tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414907798559897750.post3068230105340047868..comments2023-06-20T03:15:39.212-04:00Comments on Cartwheels & Windmills: Thoughts On a 3-Year GapCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11753603934212387119noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414907798559897750.post-79796796864998624142015-10-10T13:50:41.894-04:002015-10-10T13:50:41.894-04:00Nice post about spacing. Having had my children 11...Nice post about spacing. Having had my children 11 months and then 16 months apart, I think that's a little too close (read: very, very hard) - although now that they're older (6, 5, 4), it's super awesome. I love hearing the play scenerios they come up with. If I had to do it over, I think I would do 18-24 months apart. <br /><br />By the way - Flower has the exact same pink hearts sweater - I wish they could play together! :)Teganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620532301646778131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414907798559897750.post-3226922653330468182015-07-24T11:21:14.049-04:002015-07-24T11:21:14.049-04:00My first two are 3 years apart, and it's a gre...My first two are 3 years apart, and it's a great space. By the time they got to about age 1.5 and 4.5 they were playing together, and now they play together all the time. They have a great relationship. . .. We're expecting #3 and there will be an almost 4 year space there. . . . The one downside is that I do think my kids have gotten . . . spoiled, for lack of a better word. They let out a whine and expect me to come running. When your kids a baby, they cry and you come running. Without another baby to care for, it took me a while to realize that I don't need to keep running every time my 3yo whines! Oops! We're working on it. Anyway, long comment here b/c the topic's been on my mind. Congrats on your two wonderful daughters. Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18432383615193127118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414907798559897750.post-14755327803759067592015-07-20T20:15:16.538-04:002015-07-20T20:15:16.538-04:00My kids are 3.5 years apart. It's worked out w...My kids are 3.5 years apart. It's worked out well for us. They are now in the stage where they constantly annoy each other though. They can still play good at times, but usually they just get snippy.Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033554933698248094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414907798559897750.post-2703361526774309922015-07-19T08:20:38.141-04:002015-07-19T08:20:38.141-04:00Good post. I totally agree that most kids move fr...Good post. I totally agree that most kids move from baby to kid sometimes between 2.25 and 2.75. And I do think having the youngest be a "kid" as opposed to a "baby" when the new baby is born makes things a lot easier. Of course, I've never had really closely spaced siblings. My are 2.75, 3.25 and 4.5 years apart. If we have another one, it will be a 3.5+spacing. Of all of those, the 3.25 spacing is by far my favorite. I didn't necessarily plan to have spacings that large, but that is what happened and there are definitely benefits. <br /><br />It's really nice having the oldest out of diapers, able to dress themselves, talking well and just generally more independent by the time the next one is born. <br /><br />Another big advantage (that you haven't reached yet, because your baby is still small) is that you don't have 2 toddlers. By the time the baby hits the toddler stage at age 1, the older one is 4, so out of the toddler stage and much, much more into big-kid stuff. 3-year olds can still be pretty unreasonable and throw tantrums, but by 4, kids have a better ability to reason, don't make as many messes and just generally easier to deal with. Plus, they can talk really well....so that helps. I love babies and I love big kids, but I find things to be really challenging between ages 1-4 or so. <br /><br />I also do think that the added space gives extra time for the mom to recover from the previous pregnancy. Having 2+ years between pregnancies does it make it easier (health-wise) on the mother.<br /><br />Also, a lot of people worry that with a 3+ age gap, kids won't be able to play together, but they definitely still do. Amelia Bentruphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04289052534608175705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414907798559897750.post-20749837212758338552015-07-18T23:09:37.644-04:002015-07-18T23:09:37.644-04:00My mom always told me the 3 year gap was the best ...My mom always told me the 3 year gap was the best choice. I mean, we'll be super lucky if we get a second one (heck, even the first was super lucky) so we're not waiting for two years to try again. But if we even had a semi-reasonable chance of being able to have kids even remotely when we wanted, we'd choose 3 years. Wife of a Sailorhttp://www.wifeofasailor.comnoreply@blogger.com