https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 24 Apr 2026 21:56:28 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together/page/2#post-2256606 Thu, 06 Aug 2015 13:03:20 +0000 daniellemybelle 2256606@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@wheres_c: I'm glad to know another mom here with the rare solo toddler! :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256231 Thu, 06 Aug 2015 08:57:16 +0000 Mamasig 2256231@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In my experience, work status doesn't matter. Most people I know who have multiple kids with the same partner have them close in age (around 2 years apart). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256166 Thu, 06 Aug 2015 07:58:40 +0000 jetsa 2256166@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Most people I know have kids between 18 months and 2 years apart unless they only want one and I know mostly WOHM moms. I'd say it's regional moreso than WAH/SAH </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256138 Thu, 06 Aug 2015 07:13:53 +0000 Greentea 2256138@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think work status is the major decision factor. I think it has to do with lifestyle, support systems, age, and health (mental and physical states) more than anything. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256092 Thu, 06 Aug 2015 03:12:41 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2256092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am a WOHM, though I'm on a one year mat leave though it feels like I'm a SAHM right now.<br /> My first two are not quite two years apart and my third will be almost 13 months behind my second.<br /> I'll be taking next year off but am intent on gong back to work in 2017.<br /> I haven't noticed much difference in spacing with my SAHM friends vs. WOHMs. We all started on our early thirties so she determined spacing more than anything. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256085 Thu, 06 Aug 2015 00:48:17 +0000 wheres_c 2256085@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>yes!!!<br /> I stayed at home for 6 months with my son before I had to go to work. All my stay at home friends have already birthed their second!!!!<br /> Time has gone so quickly working, rushing to daycare etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256067 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 23:04:33 +0000 lamariniere 2256067@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Where I live it's a little different. Women seem to have kids closer in age because they get a one year mat leave. I know a number of ladies who end up taking off 3 years to have 2 kids (they are still guaranteed their jobs). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256064 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 22:46:40 +0000 jedeve 2256064@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The flip side...I worked until I had number two (and for a bit after). He was a surprise and we couldn't swing the daycare costs. Also having two 17mo apart is no walk in the park and it was just a little too much to work and deal with all that! So I SAH now. I think I'd they had been farther apart it would have been easier to keep working. But we don't have state funded preschool so unless I wanted to have kids 5 years apart, at some point I would have had double daycare payments anyway! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256058 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 22:19:39 +0000 Mrs. Confetti 2256058@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm a mostly SAHM and half my sahm friends have a 22ish month age gap and the other half are 3 year gaps. I think maternal age and ideal number of kids play bigger roles than anything for most of my mom friends. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256040 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 21:49:07 +0000 travelgirl1 2256040@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think age is more a factor where I live, rather than work status. I know a few older mums who had two pretty much back-to-back mat leaves (you get a year here) then went back to work, totally done with having kids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256032 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 21:35:24 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 2256032@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Almost everyone I know has a 2-3 year age gap, regardless of work status. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2256023 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 21:21:01 +0000 Mrs.KMM 2256023@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The majority of people I know around here with kids have 2-3 year age gaps (regardless of work status). I'm in the Atlanta suburbs if it matters. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255923 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 19:24:38 +0000 babypugs 2255923@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh yes, where I live (southern state) SAHMs have kids much closer in age than WOHMs. I think it has to do with several factors: daycare costs (we get no discount for two), acquiring leave, reputation at work while building a career (it sucks that that has to be a reason!), and generally remembering how tough it was to be a good employee on no sleep. My SAHM friends are lapping me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255855 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 17:30:50 +0000 MsMini 2255855@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am in Canada - and to get your 1 year EI mat leave you need 600 working hours, so it is pretty rare (at least as far as people we know) for people to become pregnant before returning to work. Most people seem to go for about a 2-3 year gap. It would feel so weird to go back at a year and be counting down to your next mat leave already! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255849 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 17:03:42 +0000 Foodnerd81 2255849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@daniellemybelle: among my group of mom friends, who are mostly sahm, almost everyone I know is pregnant or trying! But almost everyone will have at least a 2-2.5 year gap. I think @hilsy85: had a good point about age- most of the moms I know were at least 30 when they had their first so they don't want to wait too long anyway. </p> <p>I do know a few working moms who have said that they are intentionally spacing them out more for daycare costs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255839 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:45:14 +0000 daniellemybelle 2255839@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, I think I can say for sure that this is a scientifically proven fact. :silly: </p> <p>We definitely want to wait a little while to TTC. I'm really enjoying this one-on-one time with LO and pregnancy exhaustion might take away from that. Plus, I'd like to time up another baby after LO has been in preschool a bit next fall. </p> <p>Having said that, I feel a little weird! I'm the odd ball showing up to play groups with my only kid and empty uterus, haha! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255834 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:30:46 +0000 skipra 2255834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think maybe you are on to something! Most of my woh friends either are 1 and done or have 2 more than 2 years apart. I decided to sah after lo1 and because of that we were ok with having them close together. They are 20 months apart. Most of my friends sah now and the majority of them have kids just 2 years apart or less. I can think of exceptions, like one working mom whose second and third are 14 months apart! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255827 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:22:08 +0000 blackbird 2255827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Daycare cost is pretty exhorbant and most working moms consider that and plan accordingly. Most SAHMs I know have kids super close together, as in under 2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255817 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:12:45 +0000 Mrs. Tiger 2255817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Although daycare costs are tough, I WOH and wanted mine close together to get the "baby phase" of my life over with all at once. My work wants me to travel, and it's easier to take a long break from that and then ramp back up instead of going back and forth, for example. Most of my friends/colleagues do the 2ish year age gap. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255803 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:01:21 +0000 Amelieisme 2255803@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I WOH and had my kids 20 months apart. I am 34 so I prob fall into the "older mom, less time to have kids" category </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255792 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:48:27 +0000 Greentea 2255792@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope. I know lots of working moms who are expecting before we are! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255789 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:47:19 +0000 looch 2255789@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: yep, older moms= more kids on a shorter span of time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255776 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:33:04 +0000 daniellemybelle 2255776@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: Oh, that's a great point. A lot of the moms I have met are definitely older than the moms I knew in my last city. One referenced that she's not "a spring chicken" related to TTC today so that makes total sense. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255774 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:30:57 +0000 BandDmommy 2255774@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not sure if there is correlation but I can imagine having lots of LOs and daycare costs would be hard in my area where it costs $2k a month for one LO in daycare. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255773 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:28:36 +0000 yoursilverlining 2255773@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don’t know if it’s generally true, but I think it makes sense. Our daycare gives NO discount for siblings, so financially it’s easier to swing kids several years apart. Ditto to accumulating PTO time to use for paid maternity leave. Even if you’re covered by FMLA, not a lot of families can afford to go down to 1 income for 12 weeks every other year, so you need to be at work banking up your time. When you work, you also might have considerations like gaining seniority and/or rank, which are going to be harder if you are out on extended leave each year/1.5 years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255772 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:27:52 +0000 mrsjyw 2255772@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Among my friends who are also moms, the ones who had kids closer together are all sahms, while my wohm friends are still w just one or not ttc yet. Regionally I think this is also the case. I think some of my teacher mom friends are the exception of wohm who have kids closer together but that's a general assumption/observation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255768 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:26:10 +0000 hilsy85 2255768@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know a lot of people who have had kids within 2-2.5 years apart regardless of work status, but I think that's because people tend to start later here in NYC and so there is less time to wait. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255765 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:21:50 +0000 ladybee 2255765@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For me, I have to save sick time for paid maternity leave. We only get so much a year so most people wait 2-3 years to get enough together. It didn't work like that for us but whatever. Also, daycares around us offer a very minimal discount for two kids (like $50 a month). </p> <p>Most people around here have kids close together (like 2 years) but those were our reasonings for considering to wait. God had a different plan. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255757 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:16:59 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2255757@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@daniellemybelle: California! People have kids close together everywhere I think (only been in CA 5 years, grew up somewhere else) but I would call 18m very close together as opposed to 2+ years, I guess? That would be an interesting poll. It probably varies by age too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-think-sahms-have-kids-closer-together#post-2255756 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 15:14:48 +0000 mrsrain 2255756@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As a pregnant SAHM with a 14 months old, I can tell you MY reasoning: I plan to stay at home until my kids are in school. The closer they are in age, the sooner they are in school, the sooner I get go back to work (or school, or whatever I decide to do next)!</p> <p>Wouldn't be surprised if I am not alone in my reasoning!</p> <p>ETA: Most of my friends are working moms, and most of them are not in a hurry to have #2. Childcare cost is a HUGE consideration for them. </p>