Seeking Moms with Babys 18 Months Apart

My daughters are 18 mo. apart and I love it. They are 4 1/2 and 3 now but I have always loved it. My older one was little enough when the second was born that she was super excited and she hadn't been an only child for so long that she was jealous. She was my little helper even at that age. She would get diapers and take things to the trash. And they became instant friends. I remember when the baby was just old enough to roll around the two of them would play on the floor together. And now they play really well together too. Granted they still fight, but when they play together they play so well. You'll never regret having them this close! Good luck!

Hi Kasey,

Congratulations!!!! I have children that are 17 months apart. I was nursing my first when I got pregnant with my second. I nursed her until she was a year with no problems. It is important to stay hydrated, and take your prenatals, but there should it isn't a problem to do both. I had enough milk for the oldest, and when the second was born, I had enough milk for him as well. Again, congratulations and good luck. I absolutely love having my kids this far apart. They get along great and teach each other so much. :)

Hi K.,
Congrats on being pregnant again! I have 5 children and 3 and 4 and 18mos apart. I was breastfeeding #3 when I became pregnant with #4 and he was 10mos old and I continued to nurse him until he turned 1 without any problems. Just make sure you take your prenantals and stay hydrated. But now #s 3 and 4 and 4 and 3yrs old LOL! My 4yr old is a boy, my only boy, and of course my 3yr old is a girl. They for the most part get along just fine. They play with each other and keep each other busy during the day and both are extremely helpful with baby#5 who is 9mos old. Even now they are tugging each other around the house LOL! They do however fight some, all sibs do. But I started my kids very early on learning to apologize and give forgiveness. So when one gets upset and feelings get hurt and sometimes faces and heads because they hit too, I make them settle down and then apologize by giving hugs and saying sorry and then they move on and keep on playing. I will say that those 2 fight more with each other than they do with any of the other kids but they play more than they fight. I myself am 18mos older than my younger brother and we played very well together and we fought very well together too LOL! But we're great friends now, so it all worked out ok. One of the main issues with kids this close together is time. You have to give all your time to a baby but at the same time you still have a baby that needs you. The way I balanced my time when #4 was born was I learned to put the baby down! When she sleeps lay her down and let her sleep then give attention your son. If she's awake and doesn't need anything set her in a bouncy seat or on a blanket on the floor. I was lucky enough to have them both nap at the same time so after baby would go to sleep I'd lay her down and then let my son sleep with me or next to me on the couch and I would rock him to sleep too. My son loved to hold the baby so I would let him hold her anytime he wanted to, supervised of course, and I would let him try to give her bottles and "help" me change her diapers by fetching the diaper and wipes for me. You can do this, and stay sane at the same time. Congrats and good luck!!

C. C.

Hi. My oldest daughters are a year and 2 days apart. I stopped breastfeeding when I got pregnant with my second because my doctor said I needed all the nutrition for the baby growing inside me. Im sure this is a somewhat "open" topic but that was my experience. I also noticed that my milk supply decreased severly, thats how I new I was pregnant:) ANnyways good luck Im sure your excited!

I'm currently pregnant with my second. They will be 25 months apart so I can't help with the close together thing, but I know lots of people do it so don't worry!
I can say that I'm over half way through my pregnancy and still nursing my son. Yes you need to make sure you eat enough and well, drink lots of water take your vitamins and allow yourself extra rest whenever needed, but all in all I'm glad I'm still nursing him. He's not ready to be weaned and it often makes my life easier, if I need to rest or nap he will just lay beside me and nurse to sleep. It makes it so much easier to handle a toddler while pregnant!! My opinion is that if they still need formula... why wean! The American Acadameny of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization both recommend breastfeeding until 2 years old and beyond because of the great health benefits to both mother and child.
So just remember this is your family and you need to do what is most comfortable for all of you. Don't let others make you go against your gut!
HTH,

I have 7 kids, all about 18mo apart (closest are 16mo apart, then I have two that are 22mo apart). It is great fun! Life is busy, and noisy, but a lot of fun! I have been nursing when I became pregnant with most of mine and have never had a problem with it. I have never nursed past the first couple of months of pregnancy though, my kids seem to self wean as my hormones shift and my milk changes some. Unless you have a history of miscarriages or pregnancy problems, you should be fine to continue!

Expect some crazy days and nights, and some annoying comments from people. ;) Expect to not be able to do everything for a little while once #2 comes along (although I would guess that's true no matter how far apart babies are?), but know that you'll get the hang of it quickly, life will adjust, and you'll have a blast! GL!

It has been a long time since I had my babies as babies, so many things change over the years. I do not think in this case, things will have change much at all.
I can tell you one thing that I found as a negitive....only one....when I brought my new baby home from the hospital, my older daughter acted like she LOVED her sister. I was not as "on guard" as I should have been, and the baby got bitten on the fingers. I made the misstake of viewing my older daughter as being more grown up then she was....she was still a little baby herself, and was not able to understand as much as a child a little older would have understood. That was the ONLY negitive I had. My fears of having babies that close together was not needed. I loved having them that close in age, and never had a problem with meeting both of their needs.
As for the breast feeding....my daughter made the transfer to a sippy cup, at about 10 monthes...on her own. My doctor, however, would have told me to transfer her if she had not.....doctors may have changed their minds about that over the last 28 years....I don't know. I would talk to your doctor, and ask his advice as well as the advice of the wonderful ladies on here. Each doctor may have different ideas of what is right.
The best advice I can give you, is to enjoy your two babies, and love them with all your heart, and everything will be great. By the way, my oldest was born in August, and my second was born in February!!!

I don't have personal experience with you situation, but I have heard a lot of what mothers say from going to La Leche meetings. It's perfectly fine to keep nursing while pregnant. Some women say that their pregnancy stopped milk production, though. (But those kids that really like nursing still nurse even though there's no milk.) Your son may self-wean with the differences in your milk, but maybe not. Just take cues from him.

I have two children that are 16 months apart and I did choose to nurse while I was pregnant against the advice of my Gynecologist. I did call and check with the La Leche League and they said that there was no evidence that showed that it was unsafe to nurse while pregnant. These two children are now 13 and 11 and 8 months. The pregnancy seemed fine and there does not see to be any developmental problems with our 11 year old. He may have some dyslexia but this does run in our family and it is slight. I did make sure that I ate healthy during the pregnancy and made sure to take my prenatal vitamins. I hope this helps. Good luck.

M.

Mine are 15 months apart and I love it. I liked how they are doing the same stuff, same toys, and same gym classes. I nursed three more months then weened. Let me know if you have other questions.

I have three and the younger two are fifteen months apart. You have great posts, and all true. As they get a little older (2 and 3) I would make sure you set aside time, about 20 minutes of quiet, in your room play. We started to notice that my son (who is the middle) does not know how to play by himself because he has always had his baby sister to play with. We started doing this quiet play, which was hard for him at first, and he now plays with is toys, and can entertain himself. Good Luck!

Hi Kasey,

My kids are preschoolers now, but they are 18 months apart. If you have an questions or anything feel free to email me.

____@____.com

Your milk changes when you are pregnant you could continue to breast feed, BUT you need eat extra well. I ended up weaning my child at 11 months, it was super easy. I would recommend it just for you health and the new baby...and your 10.5 month old. Your milk just isn't the same now. I would go to formula for a while. Plus you will feel a little more energized.

Good luck R.

My youngest are 15 months apart.
When I found out I was pregnant and nursing; one of the first things I did was call a LC and she was able talk me through the changes to expect being pregnant and nursing. My plan was to nurse until she was a year- well she tappered off nursing and I started supplementing with formula at 11 months- I was fine with that.

Yes you can still nurse and be pregnant at the same time. Your milk may change and that can cause your little one to be turned off, but if he doesn't notice just keep on nursing. Just be sure that you are eating enough and getting enough calories to be nursing and to be pregnant. My first was 7 months old when I got pregnant with my #2 and I nursed him till he was about 11 months old. So it works.

I found out I was pregnant when my daughter was 10.5 months as well...and I was really nervous about weaning, losing my milk, or having to stop cold turkey. But as long as you are eating well and drinking lots, you should be fine. I ended up weaning my daughter one week after her first birthday. I started cutting down feedings slowly, and I started that while on a trip visiting my mom. Basically, I cut out all feedings that were not associated with bed time, and then replaced them with whole milk. The last feeding to go was bed time, and she had no problems at all. She didn't LOVE the whole milk at first, so I tried putting the tiniest amount of chocolate flavoring in at first, and she liked that better. After about a week I didn't need to flavor the milk at all!I found my biggest obstacle was finding a cup she liked...and we ended up with the Nuby cup that has a straw.

Congrats on the new baby! I am now 31 weeks, and am so glad my daughter has been weaned for about 4 months. Keep nursing as long as you feel comfortable, and remember that your baby will probably do just fine with whatever you decide! I can't tell you about the close age thing yet, but I am also very excited to have my kids be so close!

I have 6 children, the longest space I have between kids is 6yrs and the shortest is 14 months. I also have ones that are 18 months apart (my #4 and #5). Right now they are 4 and almost 3. They play great together, but also have their moments of sibling rivalry. When they are little, you will have to juggle both. As for nursing while you are pregnant, that usually isn't a problem but I would talk to your ob about it. I know that at one point I was told not to nurse (my #3 when I was pregnant with #4 after only 6 months) because of problems during the pregnancy with #3. The other posts have good advice too. Something that I always remember too is that you will find yourself telling the older child to wait because you have to do____ (fill in the blank) for the baby. Turn it around sometime and tell the baby that they need to wait because you have to do something with the older child. The baby isn't going to know the difference, but the older child sure will and will think that it is funny and great that you told the baby to wait for him.
J.

Congratulations!!!

My boys are 18 months apart. I nursed my older son while pregnant, and he weaned himself at 13 months. I actually nursed him a month longer than he wanted to nurse because I didn't want to give up nursing him.

I won't lie - the first 6-8 months was a blur of sleep deprivation and diapers.

But they are now best friends and can play together for HOURS while I get other things done.

Good luck to you!

How old are you? Being pregnant takes a toll on your body. Nursing also takes a toll on your body. The Leleche League will tell you that it's OK to nurse while you're pregnant. Infact, they'll tell you it's OK to nurse a toddler and a baby at the same time!

As good as breast milk is....lots of kids stop nursing very early on do just fine on formula. Many more stop nursing after 9 months. You've already done great by your child.

What you do now depends on your body and how you feel. Esp as you get closer to your 30's, your body doesn't bounce back as quickly between pregnancies.

J and P are 18 months apart, and it was hard on my body. P and the twins were also 18 months apart, and that was also hard on my body.

Esp if you choose to keep nursing, be vigilant about taking your prenatals, track your food intake, eat the best foods, drink too much water.

If you decide to cut back on nursing....stop slowly - 1 feed at a time....replace it with other things like reading a book together or singing songs together. If your baby's old enough to go looking for your breasts under your shirt, it helps to wear a one-piece swimsuit under your shirt. Hug and hold him more.
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kids 18 months apart are wonderful. It's adorable to watch them play together, grow up together. It's almost like having twins. There's a few tough parts, but for the most part it's just adorable. Congrats :)

feel free to msg me if you have any specific questions