Age gap?

JenBon727 · December 2013

Just wondering If there are any mommies here with a large age gap between kids. My DS will be 8 when DD arrives. The gap bothered me at first. The more I've thought about it though, the more I like it.

Just wondering of anyone is in a similar boat...

DTNZ4Ever · December 2013

DS will be 5 when DS2 is born. I love that he can be helpful and can do things on his own.

nikkiuk · December 2013

When this baby arrives in July, my daughter will be 21 and my son will be 16. Little bit of an age gap there LOL

atsky · December 2013

My daughter will be 6 yrs old when the baby arrives. I worried about the age gap and had wondered if I waited too long. But I know my daughter will be a great help and a wonderful big sister.

happywifemomofone · December 2013

My son is 21yo, I am expecting a LO in <2 weeks. Yep, there's an age gap there-LOL!

Natdubs · December 2013

I have a 16 year old son and a 2 1/2 year old daughter. There seem to be quite a few on this board with large age gaps.

Tracy=14 · December 2013

My daughters will be 16 and 14 and sons will be 11 and 8. Definitely did not think I would have another one but everyone is excited. My girls are thrilled that they are old enough to be in the delivery room when I have him.

alisazeph · December 2013

Our son is 17 and our daughter is due in March.

marleybarne · December 2013

My oldest daughter is 11 yrs older than my son, who's 3. She will be 15 yrs older than #3, who's due in May

I'm hoping it will serve as birth control for her...lol

kelley72 · December 2013

Yes! My boys are 15, 13, 12, 10... this is not a first marriage and this lo will be my dh's first child. I do not think it is "ideal" but it is what it is! I would LOVE to have another lo after this baby,but bc of age and financial circumstances, etc. probably unlikely... I loved my boys being close in age but i think parents make it work No matter the spacing.

*sparky* · December 2013

We are just about the same as you. I have an 8-yr-old DS who will turn 9 three months after his little sister is born. He has wanted a little brother for a long time and is not thrilled about having a sister, but he is slowly warming up to the idea. I think he will make an awesome big brother. Due to the age gap, I am sure it will be a different relationship from some other siblings, but I think there are a lot of positives to it as well.

2redtulips · December 2013

This will be my first, but I wanted to chime in because I am quite a bit younger than my sisters (6 and 8 years, respectively). We were close growing up, and we're even closer now. It was amazing to have their example and guidance when I was growing up.

I think it could be a really positive thing for your LO.

SurpriseAt39 · December 2013

My DD is 12, my DS just turned 1 and this LO is due in 3 months.

As a PP mentioned, there's a big gap in ages amongst my siblings. 14 years from oldest to youngest.

rascus15 · December 2013

I will be aFTM but I wanted to say that I was 8 when my youngest sister was born and my older sister was 9 when I was born. I have always had a great relationship with both of them

atsky · December 2013

rascus15 said:

I will be aFTM but I wanted to say that I was 8 when my youngest sister was born and my older sister was 9 when I was born. I have always had a great relationship with both of them

Thank you for sharing your experience. It makes me glad to hear that you have a great relationship despite the age gap. My daughter will be 6 yrs older than the little one when he/she will be born.

cookieinva · December 2013

Kind of...my stepson is currently 14 while my DS is 3; so he was 9 when my son was born. It may not be an ideal age gap but at the same time there is a lot of good! My stepson really gets a kick out of his little brother these days and likes playing with him. When my son was a baby, my stepson liked to feed him once in a while or play with him. He was also old enough not to really get jealous and to understand things like being quiet if the baby is napping or that sort of thing. Good luck!

nikkiuk · December 2013

I think there are some huge advantages to a bigger age gap. My 20 year old daughter and 15 year old son did bicker and fuss when they were small but she is great with him now, spoils him, advises him and he looks up to her. Not that he would ever admit that!

Scaura · December 2013

My son will be 10 and my daughter will be 7. I'm excited that DH and me will have help!

springbeduk2 · December 2013

I will also be a FTM but was the younger sibling of an even bigger age gap - my (half)brother is 13.5 years older than me. My mother (who never got along well with her sister who was 2 years older, and who really disliked conflict) liked to brag about having managed to have 2 only children. When I was little it was more like having an extra dad, and from photos and stories he was super-sweet with me when I was a baby. then after he finished highschool, my brother just wasn't around much and it was more like being an only child except sometimes when he visited we still managed to have some sibling rivalry. Now that we are adults the age difference seems much less I think it's more like a regular adult sibling relationship, though we don't have any baggage from having fought a lot as children or anything like that. Maybe we also aren't as close as siblings closer in age are, but - I really don't know since he's the only brother I've got! Anyway there are nice things about having a big age gap with a sibling. I hope your children will agree!

deedee830 · December 2013

DS will be 6 when this new little one is born in June. He'd been asking for a sibling for such a long time, I hope when we tell him it's finally happening he'll still be happy about it! lol

Dplusbsquared · December 2013

I am due May 1 and my son will turn 16 in September. The gap bothers me but ... SURPRISES aren't planned...

Clamorel · December 2013

My other kids will be 9 & 10 when this one is born.

CaraH · December 2013

This isn't really what you asked, but there are six years between my sister and I. Mom swears she got the best of both worlds - basically raising two only children, but with the benefits of a siblng relationship. My sister and I are very close despite the age difference. I credit this to Mom, who always encouraged our relationship even when I was away at school.

M4ndy · January 2014

My son is 16 and will be 17 when this baby comes

jjtyler · January 2014

My daughter will be 8.5 years old when my son is born in May. Not a different marriage, just a crazy life ;-). My daughter is OVER THE MOON to be having a little brother and has volunteered to do so many things, including move rooms "so he is closer to you".

I do wish they were closer in age sometimes, but life isn't how you plan it all the time.

I also have two younger half sisters that I grew up with...one is 12 years younger and another is 14 years younger. I have a phenomenal relationship with them and have watched them grow from tiny peanuts to wonderful women.

ladylisalt · January 2014

The age gap will be far less for my DS and new LO but I appreciate the perspective as a reader on here. Another reason I love this board. Everyone turns things into a positive.

JenBon727 · January 2014

jjtyler said:
My daughter will be 8.5 years old when my son is born in May. Not a different marriage, just a crazy life ;-). My daughter is OVER THE MOON to be having a little brother and has volunteered to do so many things, including move rooms "so he is closer to you".

I do wish they were closer in age sometimes, but life isn't how you plan it all the time.

I also have two younger half sisters that I grew up with...one is 12 years younger and another is 14 years younger. I have a phenomenal relationship with them and have watched them grow from tiny peanuts to wonderful women.

This reminds me of a related issue. This is my second child, and there is an 8 year age gap. Twice, a stranger

JenBon727 · January 2014

...a stranger has assumed that my this baby is from a different father than my firstborn. I now find myself explaining that we thought we wanted one child, but we changed our minds 7 years later. I'm just curious if anyone else had people assume your children are from different fathers because of a large age gap.

EightYearsApart · January 2014

My daughter will be 8 when her little brother arrives later this month and she will turn 9 soon after. My hubby and I worried about that but she's incredibly excited and can't wait for him to get here!

momoftyj · January 2014

My oldest are 13 and 15. They were 9 and 11 when my 3 year old was born. Honestly they love it. They play with my 3 year old all the time. My 15 year old who is a huge video game kid has a special controller just for my youngest (it doesn't work) and he sits and plays games with his big brother all the time. They are perfect built in babysitters! LOL! My 13 year old has been begging me to have a sister for her since she is the only girl for a year now. They don't know I'm prego yet, but I'm hoping it's a girl for her (and my!) sanity

) I haven't had any issues with the age gaps.

momoftyj · January 2014

A friend of mine has a 17 year old and a 3 year old. Her first pregnancy was so horrible she swore she would never have another kid. Took her husband 13 years of convincing but she finally agreed to have another baby. She had the same questions, even now. She always tells people she doesn't know what happened; that it was an alien baby. People always walk away from that one! LOL!

JenBon727 said:

...a stranger has assumed that my this baby is from a different father than my firstborn. I now find myself explaining that we thought we wanted one child, but we changed our minds 7 years later. I'm just curious if anyone else had people assume your children are from different fathers because of a large age gap.

AngieDB3 · January 2014

My 17 yr old was 10 when his baby brother was born. He was a little jealous at first but that didn't last long and now they love each other dearly! The age gap also comes in handy for babysitting now that my first one is older. I'm also wanting 2 try for #3. That will be a very big age gap.

aherman2778 · January 2014

My oldest daughter is 16 and my youngest will be 12 not long after the baby comes in July. Pretty big gap but I don't mind at all.

Lgrant0714 · January 2014

JenBon727 said:

...a stranger has assumed that my this baby is from a different father than my firstborn. I now find myself explaining that we thought we wanted one child, but we changed our minds 7 years later. I'm just curious if anyone else had people assume your children are from different fathers because of a large age gap.

JenBon727: this is something I wondered about as well. My first two will be 11 and 7 when my new LO is born. My husband and I have been married for 12 years but simply chose to wait before trying for a third (something we agonized over for the past 5 years or so). I guess it really doesn't matter what anybody thinks! I'm a little anxious about the challenges of the age differences (will my girls be close with baby 3...especially if it's a boy?). But then I have to look at all the positives...my children are all involved in different things, are more independent, and are old enough to be helpful! Anyone had any real challenges due to the age difference?

MommieLocs · January 2014

My daughter will be 11, almost 12 when our LO is born! (My son will be almost 14!). Needless to say, LO was quite the surprise.

lilchyna · February 2014

My DD is 16 and DS is 11 and here I am starting over again!

FHBrantley · February 2014

My daughter will be 12 when the new baby arrives in October. I'm a little nervous about it, but she is very excited. She's wanted a sibling for years!

boxermamax2 · February 2014

I am a FTM, my stepson will be 26 when LO arrives and have 14yo and 15yo nieces who will be great built in babysitters!

akflutterby · February 2014

My sister and I are 9 years apart and for a lot of our adult lives we were the best of friends. My kiddos are 16 and 9 now and I'm hoping they are able to find their groove at some point. It didn't stop us from wanting this one (which will be nearly 10 years younger than our youngest and a little more than 21 years younger than my husband's oldest). I think it gives everyone a unique growing up experience where they can feel like the oldest, youngest, middle, only at some point. (Or we're irreparably damaging them and we won't know until they starting sending us the therapy bills.)

futurehunterbaby · February 2014

My daughter is 18 and son 15 (their dad passed on when they were baby and current H helped raise them) this will be his first....can u believe it, he wants a girl. .lol

Tantan2779 · February 2014

I have a 9, 8 & 2 year old. The big kids are awesome helpers. Not too sure how happy 2yr old is going to be with new baby, but I'm sure he'll be fine.

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