Sibling Age Differences?

smbenevides1989

Hello! Just hopped on over from TN and I had a question to ask you.

DH and I have a 3 year old daughter together. She will be 4 in January. We had just gotten married, and he's settling into a new career. We have started talking about adding on to our family. We know we probobly won't start TTC until the beginning of next year (we want to pay off our cc debts and move to a bigger place), but we are worried about the age difference between her and the new sibling.

So my questions are: How far apart our your children? Was there any jealousy from the oldest regarding the new child? and, Was it an easy transition from raising an older child to an infant?

Any feedback would be great! TIA

MNgirl326

LO is 3, and so far we don't have a sibling yet for him.  We would like another sibling for him, but it just hasn't happened yet.

My Brother and I apart 4 1/2 years apart

My sister and I are 12 years apart

But I have good friends who have children 15 month apart.   There are positives and negatives to having kids close in age and far in age. There will be times when they get along great and play well, and there will be times when they fight like cats and dogs...because they are siblings that is what siblings do.  And you will make it work, whenever the next one comes.  

Work on yourself first and whatever you need to do there, and then worry about another sibling in the family.

MrsRustyGriswold

My DD and DS are about 2 years apart.  It's working out great for us.  I think it's been hard work at first because they both need so much moment to moment help, but in the last few weeks, it's gotten easier as DD has become a little more independent.  I'm excited that they will be so close.

My sister and I were almost 3 years apart and mostly it was great.  We definitely had our sibling rivalries, etc. but we're really close now.

I don't have experience with bigger age gaps, but I would imagine the early months would be easier with a more independent older sibling.

beachbum28

My children have a 4 year difference! It worked out great for us! I would like to add one more to the mix at some point

fsumom

DD will be 7 in October, and we're ttc #2.  I'm a bit nervous about the age gap.

PunkyBooster

Ours will be close to 4 years apart. If we have #3 it will be a wait and see thing.

Factoring in things like FMLA and tuition payments far outweigh age differences to me, personally. Good luck!

FemShep

DD1 was 7 when DD2 was born.  It actually worked out really well for us; while DD1 was about 80% excited/20% jealous when DD2 was born, now that DD2 is older, it's more like 95%/5%.  DD1 is a huge help with DD2, and happily plays with her while I'm cooking, cleaning, etc.  It's great to see how much DD1 loves it when she gets a smile or hug too.

smbenevides1989

Thank you all for the responses. I've never seen a big difference in ages in any parts of my family, or in my small group of friends. My younger brother and I are two years apart, and we are extremely close. My H and his younger sister are Irish Twins, so they were extremely close in age. DD is very independent already, which is working well in a lot of aspects right now.

H and I will take care of ourselves first, along with our daughter, and when the time is right, we will start TTC.

Thanks again!!!