It's a misconception that having children close in age is harder or more challenging than spacing them out. Here's why. I can't tell you how many people thought I was insane to have Otto 19 month after I had Henry. Some even went as far as to ask me if Otto was "an accident." Let me tell you, he was no accident! In fact, we even tried to have them a little bit closer together! It just took me two months to get pregnant. Some people think we're crazy but I'm here to tell you this: Having children close in age is NOT harder than spacing them out! I think it's far easier. Before you think I've mentally checked out from parenting two boys under two, hear me out! For starters, I still get the benefits of nap time. Henry still takes an afternoon nap, and Otto obviously does as an infant. That means I can catch a break (or a shower!) in the afternoons. If they were more spaced out, Henry wouldn't be napping. There's nothing worse than needing a shower or some personal time and having one of your kids NOT taking a nap. Think having kids more spaced out means your older one(s) will be helpers? Think again! Henry is just 21 months but this kid LOVES to help his mama out! Hes gets Otto's pacifier for me, brings me wipes, hands me my phone when I'm nursing and even cleans up after himself when he has a snack. Being a good helper isn't just for older kids! Real talk: having two in diapers isn't that hard. Like, at all. In fact, you just go into diaper changing mode and get those bottoms clean in assembly line fashion! When you space your kids out more, odds are that the older one(s) will be potty trained. Then you're in position of "remembering what diapers are like" once your new baby arrives. I never knew the difference since Henry was clearly still in diapers at 19 months! I just have to throw another box of them in the cart on my Target trips. Easy enough! Speaking of, when your kids are close in age, they'll both fit in the double kiddie cart at Target. I can't wait until Otto can sit up and ride beside his brother in those carts! I'm sure someone will get bopped over the head, but still. They'll fit. Which is way easier than having a child loose in the aisles and one screaming in the cart! My boys are 19 months apart - people looked at me like I was crazy when I was pregnant with Henry still a baby! Joke's on them. The easiness continues big time when you consider sibling jealousy. See, Henry will never remember a time without his brother. He has yet to throw a tantrum about not being the only baby anymore. He doesn't cling or get overprotective of me towards Otto. He just kisses his feet and pats him on the back. When your children are close in age, you're less likely to deal with these issues since the memory function hasn't yet developed in your {slightly} older child. And that is a HUGE relief, because a child that acts out after you bring their brother or sister home from the hospital would be miserable. Completely. Miserable. Speaking of completely miserable, you know what's the WORST? Sleep deprivation. But you know what the cool thing is? When your kids are close in age, they have the same bedtime schedules! Since Henry is still so young, he goes to bed at 7pm. So does Otto. So both our kids are asleep by 7 and both get up around 7-7:30 (Otto has one or two feeds during the night too.) If I had spaced my kids out more, likely the youngest would go down at 7pm and then the older one would be 7:30 or even 8, depending on the spacing. Let me tell you, I'm ready for some adult time and start checking my watch at about 6:30 every night! I'm so glad my boys are on the same schedule so once they're down, adult time (vegging out in front of the TV, drinking wine, blogging, or all three) can start pronto. Finally, children close in age is great because you get to reuse all the baby gear and likely most of the clothes you had with your first! Granted, we had two boys, so that helped big time. But had we had a girl, we'd have still used Henry's car seat, baby swing, infant toys, burp cloths, etc etc because why buy that stuff twice?! Nothing has expired (yes, car seats have expiration dates) and all the clothes are still cute and on trend. Yay for children close in age being a financially sound decision to boot!