Can I ask what was your cut off age for ttc your last child?

[FragrantBreeze]

Am really interested in this!

I'm 36 and would like to ttc number 3.

Sadly I've just had a MMC so I'm wondering if ttc is a good idea. I'm do feel fit, healthy and young but wonder if my body agrees!

The miscarriage has really thrown me. I've had two straightforward pregnancies with dc1&2, now 2 and 7 months.

Would appreciate honest opinions on this.

Thanks

25

35 for me (well sooner really, but that's my max). I'm pregnant with my first at 28, won't considered another for a couple of years. Have a family history of Down Syndrome, whilst it's not something that bothers me if it happens, I'm not going to play the odds either with a later pregnancy. So if we want to try for a second, if it doesn't happen by the time I'm 35, it's not going to happen at all.

Surely you don't decide, your body does?
It is a fact of life that fertility does start to dwindle with age. However if your desire for another child is strong enough for you to keep TTC and cope with any potential fertility issues then go for it.

I was 28 when I had my first. I lost two before my youngest was born at 37. I would have loved a third but the odds were too low for another pregnancy.

I always said I wanted my family to be complete before I was 30. Infertility put paid to those plans though and I finally fell pregnant at 39 and again at 41.

Based on what I know now I would say 45 for me.

Well I'm currently ttc - I just turned 40. Got married at 37, waited a year to enjoy married life (dh's request, we both knew we wanted kids and I tried to explain that ttc would take longer at my age but I don't think he really understood, I was ok with the year delay though.) We finally started trying when I was 38 and no luck so far, we're on the road to IVF. Poor dh is now distraught that he insisted on us waiting a year before trying but I just can't imagine a year made so much difference. My maternal grandmother had 15 children, last one conceived when she was 47, I imagine we will keep trying for at least 3 more years.

30. I didn't want to be an old mum.

40 for me, too. Had DS1 at 34 and DS2 at 36. I'm 38 now, and feel that this year it's now or never for ttc.

My last child was born when I was just gone 39. I had always said I did not want to have a baby when I was over 40, so it worked out well for me. I am 41 now and could not imagine wanting or having any more. I have 3 under 8.

39. I wouldn't want a baby past 40. DS was born just before I turned 35 so there's the age gap being considered there too.

Had my DCs at 30 and 33... Decided my cut off was 37... No3 didn't happen by then so that was it really.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

I had mine at 43 and 47, I think we are now done!

I didn't want to be pregnant at and after 40, so my 39th birthday was my cut off point.

Happily for me I had ds3 at 36, well ahead of my schedule.

For me that was just about young enough; with hindsight I wish we'd had them younger.

Everyone varies though, do what is right for you.

I had an mc at 36. Dd conceived 3 months later. She's 10 months and I'm pg again. This is my last pregnancy no matter how it turns out.

My wife and I wanted to have all of our children by the time she was 35, and we (just) managed it. Look at the graph for Down's syndrome incidences v maternal age, it shoots up after 35. I'm not being judgy, it's a personal decision. In hindsight I wish we'd had our kids when we were younger, we had more energy for dealing with unruly toddlers.
Sorry for your loss.

DrDre- sometimes life doesn't work out like that.

Your energy is in your own hands to some extent. Many young parents are in poor physical condition.

I wanted to be 35 to have my last. Life didn't work out like that. Married at 32, 5 years of TTC and DS born when I was 37. I'm now pregnant with my second (last!) child and will be 41 when she arrives. Hey how - we got there eventually.

35 or another 2 miscarriages,whichever comes first.

I've just started TTC #1 and I'm 35, have been with DH for 17 years though.

I was definitely not mature enough to have a baby in my early 20's.....I'm not even sure I'm grown up enough now to be a mum!!

Yes I agree life doesn't always work out like that. You might not have met the right partner, your home life might not be stable, you may have difficulty conceiving etc. But if your circumstances are right I personally wouldn't hang about. I wish we'd done with having kids by 30, not 35.

For me I wanted to be done with newborns by 30. I have just had my second at 29 and a half! There's no right or wrong to this though imo whatever suits you and your body

It's very personal to each couple but for me 35/6 would have been the cutoff, had my last at 34.

DrDre I'm fitter and healthier now at 35 than I ever was in my 20's - I can run rings round the 20-something's that I work with...older doesn't necessarily mean unfit/slow

Me too DrDre. My really very good teens are exhausting me when I am 51. Dh and I were in a position to have children earlier but chose not to, and now regret it slightly. I know not everyone gets to chose though.

I always said 40 and had DS1 three months before that birthday. I thought I was done, but 16 months later, DS2 arrived. I was just 41. I honestly think it depends on so many factors - when you start ttc, if you had any fertility problems beforehand, how fit and healthy you are, how financially solvent you are (by that I mean, could you support a university student in your 60s?). I think that nature created menopause for a reason and you should remember that you are unlikely to conceive naturally less than 8 years before the final stage of that. Good luck!

Had mine at 37 and 39. when we started trying for dc2 I said I didn't want to be pregnant at 40, luckily I wasn't but who knows how I would have felt had I not got pregnant. 41 now and second time round is more exhausting!