To worry about my child being born around Xmas

[hnbnb]

I am pregnant and due right in between Xmas and NYE, so a baby born between let’s say 23 Dec and 2 Jan is looking like a very real possibility. I know how due dates work, I know baby might come November or might stay in till later in Jan but… likely scenario is those dates.

for those born on Xmas Eve / Day or Boxing Day or NYE / NY Day, or perhaps if you know people well born on those dates, how bad is it? Is it an issue at all? What did you like or dislike about it as a child? Adult?

I just worry that the baby (once they’re no longer a baby, obviously) will dislike that their bday party will always be far from actual birthday, that it’ll inevitably mean less presents as people will clump bday and Xmas gifts as one, or that people are never really celebrating their birthday, more celebrating Xmas or NYE if they’re born on 25 or 31st.

@PortSalutPleasemy third

exactly. I wouldn't care about July/August but Christmas - absolute no no.

My husband is 2 days before Christmas, it is kind of sucky, but he always got extra big presents (like games consoles, games) for his birthday/Christmas to make up for it and of course no school or work on his birthday. However he also ended up spending a lot of his actual birthdays travelling on trains to stay with his dad for Christmas/late birthday celebrations (separated parents).

I'm a Valentines baby, which also sucks a bit, it's always freezing on my birthday and I always get gifts on Valentines Day... but very rarely Valentines gifts 😅(lots of heart themed things from my mum). Sometimes restaurants that usually do a special offer such as a free bottle of wine on your birthday won't do the offer on Valentines Day itself, which of course sucks because it is my birthday and I would like to celebrate it with my husband and some friends and everyone else gets to have their special offer, so it's a bit unfair. I at least usually didn't have school as Valentines is usually over half term.

On the flip side my eldest is in the middle of the summer holidays and he said to me today that he likes that his birthday is in the warm part of the year but he wishes it was at the end of the school year or the start of the school year because he will never get to actually celebrate his actual birthday on the actual day at school, he and other children with summer birthdays instead get a joint celebration at the end of the school year. I personally would have loved having a summer birthday XD He'll probably appreciate it more as he gets older.

So in short, there can be advantages and disadvantages to 'special' date birthdays but also children are fickle and can find the smallest of reasons to not like their birthday 😆

It’s a bit late now to worry too much about it. You can’t change it. You just make the best of it!

Just adding that even a summer holiday birthday can cause problems with birthday parties, most of my sons class goes abroad over the summer so it can be hard to find a good time to arrange his party to have as many kids come as possible and to be as near to his actual birth day as possible. His friend had a party at the start of the summer holidays this year and only 4 classmates turned up to it (30 invited), my son had his at the end of summer holidays and we were very lucky to have about 10 classmates attend it (we also invited 30). My step MIL is 4th January and even she isn't thrilled that her birthday is so close after new years, my Mum is mid January and seems happy enough. I've a friend whose son is born on Halloween, they love it! Honestly there are probably issues with any time of the year when it comes to parties, just find a way to make their birthday distinct from Christmas as much as possible, it all depends on how you frame it and the child them self, they may absolutely adore having a Christmas/New Year birthday.

My kids both have birthdays close to Xmas, and due dates were even closer. You’re just going to have to accept it and decide how to make it work well for your child. It’s really not important in the grand scheme of things.

There are so many positive comments on this post and this is the one you hone in on. You can’t control the uncontrollable, if you do give birth on Christmas Day who’s to say that there will be any complications. The consultant that you could need may volunteer to work as they have no children or they had Christmas off last year and this year it’s their turn to work. You will go into labour when you do. Your child’s future birthdays and how they’re viewed by them will depend on how you as a family deal with the events. Try not to worry about what might not even happen and enjoy your pregnancy.

My son was born Christmas Eve (due 15th Dec). He's fine with it and loves never having to be at school on his birthday! We did find we need to have his party in early December, or everyone's so busy with Christmas events ... but that spreads out the enjoyment even more. :-)

Not a lot you can do about dates, but I'm glad that when the midwife asked me on Christmas eve afternoon, "shall I break the waters to speed things up?" I said yes... I felt all I could do for him at that point was avoid Christmas day. 😂

In terms of hospital staffing -- it was harder for my husband to get a meal (volunteer-staffed canteen was shut) but the medical staff levels didn't seem much different, and they were so kind in making sure we got discharged quickly on Christmas morning so we could get home. Santa came round, too, though I was a bit out of it and trying to breastfeed at that point. 😅

Both my kids have late December birthdays. It’s a non issue- maybe not the dates I’d have picked but in the scheme of things completely unimportant.

I had this worry with my oldest daughter. She was born the week before Christmas but I worried she would be born christmas day/boxing day. There's really nothing you can do about it but I understand.

She's 9 now and we have always done her birthday parties last weekend in november/ first weekend in December. This year seems to be a very busy December for all of us and is desperate for a sleepover so we may have it early January. January is always a bit miserable anyway so it could make things a bit more enjoyable

I knew a vicar whose birthday was Christmas Day. Probably the only situation where you’d know you’d have to work on your birthday every single year!

My nephew is Christmas Day.. on Christmas Eve my sis will take the Christmas decorations off the tree and cover it in balloons and birthday Bright things .always looks lovely..birthday banners up and he has a birthday breakfast and his presents then Christmas kicks off in the afternoon for them. He is only young but seems happy thus far :-)

My birthday is 2 January. It's a bit rubbish tbh but nothing I can do about it. There are worse crosses to bear.

In reality I think it sucks to have a birthday between mid Dec - mid Jan. But lots of things suck that we have no choice over, can’t always have the best of everything.

When do you tend to celebrate? That day or wait a bit?