Summer or Autumn Baby?

[Winterbaby68]

First of, I am very aware you can’t plan which money you conceive and it can take a while!

However I am curious, when do you think is better to have a baby? My first baby was a end of spring baby and we have been thinking about ttc a second soon.

I know a lot of people go for sept/Oct to have the advantage of being older in the school year however I wondered how much that would actually affect a child? I think having a summer birthday is lovely being a summer baby myself and another pro is starting school sooner means less childcare expense?

Interested to hear other opinions... and again I am well aware you cannot plan exactly when to fall pregnant I’m more just wondering wether to hold off until Dec just incase it does happen fast again 🤷🏼‍♀️

*which month

You get the 30 hours childcare the term after your child turns 3 now, so for me my baby being born in summer didn’t really mean saving childcare money as he’d have those hours for free anyway.

If I could choose to avoid a month it would probably be September as there’s always an increase in births and very busy overrun maternity units as a result.

I have a summer birthday and didn’t think it was that great. Loads of people on summer holidays which made planning celebrations very tricky.

One autumn baby here and another on the way (Oct/Nov). Personally I’m pleased they’ll be at the older end of the year (although as a summer born myself, I didn’t struggle in school). While it’s an extra year of nursery fees, I love my children’s nursery and I’m delighted they’ll get another year there to learn freely before entering more formal education. In fact several parents at the nursery are applying to postpone their summer borns school entry for a year and have asked the nursery to continue accommodating them. Using the summer born delayed entry option is becoming increasingly popular.

If I had any control over it, I’d avoid a December baby as birthdays get overshadowed by Christmas. And nobody enjoys a January birthday, especially when older as everyone is tired, skint and on a diet/no alcohol stint for New Year and no one wants to go out and party.

But realistically, you don’t know how long it’ll take you to conceive so just go for it when you feel ready. Baby’s birthday will be when it will be.

DD has an October birthday and I’m due her sibling in February. It was luck of the draw with their birthdays but I’m happy where their birthdays fall... mostly because I wouldn’t know where to begin keeping a newborn cool in a heatwave!

If I had the choice I’d aim for an end of October / early November birthday or February / March. Not too close to Christmas. Not the absolute oldest in the year and not the youngest.

We were aiming for September because I didn’t want a summer baby. DH is summer born and excelled academically so I know there are always exceptions, but statistically it’s less advantageous for a child to be the youngest in their year. Conceived second month trying so baby due first week of Nov and I think that’s good - not too close to Christmas! First DS was born in spring which was lovely, but I didn’t want to wait that long to ttc again (or start sooner).

I have a summer birthday.. I’ve always done well academically.
I never had to go to school on my birthday. I was also quite shy and really enjoyed that my birthday was in the holidays so I didn’t have the pressure of having to have a birthday party. Of course you still could have birthday parties in the summer if you wanted to.

Summer birthdays are a good length of time away from Christmas.. so your presents are spaced through the year.

Downside, I was the last in my friendship group that turned 18 so couldn’t go on nights out... but for a parent that would probably be a positive.

First baby we didn’t ‘plan’ in terms of when they’d be born. Turned out to be May. I thought it was a great time on the whole. Light mornings made the night feeds more bearable, no winter bugs, it was nice to spend time in the fresh air & warm weather in the young months & I still find birthdays being half way between Christmas really helpful! The downside, I struggled with a newborn in a run of really hot weather we had! I was a worried first time mum about overheating! Our bedroom was 31 degrees 🙈

Our second we did plan. Kinda. Obviously we didn’t know it’d happen as we wanted but if we were lucky enough. I wanted a spring baby. But thought it might be nice slightly earlier so baby was less newborn in heatwaves! We were lucky to fall quickly & DD2 arrived in March. Bar the global pandemic, it’s been ideal. DD2 caught her first cold last week at 6 months. It was rubbish but wayyy better than if she’s been 6 weeks! (particularly with an older DD bringing back germs from nursery!)

Had an October baby, and if I’d ever have another I vow it won’t be in autumn! It never seemed to get light outside and I was stuck in a perpetual darkness for months! Although I can imagine that some people would enjoy the cosy insideness of autumn with a newborn, I hated it. Would have found it a lot easier if I could have walked outside, and enjoyed light evenings

I have both a September and August baby. I also have 2 winter babies and would recommend that over summer or autumn - it was much more comfortable in the later months of pregnancy in colder months than hotter months. There is also a lot less clash around ages, choices, and what's available.

My Sept. DS is currently annoyed because there are several things that have been listed as 'for 16+' or '16-17 year olds' that he's been excited about -- and then it turns out it's for those who were 16 before the 31st of August so he's a few days too young. It's actually by year group rather than age-based but doesn't say that anywhere (and his best friend is a fortnight older which hasn't helped).

With my August DD2, I've known others near her age that have delayed admission to school and when she moved up to cadets there was that choice around whether to do so then or in a year (or two if we had delayed entry as it's only required from Y7). I'm also an August born and I share many of her pros and cons of it, but she's a very different person to me in many ways that really just makes weighing it all up harder.

It was a similar 'is she really ready, some others are and some others aren't' sort of feeling which I never have with DD1 who was born in February because whether by age or year group, she's pretty much in the middle of her cohort and with how activities start, she isn't going to deal with being caught out by days one way or the other, she's comfortably in the middle of her cohort.

I'm glad we had a July baby because I work in education so timed perfectly for Mat leave to start. The really hot weather was a bit of a pain but it never lasts that long in northern England.

My husband has a mid-December birthday which he hated as a child so he was pleased to have a summer born.

If I could pick a month I would probably choose April or May: lighter evenings, beginning of warmer weather but not too hot, baby a bit older before cold/flu season starts.

All 3 of mine were summer babies (one June, two august).

I’m in no way convinced there’s a ‘best’ time to have a baby, even if you could plan these things.

My first was end of November - I didn't enjoy it. I don't remember seeing daylight for about 4 months. I think it is a good time for children though (although maybe too close too Christmas for birthdays to mean much). School-wise it worked well.

My second was end of July, which was great for me. She was fine starting school so young academically, but it was hard never being at school for her birthday, and most friends away on holiday for parties etc. I think it is getting harder for her now - all her friends are starting to drive, she will have to wait for nearly a year before being able to go to the pub etc with them, wasn't able to go to some concerts etc with them. I am worried that she will only have been legally allowed to drink for a month before she starts uni - doesn't give her much time to practice

I was a Spring baby - I think that is ideal for everyone.

Yes just to say I agree with the pps above - I’d say Feb—May is the ideal time for you and the baby, but between summer and autumn I’d choose autumn for the baby’s sake.

IMO May-mid July and October are the best times to have a baby.

May-July because it's far enough away from Easter and Christmas so presents are nicely spaced through the year. Should also be much nicer weather, plus a few bank holidays to have parties on. I'm an early July baby, and I love my birthday.

October because I just love Autumn. The cooler, crisper days, leaves falling off the trees. Baby will be one of the oldest in their class as well. I swear blind that my early September DD would actually have been an early October baby had I not have needed to be induced. Maybe next time....

Months to not have a baby in. August, mid-late September and November.

August. I would much sooner pay for an extra year of child care, than send a literal just turned 4 year old to school. It just seems so bizarre that a baby born just 15 days ago will be in the same year group as my babbling, crawling, curious whirlwind.

September + November. Just because maternity services are so busy. There's always a surge in births 40 weeks after Christmas/New Year and Valentine's Day.... If you want a home birth or MLU birth, there's a chance those services might be suspended if the midwives are needed to staff the hospital labour suite. Hell, you might even need to be sent to a different county if it's too busy.

Im due in March and happy with that.

Not going to be pregnant in the summer (well except early pregnancy was/is summer) and therefore not shelling out on loads of maternity clothes as can wear jumpers etc over Xmas.

Don't have you baby in September / early October.

If you plan to have it in September to be oldest in class and the baby is early, your plan fails.

Lots of babies are born in September and nurseries are therefore often a nightmare to find.

Don't aim for Xmas, as hospitals will be overrun.

I would say March / April is good

See, I much preferred having the newborn stage over autumn and winter. We could haul up inside and just cuddle and feed in the early days, friends with babies could come and visit and we’d just hang out and eat cake, it was easy to wrap baby snug in a sling and get out with an umbrella if needed rather than the full buggy system. Not to say it wasn’t boring and lovely sometimes, but that’s just winter.

By the time my baby was 6-12 months, we hit spring and summer, by which time baby was crawling then walking and it was a lot more fun to be able to go down the park etc and let baby play. Also, I was so grateful that baby was up and walking in time for that second winter, made life a lot easier.

*lonely not lovely