Hi mary,

you seem to be in the same situation as me, my husband and I have a 13 year old daughter and we are now 7 weeks pregnant with our second child so we are very excited as we have been trying since about january. We were pregnant in febuary but lost the baby in may which was very hard for us to deal with but we managed to pull through. Our new baby is due to be born may 12, 2004. So yes I have a big gap between my children to, but I think it will be kind of nice, my 13 year old is very excitied about helping me look after bubby when he or she arrives.

Take care...

.::suzy::.

Hi suzy!
Thirteen years is quite a gap indeed! I understand what you're saying though, because my daughter seems to be very happy as well, and is already acting "maternally" towards me. My due date is april 3rd ~ the ultrasound next week will confirm the date as such.
It's funny, when I was younger I went through my pregnancy as if nothing in the world mattered and I had no other worries ~ I guess you could say I floated through the entire experience. This time I am much more in tune with my health and notice many more ailments! When did you feel fluttering in your first pregnancy? I was around 5 mos. Last time, and am anxiously awaiting them now. I hear that in second pregnancies you may feel them much sooner.
I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune earlier this year but am happy that you were able to conceive once again. My md didn't think I would ever have another child, being that after ten years of trying, I wasn't conceiving. I had come to terms with that idea. Then..........Whamo! I think that everything happens for a reason and that this was our time, though we are not prepared financially at all, i'm keeping hope that things will all fall together.
Have a wonderful morning and thank you for replying!!

Maryellen

I am 23 years old, along with my 18 year old sister, I also have a 10 year old bother and an 8 year old sister. That is a little over a 14 year gap between my mothers oldest and youngest. I remember being a freshman in high school when mackenzie, the youngest was born. Friends were always asking me how weird I thought it was to have siblings that young but I didn't think it was weird at all. My mother was a little worried at how she thought we would react to it. The 18 year old was pretty laid back about it, but I was excited...I love kids. My mother sooned learned that the gap was quite the benefit. I was old enough to babysit and that help make it easier for my mother and step-father to go out. She didn't have to worry about having a someone that she didn't really know watch them, or asking another family to come over, or dropping them off somewhere. Even to this day, I watch the kids all the time. I am really close with them and we do things all the time. In fact I do more things with those two than I do with the 18 year old sister. I don't know if it has to do with the age gap that made us bond closer. I think the closer you are in age, the more competition and sibling rivelry goes on. There is really nothing an 11, 12, 13 or 14 year old needs to compete with a baby for. They actually like to help out more and are a little more understanding to the babies needs. They know that when mom says the baby is sleeping and needs to stay asleep, they better let the baby sleep.
Ok, I have rambled on long enough. My point is there is a benefit to a gap, a lot of extra help and understanding.