Family Planning: What About Spacing?

There’s some interesting stuff out there on how far apart you should space your kids—three years seems to be the recommended time I’ve come across quite often.  It gives the mother’s body time to recoup in between pregnancies/deliveries; it gives the child more time to grow before a younger sibling is introduced…just a couple reasons.

 

Here’s something else to consider, something that happened to me this week and prompted this topic for my post:

 

I had just started nursing my three-month-old when my two-year-old came to me, pointed to his bottom and said “poo-poo, poo-poo”.  I normally don’t stress too much these days with making him wait until I’m finished nursing, even though it bothers me because I think this is a great milestone he’s reached moving towards potty-training.  However, the budget is tight these days and we’re using some pretty cheap diapers on him, so I know that too many sudden moves will cause a leak. 

 

Not two minutes later I hear my four-year-old yelling “I’M DONE, MOMMY!” from the front bathroom (I was wondering where he ran off to).  “OKAY, JUST A MINUTE!” came the usual reply from me.  So I wrapped it up with the little guy, sat him up for a burp and “SQUIRT”!  It came out the back of the diaper—certainly something we’re use to around here and have the three or four onesies a day in the bathroom sink to prove it. 

 

So what do you do first: the infant-blowout, the toddler-could-possibly-blow-out-and-is-stinking-up-the-entire-neighborhood-diaper, or the preschooler-wipe? 

 

Another “pro” to add to your list if you’re one of those who actually thinks YOU are the one in charge of family planning: I won’t have to worry about what this lady just wrote about happening to me.

 

By the way, I wiped the four-year-old first, changed the baby, then the toddler.  The baby’s poop wasn’t going anywhere and had already made a big mess, plus I’ve mastered holding the baby while wiping the four-year-old and convincing the two-year-old he doesn’t need to help me wipe the four-year-old.  Naturally, the middle child gets pushed to the back…again.  Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance, does he Brewmaster?