When did you know you were ready for a baby ?

[doorlily]

Did you put much thought into it beforehand or did you just go with the flow ? Heard someone say there will always be one more trip you could take, one more thing to do to the house, etc … always a reason to put it back. Just thought this would be interesting

We’d made very detailed plans for what we wanted to do before and a detailed timeline but that all went to shit because of Covid. I was thinking I wasn’t ready to TTC and was maybe going to have the conversation that I might want to be childfree. Lockdown threw my period off and so I was late, had the panic and dread about potentially being pregnant. Thought I was definitely not ready to TTC and so there was a difficult conversation ahead. The pregnancy test was negative and I was disappointed. So we went for it.

I think we knew when were chatting excitedly about trying ‘soon’. We had a ski holiday booked and I said I wanted to start trying after that (because we both really wanted children and wanted to avoid any age related fertility issues where possible).
we stopped actively trying to not conceive and I was actually pregnant a week or two before said ski trip (didn’t realise and was skiing down black runs and drinking loads of wine oops). DS is fine btw!

DS is nearly 4. I'm not sure I'll ever be 'ready' for a baby!

When we got married. Been to University. got a degree, got married, baby seemed the next step.

I think we were the other way round, we would say things like "this would be a nice place to bring kids when we have them" when on holiday etc so we thought well why not get on with it and have them then.

It hadn't really crossed my mind at all, until DP casually gave me a baby grow on my 31st birthday letting me know he was ready if I was and from that moment on I was obsessed! Pregnant 3 months later with DD!
She's nearly 4 and baby2 is all I think about, but sadly not happened yet!

Lol, she was about 6 months old before I felt ready for it!!

I was only 21 though.

We've both always wanted to be parents, and sheet only a few months together (at just 18 at the time) we were talking about kids. We were at uni, then getting jobs, then getting wet had to climb the ladder until we realised there's always going to be something else and some reason to not do it. We finally just took the plunge (even though I was then at the beginning of the final year of a master's) and I was pregnant quickly. Sadly we lost our first very late on in the pregnancy, but welcomed our rainbow baby 10 months ago

I've always wanted kids. I've been with my (now husband) since I was 19. We were "careless" and used the pull out method when we both had stable jobs with a maternity package. We were living in different cities and renting so wouldn't have been ideal but I figured I could get a transfer if required and had savings

At 25 we were both living in the same city, owned a house and were in stable employment with decent maternity packages and we started properly trying. Got pregnant the first month... Which was a pleasant surprise

I think what made me know I was ready was feeling a bit disappointed each month my period came

A few things,,

When I was 100 percent in love and had long conversations about having a baby

When the long conversations about having a baby didn't give me a panic feeling but an excited (and nervous) but definitely more on the excited side

When I started noticing people with prams and thinking awwwwww how cute

When I was out clubbing I gradually started to want to go home earlier and earlier

When my me and my friends booked Ibiza I had more of the 'cant be asked' thoughts rather than excited (still went and had a great time though)

And when I tested too early I was gutted that it was negative but was positive a few days later and there was no panic feeling just an acceptance feeling

We were married, nearly 30, had a house and I finally had a job that would pay decent maternity (had spent years doing PhD). Started trying when I finished my probation period (DH already had a job)

@Littlelighthouse congratulations on your baby 🌈❤️

My dad said to me that if you wait until you were totally ready, no one would ever do it. We felt like we were financially and emotionally ready for it, and our parents were ageing so wanted to consider that

For us, it was signs that the pandemic was ending. Before it, we had planned to take one last trip as just adults in May 2020. That never went ahead. We ended up being ready for a baby instead a year later. We TTC, exactly a year later and baby born on Jan 2022! We never got that last trip but the pandemic changed our priorities! We didn't care about the trip, we just wanted a baby.

I never thought much about being "ready" - I got pregnant , and had DD, without ever wondering if I was ready. When DD was born, and I was lying back on the bed with her lying on my bent knees, looking directly into my eyes , I fell instantly in love and I was ready for anything. She's 36 now and we are still a wonderful team .

We’d got married, we had discussed becoming parents and our parenting styles at length, our business was stable and money relatively comfortable, we’d done one last season in New Zealand (can’t exactly up and go to the other side of the world for months at a time with a baby/small child, that was one of the harder things to accept we had to give up!) and we’d both desperately wanted to be parents for a little while.
As it happened, it took bloody ages to get pregnant so I guess we had even longer to get everything in order.

I was in a really good, strong, loving relationship and wanted a baby. That was as far as we got with planning!

My DS is 3 and I'm pregnant with my second. Still not "ready"! Time wasn't on my side though so I had to make a decision and we were ready as in we had the house, stable enough jobs, enough bedrooms etc.

We moved out of our one bed flat into a proper house, and I reached eligibility for enhanced mat leave from work in the same month. So decided there was no time like the present. I got pregnant that first month, we were very lucky.

Just after we got married. We’d talked about it for a while, even though i was hesitant as we had no family support. But it was mainly at that time due to my age. I would be 32 by the time i gave birth and i’ve always said i don’t want any children past 35.

I thought I was ready after two years of trying. Boy, it's a lot harder than it looks 🤣

Currently looking like some sort of sleep deprived swamp monster sitting on the sofa. Sipping my second coffee of this morning, watching DS practice his new found screeching at the top of his lungs skills.

After Covid we said 2022 would be the year to do things and go places, after Covid stopping that. So we did that and had a great year travelling, doing this and that etc. we said we would try from 2023 and we did and fell second month.

One of the big indicators for me internally as a person was that slowly I felt life had turned a bit meh and was missing something. I also was previously very career driven and all of a sudden started to care less and less about it. Then when I imagined having a baby, and it filled that void that was forming.

We defo still had moments of 'are we sure we are ready' etc when coming off contraception, but I think that's normal!

For me, I knew I wanted a baby and it was a matter of persuading DH!

I forgot to add, you are never truly ready until you have the baby in your arms IME. But it's a wonderful journey and wouldn't have it any other way.

Towards my 31st birthday I just knew in my head it was right. Fully discussed it with my partner and he was totally on board so we decided for me to come off my pill. A month later I was pregnant and our little one is due 2 months today. When she's here we will really see if I was ready though 😂