how old are you?

I was 31 when I had Tim, 35 for Henry. Pretty normal in my circle of friends.

We're already older than many of DH's instructors. Its only going to get worse.

[Vanquisher]

I think I *might* win in the "youngest person to start having children" category.

I had my first at the ripe old age of 21.

Jennifer

Nope sorry. Got you beat. I was 20. Had my second (and last) at 26.

I'll be young and have money when they leave the house. That'll be nice. I'll be 45 when the youngest graduates high school. I'll probably feel 90 by then though. I pretty much feel like 50 now. I think. Or maybe this is just what completely out of shape feels like with buckets of stress poured on top.

[Meenah]

I'm the oldest. I was 44 when the last one graduated from high school, and she is in the third year of college. Now I am in grad school. We may all graduate together. I was 25 with the first and 27 with the second.
Luanne

[Meenah]

That makes me 32!!!!!!!!!!
Luanne

Once I hit 30 I started saying I've been 30 for X years. Then at 35 I switched to that, so now I have been 35 for 3 years!

WTF were they thinking when they designed those black balloons and over the hill gravestone birthday banners for 40? What was the life expectancy when they did that? 55? :>

[Rapunzel]

I always think my mom is 45.

She likes to keep it that way, I think.

See? You can stop time!

Jennifer

People are sort of trapped in my memory at a certain age, especially when I moved away. I am always saying geeky things like But you can't be 30! you were 15 the last time I saw you to neices and nephews.

I am 33, 34 in January. No kids yet, bad luck thus far in that department. Sadly, I will be 40 by the time DH is finished with residency and 2 fellowships.
DH is younger than me at 29. Yes, I am Mrs. Robinson.

Don't feel bad Kozmo, I'll be turning 41 just as residency starts :!

[Sheherezade]

38 here. I had my first child at 27. That was normal for the Mid-Atlantic region (Philly and Baltimore), but I was the young mom on the block in Boston. Here (Ohio) I would be the older mom. Funny how these things are regional.

[Rapunzel]

Yeah, I was reading that the average age for a first-time mother in Boston is 35!

At 30 with five kids do ya think I stick out like a sore thumb?

Jennifer

[houseelf]

RE: maternal age at first child's birth

I was 26 and DH was 28 when we had our first (blessed little suprise baby). Among professional school students, this was the equivalent of being a pregnant teen. Among my college and hometown friends, we were on track or perhaps a bit behind.

We probably would have tried to conceive before I turned 30, if things had gone according to plan. This surprise only jumpstarted things by a few years. We both knew that we really, really wanted kids. In fact, pre-kids we wanted four! Let's just say that this isn't going to happen by our choice now but only if God makes this happen.

I had baby number 2 at 31. We are undecided about #3. If we go that route, we will probably try in another couple of years because we both like the 4 to 5 year spacing between kids. We were both raised this way and we like this age spread with our children.

Not to be a fearmonger, but I second what Kris and Jennifer Pyle said. Hormonal composition and cycles have really started to change dramatically for me in the last year and I am only 32. I have achieved pregnancy *very* easily three times in the past, but I doubt that it will occur as quickly in the future. Also, each successive pregnancy has worn me out. I like being young and active with my kids. Hey, maybe we'll run together someday if they show interest.

Is this Too Much Information? I honestly can't tell what the boundaries of normal social discourse are anymore...I'm a mother of two and I'm married to a surgeon. Bowel disimpacting is not out of bounds in our household.

Kelly

[Auspicious]

It's not Too Much Information. To me, it's very helpful to hear how other people work through their decision-making process on these life issues.

I had a harder time getting pregnant with Henry than Tim, and I was only 18 months older when I started trying.

Took almost 2 years to get Henry.

I highly recommend basal body temp for determining when ovulation is occuring. 8)

[DCJenn]

You know I've always said that if you want to make sure that you're not going to run into any fertility problems then go for it.

Of course, we are the walking talking fertility disaster team so it wouldn't have mattered if we were 15! Nothing was gonna happen! That said, it sure would have been good to know earlier, when I think of the serious amount of money I've spent on birth control over the last 20 years! (I was an early starter...)

Jenn