About age 5.25 ish we began training him to wipe with supervision. I'd supervise (mainly because I saw how he wanted to coat his wiping hand in toilet paper and I knew it'd clog toilet). I bought him the FLUSHABLE wipes and he'd do the initial wiping (about 2) with tp then I let him use a wet flushable wipe to avoid "skid marks"(marks in undies left from poo remains). I supervised for about 3 or 4 months until I saw that he wasn't using too much paper and that he was getting better at not getting poo hands. He went solo/unsupervised thereafter (after age 5.6 ish) and every now and then (about 3 times a week or more) he'd ASK me to come help if he had messy/wet poo. So in summary, he went solo at age 5.6 and would ask for occasional help up until age 6.25 ish. He's been going it completely alone since age 6.25 ish. He's now age 7.75.

OP here.... I finally got to read all of your replies. My MIL honestly feels that the gap would be stressful for us. I asked her if she knew of a family where her description was indeed the dynamic and she said she didn't but "it goes without saying" (lol!). I wouldn't let her opinion sway me (and thankfully my husband knows how to handle her intrusiveness and put appropriate boundaries up for us and thus I don't have to fight our battles with her THANK GOD); but her comment did prompt my curiosity to see if others who have such a gap would concur or disagree her and why. Touching on what one of you (KungFuPanda) brought up...she doesn't babysit or provide any childcare (maybe four hours per year) so I don't think her comments were based on conveying her own childcare limitations. My husband and I had a "date night" last night and talked it out. He said, and I agree, that we may "jinx" ourselves if we make it (our trying to conceive) an "official" pursuit (making it stressful and changing my hormones, etc.). We've decided to contracept (for the first time ever) for just 3 months to boost up both of our folic acid levels (by eating lots of leafy greens) since I am technically advanced maternal age. Then after I've boosted it up we're going to quit the condoms and just see what the LORD does in this area! I KNOW my son would LOVE a little person in the house. He's make a fabulous big brother. He's very loving and kind-hearted and social. AGAIN, my SINCERE thanks to you all for this encouragement and sharing of such great experiences of loving sibling relationships with just such a spacing!

Wow! Didn't know my post would yield such a big response! I can't wait to read/digest all your thoughts. I appreciate this! Thank you!

(I found this forum about 2 months ago and my mother-in-law and my conversation has gotten me to finally join and post.) My mother-in-law says that I shouldn't consider having another baby given that there will be a 9 year age gap as she describes a nightmare of their not getting along. (her two kids were 18 months apart) Here's the background of our conversation: I'm a stay-at-home homeschooling mom to one son age 7 (he'll turn 8 on March 27). We have never used birth control in our 12 years of marriage and we have only 1 child. I have always had normal 28 day cycles and I ovulate every month (per temperature charting, ovulation predictor kits, and the temporary pain on either side of my abdomen that occurs on day 14 each month -- likely the egg being released) and he has normal sperm counts. I went to the doctor (gyne) recently for my annual check up and she did an ultrasound and.....long story short, she saw a polyp inside my cervical canal "os" (the canal through which sperm enter and menses exits). She removed it and said it was "large enough to have likely been a player in our fertility". (My son was born c-section so he didn't need to pass by this polyp). We did conceive 4 years ago and miscarried week 8. Now that this polyp has been removed and we may indeed be fertile, the question of conceiving again is becoming a real question. It used to (5+ years ago) not be a question as we concurred we wanted at least 2 kids. But, now that we're older and our son is older we're having a pause to at least think things over. If we conceive within the next 4 months, our son will be turning 9 when baby arrives. There's the starting over in the baby phase (my husband is 40 and I'm 37) and other issues that starting over entails.....but, when my mother-in-law said that it made me sad. I know that they'll be a 9 year / big age gap, but it'll hurt me if they clearly DON'T like one another because of the gap. If it's going to be MOSTLY the baby getting on his nerves and my hearing whining that big brother won't play with me......that will stress me out. And if I have to see them not interact as adults, that'll make me very sad. What is such a gap like on the whole? Obviously it's not THAT clear cut, but I'm just wondering if there are general patterns.