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2 year gaps?
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Mummybexee
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I'll let you know how a 17 month gap is in a few weeks!
I've heard its bloody hard having 2 so young but worth it. My friend has 2 kids 3 and 5 now - she was in tears the other day as we're both playing up! She said its the hardest thing bringing up 2 she's ever had to do! X
I've heard its bloody hard having 2 so young but worth it. My friend has 2 kids 3 and 5 now - she was in tears the other day as we're both playing up! She said its the hardest thing bringing up 2 she's ever had to do! X
CARNAT22
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26 months between mine and in all honesty it's been a freaking nightmare.
James hit terrible 2's literally the month before baby arrived. Baby was clingy, wanted to feed all the time and wouldn't sleep unless she was with me (we still cosleep now and she still doesn't sleep through!!).
Thankfully my OH took extended paternity leave!!! Also having baby born in January meant the weather was rubbish so I didn't feel guilty about staying in.
Hardest thing for me was having to decide which child to attend to if they were both wanting me at once. An example is Bee would be crying for a feed and James moaning for his breakfast so I'd leave Bee for a few minutes and do some cereal for James - that way I could feed Bee in peace.
I was making those kind of decisions all the time and often felt guilty about making one child wait.
The upside is that we never needed a double pram (we have a sit down buggy board)
I adore my kids but the age gap hasn't been Ideal for us. I often feel like I'm short changing them both.
X
James hit terrible 2's literally the month before baby arrived. Baby was clingy, wanted to feed all the time and wouldn't sleep unless she was with me (we still cosleep now and she still doesn't sleep through!!).
Thankfully my OH took extended paternity leave!!! Also having baby born in January meant the weather was rubbish so I didn't feel guilty about staying in.
Hardest thing for me was having to decide which child to attend to if they were both wanting me at once. An example is Bee would be crying for a feed and James moaning for his breakfast so I'd leave Bee for a few minutes and do some cereal for James - that way I could feed Bee in peace.
I was making those kind of decisions all the time and often felt guilty about making one child wait.
The upside is that we never needed a double pram (we have a sit down buggy board)
I adore my kids but the age gap hasn't been Ideal for us. I often feel like I'm short changing them both.
X
I have 21 months between mine and it's bloody hard work!!! How tough it is seems to come and go - like when you have a bad night with the baby and your toddlers raring to go and you just want to go back to sleep; or now when my youngest has started having tantrums and my eldest hasn't finished having them (particularly unpleasant).
I definitely wouldn't change anything as I could not go through pregnancy and the newborn stage again and knowing that's over for me is a real relief. But when they're both screaming the house down at the same time, I wish I was somewhere else!! I look forward to my work days when I can have a rest!
I definitely wouldn't change anything as I could not go through pregnancy and the newborn stage again and knowing that's over for me is a real relief. But when they're both screaming the house down at the same time, I wish I was somewhere else!! I look forward to my work days when I can have a rest!
heatheror12
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Iv got a 18month old an a 7 week old. First 2 weeks were really hard until we got into a routine. But it is alot easier now. But still very hard work. My 18month old is still very demanding but you just find different waY's of doing things. As others have said it will be worth it in the end. And they have already got a lovely bond xx
Thanks for the replies so far.
To be honest I didn't actually consider what it would be like when the baby is born, I was more thinking what it would be like in future so they've got a little playmate.
Since the BFP I've been panicking somewhat thinking how am I going to fit it all in.
My friend has 2 boys with a 21 month gap and they are the best of friends now. That's what I wanted but didn't think of how id actually get there.
To be honest I didn't actually consider what it would be like when the baby is born, I was more thinking what it would be like in future so they've got a little playmate.
Since the BFP I've been panicking somewhat thinking how am I going to fit it all in.
My friend has 2 boys with a 21 month gap and they are the best of friends now. That's what I wanted but didn't think of how id actually get there.
CARNAT22
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James is a lot more helpful now. He gets me stuff for Bee's bum and I can now ask him to soothe her if she is moaning and I need to stir the dinner or have a wee (he gets her toys he knows she likes). She watches him like a hawk and you can see the adoration in her eyes.... that makes it all worthwhile.
When it is hard it can be very hard but I find the hard times are a lot less frequent than the good times or the 'you just get on with it' times.
X
When it is hard it can be very hard but I find the hard times are a lot less frequent than the good times or the 'you just get on with it' times.
X
littlemonkey
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There's two years and six weeks between my two. I'd say it's hard and easy at the same time. Second time around you know what you're doing with a baby, so it's not as much of a shock to have another. There are times when they are both being a nightmare at the same time, and you do have that feeling of guilt that you never quite get decent quality time alone with either one of them before the other needs something. But the good times out weigh the bad. The hardest thing with a two year age gap is both bring in nappies still. I've had times when I'm trying to get out the door and get both in clean nappies only for them both to fill them with poo!!
Nutsyputs
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There's 26 months between mine. I've been really lucky dd (baby no2) is such an easy baby. But i would invest in a sling/wrap. When she's having the odd moment I pop her in it Nd can cook dinner or play with my son and she will nod off. I find getting them both ready for bed a bit of struggle as I breastfed and she wants to cluster fed then so tends to start fussing when I'm trying to get my son ready. My son is every so helpful and will get me things for her and give her her dummy or try and entertain her. I really worried whilst I was pregnant but I've found dd has just slotted in.
Mrs CW
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I have a 19month gap between my boys and they're now the best of friends (unless there's a toy to fight over!) They play really well together and at nursery always look for each other in the garden. They always want to do what the other is doing so we have ended up with quite a lot of double toys so they can do that.
It was hard in the beginning before we got into a routine and as others have said a sling or wrap is a really good idea. It didn't take us long to get into a routine and I found that ds2 just fitted in with us. I was very lucky though that he was an easy baby. We don't have many tantrum from either and if one is upset or having a tantrum the other tries to help x
It was hard in the beginning before we got into a routine and as others have said a sling or wrap is a really good idea. It didn't take us long to get into a routine and I found that ds2 just fitted in with us. I was very lucky though that he was an easy baby. We don't have many tantrum from either and if one is upset or having a tantrum the other tries to help x
I have a 20 month gap between my two and I have found it very hard work at times.
I must admit, it was not the newborn days that I found the hardest. Martha was a dream of a baby and Tom was pre the "terrible 2s." I am a real believer in routine and worked hard to establish a workable routine for us all early on. Tom became much more demanding quite literally the week he turned two, and some days our routine simply went out the window, this is something that I struggled with at the start, I have become a bit more relaxed now!
I continued to send Tom to his childminder 1-2 days a week (even for a few hours per day just) and I found this helped massively- I got a little break and he got lots of stimulation and some pre-Martha "normality." I also sent Martha to my mams house to bring Tom swimming once a week, to ensure he didn't feel completely left out.
I did/ do feel an incredible sense of guilt that Martha has had no where near the attention that Tom received when he was a baby. She is not attended to every time she squeaks, she isn't rocked to sleep, she has blue bibs on and she isn't bathed every night, but is happy, healthy and has a brother who loves her and I need to keep reminding myself of that!
Yes, having two babies is tough. There are times I have thought 'what have I done?!' There are times that I've felt completely out of my depth, but on the whole it has been great and I honestly wouldn't change anything.
I must admit, it was not the newborn days that I found the hardest. Martha was a dream of a baby and Tom was pre the "terrible 2s." I am a real believer in routine and worked hard to establish a workable routine for us all early on. Tom became much more demanding quite literally the week he turned two, and some days our routine simply went out the window, this is something that I struggled with at the start, I have become a bit more relaxed now!
I continued to send Tom to his childminder 1-2 days a week (even for a few hours per day just) and I found this helped massively- I got a little break and he got lots of stimulation and some pre-Martha "normality." I also sent Martha to my mams house to bring Tom swimming once a week, to ensure he didn't feel completely left out.
I did/ do feel an incredible sense of guilt that Martha has had no where near the attention that Tom received when he was a baby. She is not attended to every time she squeaks, she isn't rocked to sleep, she has blue bibs on and she isn't bathed every night, but is happy, healthy and has a brother who loves her and I need to keep reminding myself of that!
Yes, having two babies is tough. There are times I have thought 'what have I done?!' There are times that I've felt completely out of my depth, but on the whole it has been great and I honestly wouldn't change anything.
I will have a 21 month gap between my two when baby is born next month and I am dreading it TBH as my daughter is really hard work on her own. She can be the most loving child but she is also bloody stubborn and knows her own mind, she has also seemingly hit her terrible twos slightly early which isn't fun.
I am praying I get an easy baby this time round as my daughter used to cry for hours on end with colic etc and if my little boy is the same I think I will lose my mind!
I am planning on sending my daughter to pre-school a couple of mornings or afternoons a week in January and hoping it will help wear her out and also give me time to nap when baby naps etc.
I am hoping as they get older they will be really close though and play together well etc due to the small age gap. I never wanted a big age gap between kids as there was 4 years between each of my siblings and I so we have never been very close as we were at vastly different stages in life - my oldest brother was 16 when I was born and we talk twice a year max which is down to us not being very close growing up. Plus we only plan on having two kids I think (maybe 3 max if we get on ok with 2) so I am happy to know that once the youngest hits 3 we will be well past the baby stage and can have a bt more freedom to do certain things again
I am praying I get an easy baby this time round as my daughter used to cry for hours on end with colic etc and if my little boy is the same I think I will lose my mind!
I am planning on sending my daughter to pre-school a couple of mornings or afternoons a week in January and hoping it will help wear her out and also give me time to nap when baby naps etc.
I am hoping as they get older they will be really close though and play together well etc due to the small age gap. I never wanted a big age gap between kids as there was 4 years between each of my siblings and I so we have never been very close as we were at vastly different stages in life - my oldest brother was 16 when I was born and we talk twice a year max which is down to us not being very close growing up. Plus we only plan on having two kids I think (maybe 3 max if we get on ok with 2) so I am happy to know that once the youngest hits 3 we will be well past the baby stage and can have a bt more freedom to do certain things again
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I have a 23 month age gap between my 2 girls and I love the gap that I have between them. When E came along it was hard as I had a constant feeling of guilt with bringing a new baby into our home but when M can make her younger sister laugh hysterically I forget all the guilt I had in the early days.
I won't lie, I haven't always enjoyed it. There have been plenty times I have felt completely out of my depth and unable to cope with them, I'm not shamed of it either, my husband works away in the week and only just returned in June from a 3 month trip away with work it was flipping tough but I got through it.
I reached a point with Madison where we both just cracked with each other, terrible twos, me missing OH, her fed up of me etc etc and it was awful but a trip to visit family with fresh faces sorted us out.
I found the best thing that worked for me was routine, Erraid fit into our routine and when Madison was having a bath and getting ready for bed so was Erraid. It really helped and soon Erraid slotted right in and now at 10 months is in complete sync with her big sis and they are both in bed at the same time. I think this is the best thing I have achieved! lol
I hope when they grow up they are best friends, Erraid looks unto Madison with such love and wonder, it gets me everyime and Madison adores her baby sister.
xx
I won't lie, I haven't always enjoyed it. There have been plenty times I have felt completely out of my depth and unable to cope with them, I'm not shamed of it either, my husband works away in the week and only just returned in June from a 3 month trip away with work it was flipping tough but I got through it.
I reached a point with Madison where we both just cracked with each other, terrible twos, me missing OH, her fed up of me etc etc and it was awful but a trip to visit family with fresh faces sorted us out.
I found the best thing that worked for me was routine, Erraid fit into our routine and when Madison was having a bath and getting ready for bed so was Erraid. It really helped and soon Erraid slotted right in and now at 10 months is in complete sync with her big sis and they are both in bed at the same time. I think this is the best thing I have achieved! lol
I hope when they grow up they are best friends, Erraid looks unto Madison with such love and wonder, it gets me everyime and Madison adores her baby sister.
xx
18 month age gap between my 2! It's tiring but I love it the first few weeks were difficult as my newborn was constantly feeding and I had an 18 month old who wanted all my attention but now things have settled down my 9 week old is quite content in the day between feeds and I get to do lots of activities with my oldest. I always wanted them close together. My oldest loves his baby brother and is always giving him cuddles. I know they are going to be the best of friends
Definitely agree with the sling recommendation!
the first few weeks were difficult as my newborn was constantly feeding and I had an 18 month old who wanted all my attention but now things have settled down my 9 week old is quite content in the day between feeds and I get to do lots of activities with my oldest. I always wanted them close together. My oldest loves his baby brother and is always giving him cuddles. I know they are going to be the best of friends Definitely agree with the sling recommendation!
I've got a Moby wrap which I had for my daughter and was well used until she started crawling, it'll be the first thing out of the loft this time.
I'm pleased you all seem to be saying the postives outway the negatives as I'm bricking having another baby to look after.
I feel more relaxed about it. I'm expecting it to be tough just nice to know its not all a grind x
I'm pleased you all seem to be saying the postives outway the negatives as I'm bricking having another baby to look after.
I feel more relaxed about it. I'm expecting it to be tough just nice to know its not all a grind x
