Expecting our 2nd next year and nervous about a big age gap

So after a long and difficult road through baby loss, we’re expecting a baby next spring. My son will be almost 5 when they’re born.I’ve watched most of my friends go through having a second kid, so I know the rigamarole over prepping with lots of talk/cuddles/library books, making time for mommy and son only outings, expecting behavioral regressions, etc.I’m mostly nervous about family life long-term. Siblings in my family and my husband’s are spaced really close together. So are most of my cousins and most of my friends. People talk all the time about wanting their kids to be close in age so they can be playmates. My mother talks about how lonely she was with a brother a decade her senior. My oldest cousin is pretty detached from his younger sisters and is about 8 years older than the middle child. It’s given me a little anxiety, even though I know my family is my own, with its own story.How do I develop a relationship between my kids without putting too much responsibility on my son to entertain his younger sibling? How do I make sure the baby doesn’t feel like a “pest”? Any advice from parents who had a big age gap between two children? My sister and I are five years apart, but we had my brother to bridge the gap. I feel like this is a different dynamic.Related to this, mods, would it make sense to have a “Siblings” tag? Or maybe there’s a whole sub for that I haven’t found yet. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/37I1GGw