Age gaps!

bchandler79 · February 2015

Anyone else have a large gap between there child(ren) and current pregnancy. Mine is 13 years when the baby is born. Any tips? Ideas for older child?

tdenen · February 2015

Not my children, but my brother and sister are 12 and 14 years older than me. I annoyed my brother of course, but he was still good to me. My sister adored me and she and I were and still are very close (I'm close to my brother, too). Part of my life I got to feel like an only child since they went off to college while I was still young. I adored my siblings and wouldn't have changed a thing :-)

megewy · February 2015

Mine will be 4.5 yrs apart. Which is a bigger gap than I wanted. Anyways I teach several high school students who have siblings that are 4-6 and it seems to work great. The little ones love coming and supporting their older siblings at games and they just love each other. The only time they seem to get annoyed is when their parents make them babysit a lot.

cupc4ke12 · February 2015

Well this is my first pregnancy but my DH has a son that will be 8 by the time the baby is born. I hope they will be able to get along just fine.

JustHyr · February 2015

There is 10 years between my sister and I. I being the younger. I felt mostly like an only child but now that we are both older we have a lot more in common.

andreajaimie · February 2015

My daughter was 11 (almost 12) when I had my son two years ago. This next one will be almost 3 years apart from my son and about 14.5 from my daughter. My daughter adores her brother so much and is almost like a mini mommy at times to him. Other times she ignores him because she's still used to the only child thing. Just give the older one a lot of attention too and they'll be fine!

Samtheman0214 · February 2015

I have 4 kids, 2 stepchildren and 2 of my own and I'm pregnant with me 3rd/5th. Lol Anyway, the babies are 13 months apart. The older ones are 5 and 7 years older than them. The oldest one will be 10 years older than this one. They older kids love having younger siblings. They really do awesome with the little ones. It also gives them some responsibility too.

me443556 · February 2015

I have 4 boys already. The oldest will be 20 years older than this lo. Also have a 15yo, 8yo and 3yo

str13 · February 2015

Mine will all be close in age, but me and my siblings were all spread out. I was 9 when my youngest sister was born, and 14 when my brothers were born. It was great, we were all very close and still love being together!

gerbies · February 2015

I was curious about this. My brother and I were only 2 years apart and fought like crazy growing up. My son will be almost 6 when this new baby arrives. I am glad to know that a longer gap might result in less fighting...

Samtheman0214 · February 2015

I think the fighting just depends on the kids because my brother and I are 2 years apart and never fought and my cousins are 10 years apart and they fought like crazy. They are adults and still fight. Lol

mrsjackson0814 · February 2015

I have been stressing over this! Probably way more so than I should as my son (who will be 10 by the time this baby is due) is very nurturing and we have had talks over the last year on his feelings towards getting a sibling. As of right now he is an only child and his opinion, in line with most other kids his age, varies by the day haha. Luckily he is never admentantly against it.
As for previous experience my sister and I were almost 8 years apart and we have our moments of being extremely close and other times we fight like crazy. However our personalities are vastly different and I think that is a major factor!

MrsNichols14 · February 2015

This is my second marriage, so my oldest will be 7 almost 8 and my other daughter will be 5 when this little one arrives. I'm not worried because both of my girls are so caring and loving towards babies I watch and my oldest has been amazing with her little sister since 2 1/2. Kids will be kids and have fights, that's a given. I just plan on doing 1 on 1 time/dates with them so they get that individual attention as well.

MrsNichols14 · February 2015

Oh and also just keep your oldest involved as much as possible. Let them cuddle, feed, and help out as much as they want.

therealmrsevan · February 2015

My girls will be 10 1/2, 11, and 12 when this baby is born.
My stepdaughter has a brother who is two and she loves him to death. My girls are crazy excited that they are going to be big sisters.

I am 4 years older and 8 years older than my younger sisters. When we were young, I carried my baby sister around like she was my own. We had a rough 10 years or so during her preteens and teenage years, but we are very close now. My other sister and I fought like crazy when we were little but she's been my best friend since I was a teenager.