Here comes the stork!
But not to my house quite yet, thank goodness!
One of the moms in J.'s group of friends has announced her pregnancy. This is the first pregnancy out of our cohort of mom's that all had babies February-May of 2006. When she told me, my first thought was that the two babies would be so close together in age! But then as she kept talking, I realized that they actually would be almost TWO years apart! And that this gap is pretty typical and seems to be one of the average age differences between siblings. So it seems like this is probably just the first announcement of many to come in the next few months.
I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around having another baby right now - I still feel like I'm catching up on sleep - J. really only started sleeping through the night about 2 months ago, and he stills occasionally wakes up around 4:30 or 5 and needs us to help get him back to sleep. I also just now feel like we have a routine and a schedule and that I know what I'm doing. I loved being pregnant and loved all my time with J. as a baby, but I'm still really just enjoying being Husband, me, and J.
I was talking with my mom about this, who has been in town this week, and she reminded me that when I was the age J. is now, she was already 4 months pregnant with my brother! I've heard people say that pregnancy goes so much faster the second time around, but I still couldn't imagine dealing with the exhaustion, nausea, and general sickness that I felt during the first trimester and be chasing after an active toddler at the same time.
I'm wondering if I will start to feel more of an urge for a second baby as more and more of our friends become pregnant with their second, but for right now I'm pretty content with how things are and with our plans to wait 3-4 years between J. and the next baby. I do see a lot of advantages to having them close together, however, and so part of me is not so sure. Those of you with more than one child, have you been happy with the gap between their ages? Would you recommend having them close together or spacing them out?
Labels: babies
posted by Midwest Texan at 10:02 AM
5 Comments:
I have no kids so no advice... but I think anything can work. My brother and I are 11 years apart and we're closer than most siblings I know.
By
Anonymous, at April 25, 2007 at 11:52 AM
I agree with Laura. I don't have any recommendations. My boys are 18 months apart, so I was 3 months pregnant at Judah's first birthday. I love love LOVE having them close together. The first few months were tough (but, isn't it always), but it's so fun now that they're starting to play together. But, we do want to have another baby, and (obviously) plan to wait longer next time. If 3-4 years is what you want, then I think it will be great!
By
Morgan, at April 25, 2007 at 10:58 PM
Personally, I think that the closer in age the babes are, the more difficult it is on the mama (or papa) in the early years...yet there's so much to be said for your children growing up together.
For me, parenting has gotten easier as my children grow older and more independent (I may reverse this opinion once we hit the teen years LOL), so I found the baby years to be the most demanding. Naturally, concentrating all the baby years together meant (for me) that those years were a lot of work, but so rewarding.
My four children are spaced almost exactly 2 years apart...3 to 4 years probably would've been more ideal for us, but hey, we've survived! And not only that, we've found so much joy along the way. :)
Do whatever works for you, but also know that if the unexpected happens, you can make that work too. :)
By
nic, at April 26, 2007 at 9:35 AM
I'm glad you posted this. I have been thinking a lot about it lately. For a while, I decided I definitely didn't want any more. I didn't want Jenna to be an only child, but I didn't think I could go through all that again. Lately I think I want another one, but I can't fathom that happening anytime soon. You're right--it does seem really common to have them close together. Whatever works, right? For me, I don't want to wait too long because I'm 32 and don't want to be too much older when the next one is born.
By
Karen, at April 27, 2007 at 7:40 AM
My kids are just under 2 years apart. I love how close they are because for me, it's just easier to get it all done at once. I think there are so many pros and cons to waiting and to having them close together. Whatever works for you and your family is always the right choice.
By
Knock knock - it's cancer!, at April 28, 2007 at 7:38 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home