Muncks Adding to Quiver?

[Sister Mozz]

There's more than 20 years between myself and my youngest sibling, too. We're very close and have a fun, strong relationship.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

One of my high school friends was an only up until she was 18 and her mother got pregnant with what was clearly an "oops" baby. Menopause? JUST KIDDING! Lindy was away at college (Boston) when her sister was born and for the first four years of the baby's life as well, and since she got a job in Boston after graduation, she and her sister were practically total strangers--no shared experiences, no connection whatsoever other than having the same parents. Kind of sad but really what could be done? I'm sure fundies would say that Lindy had no business going off to college when she could have stayed at home to mother her sister.

I'm 5 years older than my sister (miscarriage in between us) and 7 years older than my brother and when we were younger, even that short span of time seemed like eons.

Considering most fundies are joined at the hip and everyone does the same thing regardless of age, this probably isn't much of an issue.

I think it's the large age GAP rather than a total age spread that can result in the "seems like two separate families" thing. For the Muncks, they have a pretty steady parade of kids down the ages, so even as the older ones leave home, the youngest kid still will always have kids only a few years older than him to feel like "regular" close in age siblings with. He'll be having nieces and nephews his age or close to it also, as his older siblings start having kids.

At some point the older siblings that never were at home feel more like aunts and uncles, I guess? Seemed that way in a large family I knew as a kid, I had a friend with an uncle younger than he was (because my friend's father was one of the oldest in his sibling group and father's mother had more kids after father had kids). The kid and his uncle behaved like close cousins since they lived close by.

Even the "separate families" feel I suppose what I mean is they have different growing up group experiences, like "I was one of three kids" feel and then later maybe mom has 2 more kids after the original three are pretty much grown then those new kids feel like "I was one of two kids" even if they're all close, the two groups just feel more like aunts/nieces?

[tkr322]

Papa Munck had cancer at one point I think. I believe all the kids from Wesley on down are post cancer. So I'm sure they won't stop trying anytime soon despite the age.

[sippin0nsunshine]

I think it's the large age GAP rather than a total age spread that can result in the "seems like two separate families" thing. For the Muncks, they have a pretty steady parade of kids down the ages, so even as the older ones leave home, the youngest kid still will always have kids only a few years older than him to feel like "regular" close in age siblings with. He'll be having nieces and nephews his age or close to it also, as his older siblings start having kids.

At some point the older siblings that never were at home feel more like aunts and uncles, I guess? Seemed that way in a large family I knew as a kid, I had a friend with an uncle younger than he was (because my friend's father was one of the oldest in his sibling group and father's mother had more kids after father had kids). The kid and his uncle behaved like close cousins since they lived close by.

Even the "separate families" feel I suppose what I mean is they have different growing up group experiences, like "I was one of three kids" feel and then later maybe mom has 2 more kids after the original three are pretty much grown then those new kids feel like "I was one of two kids" even if they're all close, the two groups just feel more like aunts/nieces?

This sounds a lot like my family actually. I'm the youngest of nine with four half siblings from each of my parents previous marriages. My oldest sibling was 23 when I was born, youngest was 7. My dad's four kids (half sibs) were 23, 22, 20, and 19 when I was born, and they all treat me like a child and a distant relative at that, rather than a sister. Add to that I have a niece and a nephew older than me, it's a huge mess :lol:

Thankfully I was basically an only child from 8yrs old+ when my sister moved out. This poor Munck baby won't have the same luxury.

[silverspoons]

Even the the Muncks have 11+ not 19 they have a similar gender clusters as the Duggars. Of course we have never seen them on tv, but it does not seem like the middle 6 boys are as out of control as the Howlers. It also seems like the little girls are adored unlike the lost Jordyn and Josie.

Since they have a son with Downs, they know the risks of pregnancy over 40 and the lifetime commitment of a child.

I do hope they have good financial planning, because even though Arthur cancer is gone, cancer is a horrible disease and you never know, even 7 years later what can happen. We have lost 2 family members to colon cancer in the last year. One relapsed after 10+ years cancer free and died quickly. I hope that the family business is solid and the kids would be provided for if Arthur got sick again.

Myhusband is right in the middle of his family of 20+ kids and in adulthood he is close to the 2 brothers directly older, the closest age sister, and the one younger brother that he raised when his dad died. The rest seem more like cousins not siblings.

I have seen a big increase in women having "one last kid". My husband has 3 siblings that had 1 or 2 kids in thier 20's that are now late 30's early 40's having one more. At my son's school I know 5 moms now having kids that are all in their 40's and have high school age kids with 10+ year gaps. We have been offered 2 infants to adopt but, one factor that was on the negative side was do I really want to be raising kids over 40+ years of my life. I guess it is because I take rasing kids to be serious 24/7 job without breaks or help.

[Bloo]

I'm 26, my brother is 25, my sister is 12, and my other sister is nearing 10. I'm not close with my sisters the same way I'm close with my brother, but we do have a lot of fun together. I think my stepmom (my sisters' mom) appreciates having me around too- I'm an adult resource for the girls at a time when their parents are having trouble due to divorce. Plus, my husband and I are teachers and can help with homework and school stuff.

[lilwriter85]

Even the the Muncks have 11+ not 19 they have a similar gender clusters as the Duggars. Of course we have never seen them on tv, but it does not seem like the middle 6 boys are as out of control as the Howlers. It also seems like the little girls are adored unlike the lost Jordyn and Josie.

Since they have a son with Downs, they know the risks of pregnancy over 40 and the lifetime commitment of a child.

I do hope they have good financial planning, because even though Arthur cancer is gone, cancer is a horrible disease and you never know, even 7 years later what can happen. We have lost 2 family members to colon cancer in the last year. One relapsed after 10+ years cancer free and died quickly. I hope that the family business is solid and the kids would be provided for if Arthur got sick again.

Myhusband is right in the middle of his family of 20+ kids and in adulthood he is close to the 2 brothers directly older, the closest age sister, and the one younger brother that he raised when his dad died. The rest seem more like cousins not siblings.

I have seen a big increase in women having "one last kid". My husband has 3 siblings that had 1 or 2 kids in thier 20's that are now late 30's early 40's having one more. At my son's school I know 5 moms now having kids that are all in their 40's and have high school age kids with 10+ year gaps. We have been offered 2 infants to adopt but, one factor that was on the negative side was do I really want to be raising kids over 40+ years of my life. I guess it is because I take rasing kids to be serious 24/7 job without breaks or help.

I also hope for that. I worry quite a bit about a lot of these fundie families if something happened to the father/husband. There was a fundie family near Kelly Crawford who lost their husband and father. I haven't kept up on them, but I recall they moved out of state to be near relatives who are helping them out. The Muncks I worry about a tad more because they also have a special needs child.

[WonderingInWA]

So on the Muncks blog today there is nothing but a photo of pregnancy tea. She can't possibly be pregnant again, can she? Wow.

[thekate]

Already discussed.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14964

[Jecca]

I see that baby #12 is due on 9 August.

Just think, Elizabeth and her mother could have been pregnant at the same time.

[Bethella]

There's already a thread on this. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15002

[Esther]

Merging this thread with the existing one. :)

[bluelady]

My mother's husband is 22 years younger than his oldest sibling. They all have great relationships. I guess it just depends.

I agree. My father was an "oops" and is 15 years younger than his oldest sister (his others siblings are 12 and 8 years older). While he is close with all of his siblings, he is closest with her. Although, she wasn't forced to raise him, like fundie older sisters are.

[Esther]

I agree. My father was an "oops" and is 15 years younger than his oldest sister (his others siblings are 12 and 8 years older). While he is close with all of his siblings, he is closest with her. Although, she wasn't forced to raise him, like fundie older sisters are.

I agree, too. After all, this used to happen very often in "the olden days". My great-grandma was about the same age as her two nieces, because she was the second youngest of thirteen kids and their mom was the eldest. Everyone got along just fine and this wasn't at all abnormal at the time, since people just had a gazillion kids and that's a natural consequence.

Of course, the issue with fundies isn't that they have 2378473728 kids necessarily - it's how they raise those kids. Sigh.

[Violet]

My Dad is 14 years younger than the next youngest sibling, 19 years younger than the eldest. For years his oldest brother teased him saying he was the accident....until they looked at my uncle's birth certificate and my grandparents' marriage certificate and realised that there was only a five month gap between the two dates! My Dad seemed to have a fairly close relationship with his siblings (some more than others) but not so much now - his siblings are all 79+ (one deceased) so they don't see each other very often (as we live several hours' drive away.)

Back to the original topic - I guess I don't have a problem with them adding to their quiver, providing they can emotionally and financially support each of their children, educate them properly and don't fill them with hate....Not sure how hate-filled/poorly educated the Muncks are? I don't know much about them apart from Liz's lucky Maxwell escape.

[Wolfie]

There's also an 18 year age gap between my MIL and her younger brother. My husband and BILs saw him as the "cool older brother," not an uncle.

That's how my grandmother saw her mom's baby brother. He also lived with them when he was in high school, so it was very much a brother/sister relationship.

[mockingbird]

My dad has a brother 20 or 21 years younger than him (don't remember). His brother is only a few years older than me, and then there was about an equal gap between me and the next youngest niece/nephew, so we would always hang out at family things. It was always different too because my other grandparents' kids were all grown up, so they spoiled us more while my dad's parents acted more like "parents" to us rather than grandparents, I assume because they still had my uncle living with them. haha It seems like my dad has more in common with his other siblings who are closer to his age, but they still get along. One of my college roommates was the youngest with her next older brother being about 10 years older, I think. She said the same thing my younger uncle has said at times, they liked the feeling of being an "only child" while living at home, but also liked having "cool" older siblings.

My best friend's mom had an "oops" baby when we were in our senior year of high school. (She told us it wasn't planned - my mom freaked out that it would happen to her, lol.) My friend moved back home after college to job-search and now she is working... but my mom and I both think her parents are taking advantage of her being there to babysit. About half the time I am home visiting and want to do something with her, we end up having to take one of her siblings with us or she isn't available because she has to watch them. Kind-of a damper in terms of adult conversation or choice of activities. They are not fundy and I don't think they are purposefully trying to use her as a "sister mom"; I think part of it is that multigenerational homes are normal in their culture and they just want/expect everyone to pitch in. My friend has said she is frustrated because she wants to help her family and feels very loyal to them, but wants time to have her own life too. She is planning to move out once she is able so it's definitely not a total SAHD situation but I can definitely understand how she would feel torn about it.

[jafrmano]

I am pregnant with my 5th child with my 2nd husband. I got married young and had my boys. My oldest is 15 and youngest 8. Now starting over at 35 with a new one with my new husband. The gap makes me worried. We have been married for a few years and had several losses, which no cause was ever found except on my late term loss due to a cord accident. We shall see how this gap works. I think everyday I am nuts.

[greek_chorus]

I am pregnant with my 5th child with my 2nd husband. I got married young and had my boys. My oldest is 15 and youngest 8. Now starting over at 35 with a new one with my new husband. The gap makes me worried. We have been married for a few years and had several losses, which no cause was ever found except on my late term loss due to a cord accident. We shall see how this gap works. I think everyday I am nuts.

I don't think you're nuts at all. I had my son young and he's going off to college in the Fall and my hubby (his step-father) and I have been trying to get pregnant for a few months. This thread has actually made me feel a lot better about this decision. I was hesitant at first, concerned about what people would think or say. But the hell with them. If I were a man on my second marriage and a kid off at college, no one would think twice about it.

I say good for you and your family and many congratulations. I hope this pregnancy and birth go very smoothly for both you and your baby.

[valsa]

I have a half-brother who is 10 years older than me.

We grew up pretty much as strangers (he was out of the house by the time I was 7 so I don't really remember him all that much when I was little) and we dislike each other now. However, our personalities are such that we likely wouldn't be close even if we'd been closer in age. So I think it just depends on the personalities involved- siblings without much in common will have even less in common if born farther apart and siblings who have compatible personalities likely will be at least somewhat close no matter what the age difference.

[0 kids n not countin]

Did someone here write this comment on their blog:

God bless you and take care of you and new baby. I am glad Elizabeth will be there to get to know her new sibling and not so far away. What exciting news!

I also found it curious that the Mawell's did a post about a baby shower the same day Mama Monk posted that photo of "tea for two," seems like too much of a coincidence to me. Gad, I think I need to take a break from these fundie blogs. :lol:

[Dev83]

Just throwing in that my sister and 1 are 10 years apart with no siblings inbetween. My Mom had fertility issues, so they thought they would just have me. Then SUPRISE! But it was a good suprise. My sister and I have been very close our entire lives, and now that she is 19 and in college we have even more fun together. I coached her soccer team and was an assistant Girl Scout Leader for her troop. Now we hang out, talk politics and travel together. So our relationship has evolved, but in a great way.

So all this to say - people thinking about having kids far apart in age, it does not mean that your kids will never be close. It is absolutely possible.

[GiggleOfGirls]

My brother and I are several years apart - he was in middle school when I went to college - and he comes over to hang out at my house all the time now that we're adults. I still have a sibling in high school and there's not a full quiver of us even, so, large spacing can work out just fine!

[DoozerEquinox]

I'm 20 years older than my youngest sibling and we all get along well. However everyone is closest with the siblings nearest in age to them. But I think that's natural.

[emwithme]

My family could've been the poster-child(ren) for blended families.

I have three older "brothers", who are 8, 11 and 16 years older than me.

No two of us share the same two parents - and I'm not biologically related to the eldest one at all - he shares a mother with no 3, I share a mother with no 2 and a father with no 3. I could also be called "whoops" (although the actual story is a lot funnier but a heckovalot more racist!)

I'm not particularly close to any of them, but that's mainly cos my dad could put the "fun" into "dysfunctional" and is hideously toxic and I choose not to have him in my life, and cos mum died when I was a teenager.

However, I am close to my (maternal) cousins who are 10 and 14 years older than me.