wtih him, but more so she likes to play wtih his toys LOL.  They have a bond just not what her and Zach have.

Zach and Gabe are 3 yrs 11 mos apart, when Gabe was an infant Zach would love all over him, now that he's a toddler they butt heads a lot.  They get jealous of each other and bully each other around (more so Gabe bullying Zach and Zach getting upset), they fight over toys etc.  But they still share a bond, just not as close as Abby and Zach

Alex and Gabe are 12 yrs apart and I think Alex was old enough to really appreciate a new sibling at that point and she really shares a bond with him.  There are many times when he gets hurt he runs to HER instead of me or DH.  Or he wants HER to hold him all the time.

I think it really depends on the child too.  

As far as parenting goes.  I found that I actually liked having my middle two so close together, It meant double the diapers, etc...but really wasn't that hard and they were out of the diapers and potty trained within a few months of each other so it didn't drag it all out.  

Having experienced having kids very close together and several years apart I personally prefer the closer together, I find its easier and the bond between the children is stronger and more special.  Just my experience tho.