To envy friends with older children

[Noisytrain]

I know this would sound silly but I have started to envy my friends who have older children than ours.
For context, I am currently pregnant and have a 2 yo DS. I just turned 35 and had my first one at 31. I have friends who are late thirties but their DC are going to start secondary school this year and another one in primary school. I envy them because it feels like they have easy lives with bit more time as DC are bit independent now while I am still going to be looking after toddler and newborn. Most days I am utterly exhausted and massively regret not having DC earlier in late 20s but then again I wasn't even sure until 30 if we wanted any DC. Overall I have a decent life with helpful DH and adorable DC who I going through terrible 2s, though we have no family to support us with childcare etc, which makes it quite hard but I should just get on and accept my reality in life and carry on I guess.

Yes op not easy. I found school age bit easier as they had parties and I got some time off. Now I worry about them on nights out she 18 so a different set of worries now!

Well it kind of proves that having a child at 16 ( although not ideal) doesn't mean that you can't do anything with your life.

I would say she's a classic case of the exception that proves the rule & definitely not something anyone should aspire to.

Anyone I know that had kids as teenagers have ended up scraping a living throughout their lives & absolutely are not in any sort of position of power.

I am a (much) older mother so I really can empathise, but it is what it is, and you just have to accept that this is a stage all parents go through and this is your time. Amazingly you will miss some aspects of the small children stage when yours are older!

And I know people who have had kids as teens who are now have good careers. A
friend of mine got help as a single teen parent to do an access course to get into uni and now is in a very well paid responsible career. Without the child she would've been stuck in a minimum wage job to pay bills as her family wouldn't have supported or even tolerated education past 16

We’ve all gone through the terrible 2’s and I bet being pregnant again isn’t helping, as I used to feel everyone around me was looking well in their clothes too. I’m at the other end, youngest is 5 eldest is 18 and a couple in between. And honestly I would enjoy what you have at the moment as I think it gets tougher. Teenagers push boundaries and now I have an 18 year old there’s the going out drinking and worrying, and also the boyfriends and worrying about her relationships and if she’s being safe. It was actually easier when they were under 5 😩

I had my first at 23, my last at 33… I definitely think it’s a bit easier when you’re younger. I’m 42 now, my youngest just turned 9. Yes life is easier, if we’d not have spaced out kids out we’d have all the freedom we could need already… but I like having younger ones (9&12) too. Keeps us a bit younger. Im happy we had more. Sadly the years fly by so quick.you’re going to have a full one couple of years, it’ll get easier.