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Coming to terms with being an older parent

64 replies

GrumpyHoonMain · 19/02/2020 09:27

I am 39, 40 in a few months, and have a much wanted and beautiful 3 month old baby conceived after years of ttc / IVF. Over the past few days I have had a (probably delayed) realisation of just how old I will be as he gets older.

My own mum was 22 when I was born (and dad was 27) and is only in her early sixties now. She had her youngest child at 35). While not the most involved parent she has been an excellent grandmother. She cares for the kids (not mine, but my siblings’) to give the parents a break, building memories with them. She still active though not as much as she was due to several disabilities, has been retired for a while and as we are all independent can go on holidays etc. She is really enjoying her retirement and leads a fairly contented life according to her. She and dad may, if they take care of themselves, even be able to be great-grandparents.

I won’t be able to do that. When I am 61 my child will be 22, probably just getting to terms with life outside of uni, and I will still be years off retirement age. I won’t have the same relationship with my grandchildren as she and my dad do as I will probably be pushing 70 when they’re born. I have no hope of ever seeing my great-grandkids.

I know I should enjoy what I have right now, but to be honest I feel like Infertility and IVF have robbed me of a future. Does anyone else feel like this? To be honest it’s really upsetting me and there are times when I am in tears about it - DH understands and has had similar thoughts but is able to put it on the back of his mind. For me it seems to be all I can think of. Especially considering I might not be able to have a second child. I guess it’s hitting me hard because none of this was my choice - if it had been up to me I would have had kids at 30.

I’m not expecting answers to any of this. I just wanted to get it all out and hopefully come to terms with it. I don’t really know why I’m posting this here really but it would be nice to hear from other older mums.

OP posts:
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Theworldisfullofgs · 19/02/2020 09:33

It is what it is. I understand how you are feeling having a moment of mortality myself. Living life in the present is better on the whole and I think you really know that.

Your child is the most important thing, their happiness.

I didn't know any of my grandparents, and as such didn't know what I missed. My Ddad died when I was in my 20s. I'd rather have had him for that bit than not at all.
My dc's remaining grandparents died when they were young and we get on with it and they have had lots of love and attention. As long as they are happy, well cared for and loved, that's all that really matters.

Theworldisfullofgs · 19/02/2020 09:35

And a baby is a life changing moment. It's a weird joyful and strangely odd as you realise that everything is different now.

It'll be alright in the end. And congratulations! Flowers

Pilot12 · 19/02/2020 09:39

I am 44 with a four year old and an eight month old. I don't feel this way at all, I believe that my children will keep me young and on my feet. If I take care of my myself there's no reason why I shouldn't live to a good old age, my Grandmother lived until 92 following a healthy diet and daily exercise.

Anyone can lose their life at anytime. A 25 year old mother could die in a car crash tomorrow and not see her great grand children either.

You need to start looking at the positives of your situation, you are about to be blessed with a much longed for child, enjoy him/her and your new life together as a family.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

GreenTulips · 19/02/2020 09:39

Mum had me at 20 Dsis at 39

DSis has just become a Mum.

These things are possible.

Don’t live on regrets, you don’t know what life will bring you. DS may not want children or can’t have children, so that’s no even up to you.

flowerstar19 · 19/02/2020 09:49

Hi OP, I am currently staying with my parents for half term, with my two young DC, 4 & 2, my Dad is 81 and Mum 68 (quite young I know!) and my children adore them! They have the best relationship! My Dad is a fabulous fun 81 one year old. He just built the boys an electric racing car to drive from scratch. Age is just a number! Please don't let these worries rob you of this previous time with your beautiful baby Xxx

Her0utdoors · 19/02/2020 09:53

I was in my late 30s when I had mine. My mum was 30, so an old mum in the 70s and my father was 45. They both died in their early 60s.
Make the most of what you've got.
There's plenty of younger, active grandparents who have no interest in investing their time in their grand children (gives side eye to my inlaws).
I hope I will have the opportunity to have a lovely time with grandchildren of my own, all I can do is try and stay healthy and active.

Rangoon · 19/02/2020 09:55

My mother was 35 and my father was 40 when I was born. I was an only child and I worried about being left on my own when my parents died, We were immigrants and I had very few family members in the country. Lots of my contemporaries though lost their parents at a younger age that I did. I had my first son at 34 and my second at 37 and my mother was around for many years and got to know and love my children.

Reginabambina · 19/02/2020 09:56

If it makes me feel any better my dad was older than you when I was born and I had my first child when he was 61 so you may still be a middle aged grandparent. Frankly it’s a bit late to be thinking about this now. Love your child unconditionally and leave the rest to fate because you don’t have any control over any of it. You may think you know what life will be like in 20 years but there is a good chance that you are way off.

Bibidy · 19/02/2020 10:01

When I am 61 my child will be 22, probably just getting to terms with life outside of uni, and I will still be years off retirement age. I won’t have the same relationship with my grandchildren as she and my dad do as I will probably be pushing 70 when they’re born. I have no hope of ever seeing my great-grandkids.

You have to try and stop dwelling on this OP. You have your much-wanted beautiful baby to enjoy!

Many people your age are just starting families through their own choice anyway. It's obviously just hit you harder because you've been trying for so long.

And as others have said, and as I'm sure you know, there are no guarantees in life, even as a younger parent. The important thing is that your child will always know how loved and longed for he was, and is!

Beansandcoffee · 19/02/2020 10:01

My mum was 22 when she had me. She died from cancer when she was 48. It can happen at either end of the scale. I also had children late 30s and had my second child three months before I was 40. Try to park/control these thoughts. You can’t change the facts. So make the most of what you have. You may live to 90 and see great grandchildren who knows.

Trooperslaneagain · 19/02/2020 10:05

I turned 40 at 25 weeks pregnant after a very similar history to you, OP.

DD is nearly 7 and she’s a doll, but as challenging as any other 7 year old.

I’m not saying me and DH enjoy every minute but I don’t have anything to compare it to, we fought so hard for her and I wouldn’t have it any other way

Congratulations 🥳

Mlou32 · 19/02/2020 10:13

You're only 39, loads of women have babies at this age. My mum was 27 when she had me and 37 when she had my brother and I honestly think she was a better parent to him. She admitted that she felt too young at 27 to be tied down and resented me (yeah, that's another story) whereas at 37 she was more settled.

Honestly though, having friends who have younger, older and in between aged parents and now as an adult, having friends who have had kids at 18/19 and friends who have had them late 30s early 40s and all ages in between, I have deduced that it isn't the age of the parent that matters, its is who you are as a person and as a parent that is the most important thing.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, enjoy every moment if it.

Happymum12345 · 19/02/2020 10:14

There are so many positives to having children later. Age really is just a number. Life is wonderful with children, enjoy this time when your dc is so tiny. Don't worry about the future, seize the day!

LittleBoyJuly2020 · 19/02/2020 10:15

I'm 37, I have a 20 year old son and I am currently 17 weeks pregnants with my second child.
I am so used to being a 'young mum' that I almost forget how different it will be this time around. I will be 57 and have a 40 year old and a 20 year old. It all seems so bizarre to me and I am also struggling to get my head around it all.

I am trying to live in the moment though, because ultimately OP, that's all we ever really have.

ParkheadParadise · 19/02/2020 10:17

Enjoy you life with your little one, you never know what the future holds.
I had dd1 very young. She had a close relationship with my parents.
At 38 I found out I was 5mths pregnant with dd2 it was a total shock. Dd1 was 23.
Dd1 tragically died when I was 7mths pregnant. She never got to meet her sister.
My mum had dementia when dd2 was born she didn't know her and thought she was dd1. Although her face did light up when we took the baby to visit by this stage she didn't know who I was either.

No one knows how their life will turn out.

Frlrlrubert · 19/02/2020 10:19

My parents were 36 and 37 when the had me, not through choice, they'd been trying since they married at 20 and 21!

I had DD at 32, my choice, so they're in their 70s now. They're not in the best of health but can deal with her in the day now she's 3 and a bit more independent.

DHs mum is younger, and her husband younger still, but now has cancer and, though hopefully will recover, is currently in worse health than my partners 20 years his senior.

DHs gran was fit as a fiddle until her late 80s.

My own grandparents were all dead by the time I was 20 - because they died young.

Basically, you can't predict the future, enjoy what you have. Also, your children do not owe you grandchildren, they might not want or have children themselves.

Turquoiseduck · 19/02/2020 11:05

Congratulations on your beautiful baby Flowers
It's very understandable to be anxious about the future when your baby is three months old.

I hear you loud and clear op!

I had my only child when I was 39. I wish I could have had more but it wasn't medically possible.

It's swings and roundabouts.

Positives: I had had a career and some life experience and travelled widely before becoming a parent and so didn't feel trapped by the early years. Dh and I were comfortable financially. I think being older made me a much more patient and pragmatic parent during the sleep deprived drudge years and I could afford to be at home with her quite a bit and I feel we really enjoyed it on the whole and made the most of it. I really would have made a crap parent when I was young frankly, as I was very insecure and lacking in confidence. That is why I genuinely admire young parents who have got their shit together.

We're not rich but we've been able to give our child a good lifestyle with opportunities to do lots of extra-cirricular activities and freedom to take holidays etc but generally have a settled and secure (as much as life is ever secure!) existence.

Negatives: my parents were too old to enjoy my child much or actively play with them but I have older siblings who have taken on that role. Between just before their birth, and up until their eighth birthday, my child lost all four of their grandparents. Sad.And some of the grandparents were very ill and one had dementia which put a strain on me and dh.

I was one of the oldest mother's at the school gates and have been mistaken for "granny" once or twice. And I'm not going to lie but the teen years clashing with menopause can be hellish at times. Your heart sinks when they announce they are going out to a concert and you are required for taxi service at 1am on a Friday night. I simply don't have as much energy nowadays. I'm less patient and funnily enough, I feel a bit confined by chores and cooking set meals for the first time ever and I'm ready for things to change when they leave home (sounds awful doesn't it)? Also , it's a bit of a blow when you realise that they don't remember much about the full class parties you threw every year when you stayed up until 3am to ice the cake and prep the gift bags; they only remember the tensions and (as they view it) the injustices of adolescence (hoping this will evolve more favourably later on).

Overall though, I feel so blessed to have had the experience of motherhood and I am aware that many people do not.

Having a child has broadened my horizons so much (we live abroad and so have discovered the culture of another country through my child attending state education and learning the language) .

I'd love my child to have had siblings, but from a very selfish point of view, yoy only need one child to experience the delights of bathing a baby and to be committed to the sometimes not-so -delightful nine years or so of endless school runs (before they are old enough to take themselves) and play dates etc. And to come to understand yourself better through seeing yourself mirrored in their eyes (sometimes in a good way, and sometimes reflecting your own faults). And best of all, beng able to track the development of a truly unique individual, who you love completely, and whom you would happily throw yourself under a bus for, any day of the week!

Those are the important things to focus on. The fact that you get to experience all of that. Not when you experience it, but that you have the opportunity to experience it and treasure it!

Whynosnowyet · 19/02/2020 11:14

I have had dc in my teens, 20's, 30's and 1 at 43!! All relationships with each dc are different, regardless of my age - never given it a thought of being a disadvantage to me or them tbh..
Embrace your position as dm op.
Enjoy every second.

IndieTara · 19/02/2020 11:52

DD is my only child and I had her at 42. My hospital notes say 'geriatric mother'!
DD is now 11 and I've been a single parent for 8 years.
She is the best part of my life and also the part I worry about most.
I spend a lot of time on our relationship but also on trying to give her the tools to be confident and independent to some degree.
My life is really busy and full on and I'm knackered a lot of the time.
I wouldn't change it for anything,

GrumpyHoonMain · 19/02/2020 16:33

Thank you for your honest replies.

I am trying to live in the moment and see the positives but my mind just jumps from worry to worry and it’s like jumping into a black hole. I’m worried about me dying, growing old and not being useful to him in the way mum has been for us, and then there’s the death anxiety - ie the fear of ‘non-existance’. I have spoken to my HV and I am being referred for further help to talk through my fears. I have let the last few years worth of anxiety and fears related to infertility / pregnancy build up and need to address them.

I think a lot of this probably stems around me feeling as if I have failed my baby by not having him earlier. Which is ridiculous because we tried - infertility isn’t exactly controllable. It took the consultants a long time to even figure out what was wrong. I need to make peace with everything somehow and live with a bit of hope - I do want another child and logically I know I won’t have less to give to any child just because of my age. I can’t live my life fearing the future, I know that.

OP posts:
Theworldisfullofgs · 19/02/2020 16:37

I know many people who have thoughts about what could happen when they have a baby.

I think it's completely normal. It'll get better.

Pegsinarow · 19/02/2020 16:40

Good luck op. It sounds as though you have PPD and I hope you get the support you need Flowers. Anxiety can be all consuming and it's horrible to go through it.

GrumpyHoonMain · 19/02/2020 16:42

@Theworldisfullofgs - how did they handle it?

OP posts:
WhatALearningCurve · 19/02/2020 16:54

If it helps at all - my mum had my eldest sister at 22 and the youngest at 40 (she was 39 when she had me)

She is now 71 and looks after my 1 year old one day a week - she would happily have him more but I think she's spent enough time with kids and she deserves to have time to herself! (He's her 9th grandchild and she's offered child care for all of them and still does during school holidays for the younger ones).

I wasn't that close to my grandparents - but my mum is so close to her grandchildren that even their friends call her by our nickname for her. Her age doesn't even register really.

It's hard to predict what the future will be like because some 70 year olds look like stereotypical "old people" (I mean no offence by this comment, just couldn't figure out how to word it), others probably have more energy than I do right now.

All I mean is - don't worry about it, you don't know what the future holds but as someone that was basically your child finishing uni with a parent in their 60's - my parents age has never been a "thing"

dogmothertoanother · 19/02/2020 17:01

Nope. I am 39 with a newborn. You can't count on your child even having children. Just enjoy the now, anything could happen.