If you could change it would you have your kids younger or older than the age you actually were?

[atolly]

What age were you, and would you change it? Just being nosey!

I was 28. Perfect.

I'm 54 and she's 26 now.

Because I wish I'd progressed further in my career before having them. I found it very difficult to juggle career with 3 small children, so I put the career on the back burner. They are now teenagers and I'm back on track, but I feel I missed a lot because so much time was taken up with parenting.

Mine are adults now. Had them at 37 and 39.
In hindsight I should have started 5 years earlier but at 32 I was convinced I didn't want children. If I'd started earlier I would have had 3 or 4.
I'm 65 now and DC are 25 and 27.

35 and 39. Wish it was a few years earlier but we did try, just no results!

26 for first. I'm nearly 36 and hope to have another. I was worrying about both my age and the age gap but this thread has been reassuring.

Me too! I’m mid-40s and the oldest have moved out and the youngest is on his way in a month or so. I’m having the best time dating, spending time with my friends, finding new hobbies. I’m glad I had them young as I can now afford to have fun in a way I couldn’t in my 20’s.

27yo, this was the perfect age for me.

Had my first at 23, second at 26, wouldn’t change it, perfectly happy with my choice

I was 31, 33 and 35. I'm happy with that and wouldn't change it if I could. They're all teens now.

Probably a year earlier for the eldest and maybe a slightly smaller age gap between 1&2,

I was 25 and 29 when they were born. I had just graduated and got married and a new job or we would definitely have tried slightly earlier but it's worked out fine.

The smaller age gap - just didn't because I had hyperemesis with dc1 and I didn't want less than 3 years.

I had my first child at 27, having married at 26. It was probably ideal as I'd done the most family-unfriendly part of my professional training by then, but I'd had itchy ovaries for years and if I'd had children in my early twenties they'd have been around the same age as their (many) second cousins instead of being significantly younger.

I was 30 but wish I'd been 25!

I was 25 and 31, wish I'd had my second about 27/28 rather than wait

23 and 24, i wouldn't change it as i feel like j have loads of energy to keep up with them as i have a small age gap of 11 months. I would like a 3rd before i'm 28 as i want to be done having babies by 30, but we'll see how that goes.

Had DS aged 21 (turning 23 now)

adore him but sometimes I think I am absolutely insane to have had a baby at this stage in my life. Couldn’t be further from being established (in every sense of the word…) thank god for my mum!

I had my first at 25 and my second at 28. I felt utterly unprepared, unsupported and overwhelmed for much of those early years, although that might have had something to do with the wasband I married.

Part of me wishes I’d have waited 5-10yrs but equally I often look at other mums on the school run in their mid 40’s with toddlers and I know that couldn’t be me. I’m 38 with tweens, I’m permanently exhausted due to a chronic health condition I doubt I’d have coped starting a family now!

28, I think 4 or 5 years earlier would have been perfect.

I wish I’d had my last baby younger, I was 40 when she was born and now finding having a toddler at 42 much more challenging than when I was my thirties.

I had mine at 34 and 37. Wish I'd had them 4 or 5 years younger, but I'd only just met my now DH.

My mum had me at 21 which seemed very young, but she has been a great support to me because she was only 55 when she became a grandmother. I'm likely to late 60s so won't be much use to my poor DC..

Didn't want children until I was about 35, so had mine at 37. One and done. It's too hard ;)

I had my first at 19, although I think being a younger mum (IMO) is better… I would have waited 3/4 years….
but despite DS being autistic he can be independent, he’s almost 16 and I just have dd 10 who is also independent… she’s off too high school next year so I’ll have more free time for myself, rather than my day filled with school runs…

Being a mum was all I ever really wanted. I was lucky to meet DH in my teens and we had similar outlooks. A few more years of carefree travelling would have been nice, but I'd never have settled - always worried that I wouldn't have been able to have children, or suffer from secondary infertility.

As it panned out, I had four by the time I was thirty. They are all beautiful and pregnancy and birth was really easy. I would not change it because you simply don't know what hand you'd get in any other situation.

Now at 34 they're all at school and I can refocus on career and other goals. By the time I'm 50 they'll all be through uni, or thereabouts.

Same age 25,27,29 and 30. My kids are adults now and I'm still nice and young. I met my husband at 17 so we had nearly 8 years living together before we had our first. We spent every spare penny on travelling so were ready to buy a house and have kids earlier than we might have had had we met when we were older,
It also helped that I did a professional degree so was qualified in my job at 21. I had great employers and worked a job share job for years. It meant having kids didn't hinder my career at all.
It would be a lot harder to do now as childcare costs are so much higher and house prices are relatively much higher.

I was 38. I was ready at 32-33. My husband was ready a bit later so we started to ttc when I was 34. If it had worked in a few months i would have had one at 35 and another a couple of years later. However we needed ivf so ended up with one a few years later than I would have chosen.

I was 34 and I think it was a pretty good age. In theory I was ready aged 27 but if that had happened I would still have a replica of my first husband about plus I'd be permanently connected to him and that idea is just... no.