This is something that I have been thinking about writing for a while...just finding the time to sit and do it can be a little hard!

I have 2 young boys - both under 4, ages 3 years and 1 year - 17 1/2 months between them. Hubby and

I were always planning on having 2 children and having them fairly close together...although having the second took a bit of convincing on hubbies part as he was traumatised by my labour with number one - but that's a whole other story!

By the time our first was 6 months I was itching to try for a second...hubby wasn't so sure but by the time J was 8 months old he said yes. I had been feeling ill a lot anyway and had decided to go off the mini pill in case I was already pregnant as I wasn't exclusively breast feeding by then. I wasn't pregnant, but I was within a few weeks - although 3 pregnancy tests tried to tell me otherwise...I didn't get a possitive until I was about 6 weeks pregnant. We didn't think I would fall pregnant so fast as it had taken quite a while the first time around, so we were shocked when it happened so fast. I got a period 1-2 weeks after falling pregnant both times so we found out later than we could have each time. That's not to say we were't happy I was pregnant so fast, we thought 18-19 months would be the difference & it would be great!

J is an advanced kid...he walked at 8 months, could say sentences by 12 months, wanted to sleep in a "big bed" at 15 months and wanted to toilet train at 16 months! This made things very easy for me. The pregnancy wasn't that easy - I was sick all the time like I was the first time but I seemed to manage it better & suspect that not travelling 45km each way to work everyday helped. I also got terrible heartburn like I did with J too. J is a very independant little man and made it very easy for me to look after him while my bump was growing. I had never been away from J overnight before, everyone kept telling me I needed to be so I could handle being away from him when I was in hospital having number 2...I said I would be away for him for 5 days (I have to have c-sections) when I had the baby and I was not going to be before then!

I was booked in to have O about 2 1/2 weeks after Christmas and organised my Mum and Stepdad to have Jack while I was in hospital with O as James was busy harvesting crops at work and would be lucky to have 3 hours off a day to visit us in hospital after the c-section.

O arrived safe and healthy and a few hours later Mum bought J in to visit. He had a little teddy to give his new brother and had been into the Chemist telling al my old work mates it was a boy! He looked at the baby a little funny but they exchanged gifts (I made sure there was a present from the new addition to give him so he felt included) and he was happy to sit with me and look at his new little brother. I made sure I didn't hold O unless I was holding J aswell and all was well. Mum took J home with her after an hour or so & I didn't see him again until 2 days later when they bought him back for a visit...it was a little emotional to see each other but we had fun and some tears when he left but they didn't last long (for him anyway, LOL).

5 Days after O was born we were allowed to go home. Everything was going well and Mum was bringing J home and staying the night until Nan got here the next day. Everything went very smoothly, J was so happy to have a new little brother and loved to cuddle and kiss him. I never had any trouble with him being rough or being jealous at all, in fact it was as if it was completely normal to him. Even when I was breast feeding J would happily play or watch a movie and never ever got jealous! I guess it was helped by having someone else here all the time for the first 4-5 weeks as I couldn't lift Jack or do any heavy housework because of the c-section, but even when there was nobody here after that he was fine. He adored his little brother.

As the boys have grown things have been great, I haven't found having 2 any harder than having 1...I guess because I didn't have much of a break between them, I really don't know. Everyone told me I was going to have my hands full having them so close together, but really I've found it easy. The boys have always played well together, done most things together and loved each other dearly. Only as they have got older have they started to argue sometimes, but it's pretty easily handled and over in a flash. The thing I love the most is that they adore each other and are so protective of each other - it's great watching them grow up together.

It's not all easy all the time, as they are close in age they want to play with the same things and quite often want what the other has...it's hard to buy presents as you buy something for one and don't know what to get the other as they are so close and like the same things. But all in all I love having my boys so close & if I had my time over again I would do it exaclty the same.

I find that it's really important to make sure I have some one-on-one time with each of them each day, and my mum takes one of the boys every now and then so they have a break from each other too. We don't compare what one child does to what the other does (although when hubby gets frustrated with one of them he finds this hard not to do) as they are different people. I encourage their interests together and separately and make sure they both have the opportunities to do what interests them individually and together. I find the most important thing is to realise they ARE different people and will do and see things differently and want different things & they need to be encourage accordingly.

I hope this has helped dispell those "having kids close together is a nightmare" myths for some of you because it's pretty much a dream for me!