18 months apart...

Megan - posted on 06/17/2012

my son was almost two when i had my daughter, and he has done so great. I involved him in the baby he would rub my belly and even helped us pick her name so he felt like he was apart of the whole baby experience. Once the baby came he was great at helping at getting bottles and diapers, and he really enjoyed it. Now that shes a little older he is super protective over her and they get along better than i would have ever thought. If she cries my son is running in there before even I can. I am so glad that we had our babies so close together :)

Kim - posted on 06/08/2012

I have a daughter and son 18 months apart, and they're 14 an 15 1/2 years now! I worried about it a bit when I found out I was pregnant again so soon, but it turned out to be the best thing ever! They have been so close over the years, especially when they were little. They were best buddies and love to play the same things, even now sometimes! Good luck to your family!

Jenny - posted on 04/07/2011

@ Julie, i never thought about it until i read what you wrote, but this might explain why my son loves having a nappy on. (i have two, 18 months apart). He did the whole bottle thing, to the point that he would no longer drink milk from his bottle and always stole his sisters bottle. So i had to get him the exact same bottle i use for her for him to drink his normal milk and not be drinking hers which was baby formula. But yes, this might explain why he never went through the stage of not wanting his nappy on. We've been potty training for 4 months now, and finally now he doesnt kick up too much of a fight when i take his night nappy off in the morning, but it took a long time and a lot of encouragement.

Linda - posted on 09/14/2009

We're expecting our fourth boy in the next 6 weeks or so, making our youngest two 18 months apart. Our older boys are 2 1/2 years apart...and there's a 5 year age gap between #2 and #3.



Anyhow, we've been using words like "gentle" and "soft" with our youngest to get him prepared for the baby, praising him like crazy when he's kind to a stuffed toy or our Great Dane. He does have a baby doll that he carries around from time to time, but prefers a stuffed dog that he'll wrap in a blanket and kiss and hug. He tends to be a bit rough at times (he DOES have two older brothers!) so I'm planning ahead for moments when I will have to put the baby down and need to keep them both safe. Mommy's do need to run to the bathroom every so often, you know! We have a couple of pack 'n plays set up throughout the house, plus the crib in the bedroom...all safe places to put the little one for a moment or two. I've also got a basket of toys set up in our youngest son's bedroom where I can nurse the baby and still interact with his big brother.



As far as WHEN baby arrives, be prepared for the big brother to love the baby, but possibly be mad at you! With our first two I had to make a real effort to spend as much quality time with our oldest as possible...no matter how tired I was. We would have lunch together every day while the baby napped in his bouncy seat nearby. We also did a lot of reading while Mommy fed the baby. It took him a few weeks, but he came around and forgave me for making him share his time!



Good luck having babies 18 months apart! I'm looking forward to having our little guy here...even though I do know he's easier to take care of while on the inside!

Julie - posted on 09/12/2009

Our daughters will be about 18-19 months apart when the new baby comes in February. I've been told by several people that Hannah, our oldest, might regress and want to do "baby" things (drink from a bottle, etc) when the new baby comes because she sees her baby sister doing it and getting the attention. I'm less worried about her wanting a bottle but I think we will be potty training around that time and I would hate to put in all that work and get her trained just to see her wanting a diaper again. Has anyone had this happen?

Caroline - posted on 09/08/2009

i have a 10 month old (and a 3 and half yr old), we are expecting in january, there will b an 14 month age gap!. just lots of love and involvement with the new baby, my 3 yr old and 10month old are very very close always kissing and cuddling eachother! goodluck with your pregnancy megan x

Laura - posted on 09/06/2009

My DS was 12 1/2 mos when my DD was born. He didn't seem too fazed by her. He prodded her & poked at her, but that was mostly it. He used to ignore her, but now he always wants to play w/ her & she doesn't. LOL I love it because they are so close & mostly play good. LOL

Sarah - posted on 09/05/2009

My son pretty much ignored my daughter because she couldnt play with him.

He was a bit upset about not getting as much attention though.

(my babies are 18 months apart)

Manda - posted on 09/03/2009

I dont have any advice but I'm in the same boat as you.. I also have a 16 month old son and am due to have another boy next month.. just thought it was interesting is all.

Ashley - posted on 09/01/2009

yeah my husband thinks that way too, i have been tryin to get our son who is 16 months old a doll for the past few months and my husband refuses to let me lol, but my son is starting to figure out as much as a one year old can. He lifts my shirt and blows raspberries on my belly when i ask him to give his brother a kiss and any tim he hears someone talk about the baby if you say Riley or his brother or anythign like thathe will lift my shirt and show my belly off lol... but he still knows what a baby is because he will get all excited and say baby when he sees one at the store.

Megan - posted on 08/31/2009

Thank you BethAnn - I am concerned that my husband won't want to get an actual doll, but maybe a teddy bear would be sufficient. :) I'll start with that asap as I only have about a month until baby is to be born!

BethAnn - posted on 08/30/2009

My daughter is 18months and I am due in 2 weeks and i have been taking her dolls and stuffed animals and calling them "babies" and my hubby and I play with her and teach her to "be nice and gentle". we have been doing this since we found out we were prego and now she is very nurturing to "her babies" and younger children when she sees them. Now i know you have a boy and i doubt he has any baby dolls but maybe getting one and showing him how to be gentle might help, or show him with stuffed animals. So far every one has told me when children are close together like this, that the first year is the hardest but after that they play together and will even out a little more in understanding.

Megan - posted on 08/29/2009

Thank you for the suggestion. Good point about not getting angry...easy thing to get caught up into with a newborn! I guess I just wonder how much William understands. We try to tell him that Mommy has a baby, but I think all he really notices (at 16 mos old) is that I have a big belly and that's different. Also, he is not gentle whatsoever so we're worried that he's going to be too rough around the baby. Guess we'll just take each day as it comes!

Katherine - posted on 08/18/2009

Hi I just had my second boy in March, my boys are 19 months apart. We let Ethan know that we would be bring a baby home and when we bought Marcus home, Ethan was more excited about the baby then mum and dad. Ethan told everybody that it was his baby and then he would tell everybody that Marcus was his brother. I guess it all depends on how you introduce the new baby. We let Ethan hold his brother and let him touch and look at him as long as we were in the room, we never left him alone with the baby but we didn't get angry at him when he tried to pick Marcus up. Now they get along really well Ethan loves his brother, he is a big help. I guess it just comes down to how you introduce the baby to the family and make sure that you don't get angry at him if he try's to help and he will. Ethan try's to help all the time he will wipe Marcus's face if he spews and try to change his nappy its quit cute. Good luck

Jenny - posted on 04/07/2011

@ Julie, i never thought about it until i read what you wrote, but this might explain why my son loves having a nappy on. (i have two, 18 months apart). He did the whole bottle thing, to the point that he would no longer drink milk from his bottle and always stole his sisters bottle. So i had to get him the exact same bottle i use for her for him to drink his normal milk and not be drinking hers which was baby formula. But yes, this might explain why he never went through the stage of not wanting his nappy on. We've been potty training for 4 months now, and finally now he doesnt kick up too much of a fight when i take his night nappy off in the morning, but it took a long time and a lot of encouragement.

Linda - posted on 09/14/2009

We're expecting our fourth boy in the next 6 weeks or so, making our youngest two 18 months apart. Our older boys are 2 1/2 years apart...and there's a 5 year age gap between #2 and #3.



Anyhow, we've been using words like "gentle" and "soft" with our youngest to get him prepared for the baby, praising him like crazy when he's kind to a stuffed toy or our Great Dane. He does have a baby doll that he carries around from time to time, but prefers a stuffed dog that he'll wrap in a blanket and kiss and hug. He tends to be a bit rough at times (he DOES have two older brothers!) so I'm planning ahead for moments when I will have to put the baby down and need to keep them both safe. Mommy's do need to run to the bathroom every so often, you know! We have a couple of pack 'n plays set up throughout the house, plus the crib in the bedroom...all safe places to put the little one for a moment or two. I've also got a basket of toys set up in our youngest son's bedroom where I can nurse the baby and still interact with his big brother.



As far as WHEN baby arrives, be prepared for the big brother to love the baby, but possibly be mad at you! With our first two I had to make a real effort to spend as much quality time with our oldest as possible...no matter how tired I was. We would have lunch together every day while the baby napped in his bouncy seat nearby. We also did a lot of reading while Mommy fed the baby. It took him a few weeks, but he came around and forgave me for making him share his time!



Good luck having babies 18 months apart! I'm looking forward to having our little guy here...even though I do know he's easier to take care of while on the inside!

Sarah - posted on 09/05/2009

My son pretty much ignored my daughter because she couldnt play with him.

He was a bit upset about not getting as much attention though.

(my babies are 18 months apart)

Katherine - posted on 08/18/2009

Hi I just had my second boy in March, my boys are 19 months apart. We let Ethan know that we would be bring a baby home and when we bought Marcus home, Ethan was more excited about the baby then mum and dad. Ethan told everybody that it was his baby and then he would tell everybody that Marcus was his brother. I guess it all depends on how you introduce the new baby. We let Ethan hold his brother and let him touch and look at him as long as we were in the room, we never left him alone with the baby but we didn't get angry at him when he tried to pick Marcus up. Now they get along really well Ethan loves his brother, he is a big help. I guess it just comes down to how you introduce the baby to the family and make sure that you don't get angry at him if he try's to help and he will. Ethan try's to help all the time he will wipe Marcus's face if he spews and try to change his nappy its quit cute. Good luck