Are there months you’d want to avoid baby being due?

[Goodnewsday]

We’re thinking of trying for baby number 2 around new year but as a Christmas baby myself I want to avoid a December birthday. Where I stay the January and February birthdays are the youngest in the school year so I’d also want to avoid those months but it basically means starting TTC then putting it on hold for 3 or 4 months if it doesn’t happen quickly. I feel like once we start again I will struggle to wait as it consumes your life 🙈 Is there months you’d try to avoid?

Deferring entry to school for babies born January/February is very common - I wouldn't worry about that.

Personally I would just TTC rather than plan too much.

I liked the idea of a December winter baby but I'm due in August.

Blimey, why 6 weeks early?

A

As someone who has had 3 prem babys you can't plan this

Thank you. We are in Scotland too. So December is not the best month, but we will just be delighted to meet her 😊

I wanted to avoid July and August due to school, ended up with July and August babies

@BoopTheFoof I have rare complications including Vasa Previa and have had multiple heavy bleeds since early on in my pregnancy. In all honesty, I was gutted about the prospect of this little one being one of the youngest and also premature as I worry about the fact that he will struggle and be held to the same standards as those almost a year older than him. As the days have gone by, I've come to realise that most people who worry about these sorts of things will also be the parents who are willing to put in the additional work/help to support their child's learning and development if there are any issues identified. Whilst age/birth month does clearly bring some advantages, environmental factors and genetics also play a huge part too and so I'm trying not to let it bother me anymore and to just focus on being grateful that there's still hope this baby will make it out safe and sound in 3 weeks time. Everything else now feels somewhat irrelevant X

I'd want to avoid dec and sept. Wouldn't want them to be the oldest in the year. March-June would be my preference but due to fertility problems, it wasn't something I could choose.

If they’re born February or January you can defer easily.

I also forgot to mention that spring seems better than summer as it’s not fun being heavily pregnant in summer if it’s really hot.

Dd2 is a February birthday and it's actually turned out very useful. We deferred her school place which is very common for these birthdays so she's not alone in being among the oldest and it's benefitted her massively. Her hobby states must not have attained X birthday by 1st January so she gets nearly a whole extra year at the younger level which is also a big advantage. Dd1 is December which is far less common for deferral although allowed out of choice now - it wasn't when she started school and she has to move on in the same hobby nearly a year sooner than her sister. It also gets mixed up with Xmas stuff so I'd avoid December at all cost but anything else is fine I'd say

@PeanuttyButter aw that’s shit, glad you’ve hopefully got a nice healthy baby at this end of all of this. Absolutely, it’s a theoretical question really, you really can’t plan these things to get pregnant and then of course awful things can happen in pregnancy too

@Sweettums yes definitely very hypothetical and of course everyone has everything crossed the entire time they’re pregnant that they make it to the end and all is well. I guess some people must just see posts like mine qnd they touch a nerve when they’re just so desperate for a baby any month of the year, I get that too. In the position we’re in when we’ve already got one and aren’t in a huge rush for another yet as there would still be quite a small gap, we can do a bit more choosing as to whether we’d try certain months or not

@BiscoffSundae it’s so funny how august is a month people in England avoid but I’m in Scotland and my baby was born in august. It’s a great birthday here as he’ll turn 5 just before starting school and the cut off is the end of feb so he’ll be in the older half of the year group, it’s bizarre how different it can be seen just by crossing the border

Also for those in the UK don't forget that children born between May and September can now start Reception aged 5 rather than 4, so don't have to be the youngest in the year, if you feel they are not ready to go aged 4.

Definitely would want to avoid it, and as for deferring who actually wants to do that though? Obviously it’s all just hypothetical though but no I wouldn’t want an August baby

Couldn't care less which month it's born in tbh

Lots if people defer now, it's pretty common. Much better for children to start education at 5.

I always wanted to avoid November to February. Have 2 with summer birthdays then feel pregnant while on contraception and am due beginning of December 😂

I was born in December was attempting to avoid a Dec baby DD was born in December lol

No guarantee your baby will be born when you "want" them to, either, no matter whether you time your pregnancy or not. I wanted to avoid December/January. DS was due in March, which I was very pleased about, but my waters broke unexpectedly early and he was born in January in the end. It's fine. For the next one I won't give it much thought.

@Mommabear20 ooops 😂 I’m sure it’ll be a lovely time to have a new baby

@toastfiend no definitely not, at the point in time when you’re faced with a premature baby what month it is would be the least of your worries. Glad all has turned out okay

Thank you for articulating my feelings on this much better than I managed!

Sorry I meant England not UK! I realise in Scotland the school years are different. But also they've had the option to defer the youngest for years, to start at 5. Good that England is finally catching up so summer-borns don't have to go until they are 5 unless parents want them to!

@SheeplessAndCounting Scotland have now extended it so deferring is optional for all 4 year olds even on Starting in August where as you used to need to have supporting evidence from professionals for August - December birthdays and only January and February birthdays had free choice to defer.