Getting Pregnant
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Do we wait or go for it?

We married young - at 21 and 23. Babies were never a priority when we got married but during the 5 years that we've been together while dating, it was certainly something we both wanted. There were a couple of times before marriage where we both wanted to toss the birth control and just have a baby - but cooler minds prevailed and there have been no pregnancies.

The first time I was asked the burning question was during the wedding - my instant response was that we had no immediate plans and plenty of time before kids would be in the picture. It has only been a few months now and we've had a couple of serious discussions about wanting to start trying for a baby. There are a number of cons, but of course there will always be cons, but we know that if I did get pregnant that we'd be able to make it work.

Our worries involve money as we live paycheque to paycheque with a small savings, me needing to save up to be off of work, my husband transitioning into the responsibilities of a stay at home dad and a couple of my health issues. We hope that these issues can all be addressed within the next year - it gives us time to save, tweak our budget, him to get into at home routine and for myself to get healthier and wean off my blood pressure medication.

The timeline we have established involved me weaning off my blood pressure meds late next summer, dumping the birth control medication in September and then beginning to try in October. At this point we'll have been married for just over a year. Hopefully by the time we get pregnant we'll be 23 and 25 - I feel that is a responsible age to be bringing a child into the world.

My doubts occur after trying to have discussions with family and friends about their experiences and thoughts - only my MIL was excited and supportive - everyone else was taking a stance of "you are far too young", "you can't afford it" and "there is no rush" and telling us that we'd be making a mistake and should wait many more years to even consider getting pregnant.

I was just wondering what your experiences were in regards to starting a young family - I know that there is no rush but we feel we're going to be soon ready to have a baby and that there is no huge red flag telling us to wait. I also don't want to wait to only find out we're going to have troubles conceiving and have it take longer than expected.

Re: Do we wait or go for it?

  • If you feel you're ready, then go for it. If you don't think you're ready, wait. You have plenty of time. Don't let other people tell you when you're ready. It's really a decision between you and your husband (and doctor depending on the meds you are on). Good luck!
    image
    TTC 24 months, IUI #3 BFP 6/4/14 Beta 6/5 58, 6/9 508, 6/11 1227 TWINS! EDD 2/15/15
    With heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our precious angels on 8/12 at 13 weeks 2 days.
    image
    IVF #1 Lup/Brav/Meno, ER 11/28 10R/10F, ET "Rudolph" 4AA embryo 12/3, 7 frosties.
    BFP! Betas: 12/12 225, 12/15 706, 12/17 1512. EDD 8.21.15
    12/29 hb 120. 1/5 perfect, GRAD DAY! 1/15 perfect at OB. NT 2/6 PERFECT, HB 158!

    Baby Girl born 8.9.15 at 38.2 due to IUGR 4lb7.8oz 17" 
    Our princess is being watched over by her older siblings every day <3
    Anniversary 

  • Only you and your husband know what's best for you and what will work for your family.

    Personally, I would have loved to have enjoyed just being married for about 5 years before trying, but we were 35 and 38 when we got married and didn't have time on our side.  Ironically, we have decided to stop trying and have the rest of our lives to enjoy being married. :)

    Good luck in whatever you decide.
    Anniversary image

    Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

    TTC Since January 2011 - We have bad sperm 
    February 2013: IUI #1 = BFN 
    October 2013: We made the decision to stop TTC and live without children.

    Nestie Besties with Xan921 
  • Only you can decide what is right for your family.  I didn't have the option of having a "young" family, because I didn't get married until I was 29.  Even though I wish it would have worked faster for us, I can't imagine having a child that is currently 10 years old now. For ME, I would wait until we weren't living paycheck to paycheck. Especially because we did end up having trouble getting pregnant and needed to spend lots of money on treatments. 

    image
    Baby Boy born 5.3.15


  • I was not anywhere near ready at 23.  One of my best friends was, and became an excellent mom at 24.  Everyone is different.

    I do think it's important (though not crucial) to be financially secure.  We ended up with medical expenses that we couldn't have paid for without savings.

    IUI - BFP! Baby boy born still - August 2012
    IVF - BFP - miscarriage June 2013
    FET - BFN
    FET - BFN
    Switched clinics
    IVF with PGD - three embryos created, all healthy - July 2014
    FET - transferred two embryos (boy and girl) - Nov 2014 - BFP!
    Baby Boy born July 2015

  • Pretty much ditto PPs. Only you can decide. Good luck with whatever you choose Nd good luck getting off the meds. I know it can be tough!
  • I know that only us can decide if we think we are ready - what I am really looking for are perhaps experiences or tips because I know that there are people out there who thought that they were ready and then once they had the baby there was a whole bunch of things they never considered or it wasn't what they thought it'd be.
  • Many of the women on this board are trying to get pregnant, so you may not get an answer here.  You could try the GP Moms board.
    Anniversary image

    Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

    TTC Since January 2011 - We have bad sperm 
    February 2013: IUI #1 = BFN 
    October 2013: We made the decision to stop TTC and live without children.

    Nestie Besties with Xan921 
  • I was married 9 years, age 31 and thought I was ready to have a kid - I wasn't! :-)

    I am only kind of kidding.

    Having a kid is tough(!) even in the best circumstances.

    I have a great DH, we both graduated from university, have stable jobs, own a home, etc.

    I had a bit of a rough PG (high risk) and our son cried for his first 4 months of life (unless he was sleeping - and he didn't sleep much!).

    It's hard.

    If I were you - I would hold off. JMO - I wouldn't have wanted to have a kiddo at 23 or 25. Again, JMO.

    I think sometimes it's tough when you are living life and think "what's next?!" After the wedding, And often you think "baby!". Well, sometimes what's next is an exciting vacation, a challenging job change, a move, buying a house. I would do some of those things first.

    Again, this is all JMO. You should have a kiddo if both you and your DH think you want to, that's great.

    I would really try to examine your feelings to see if what you are wanting is something exciting you can plan for or a baby specifically.

    I would definitely talk to an OB about your meds and current situation to come up with a TTC plan about 6 months before you actually want to TTC. There may be things you don't know/aren't considering about your medical situation.

    I didn't have a medical situation until I became PG an being pg created one - it is physically taxing for sure.

    Good luck to you - what every you decide!
    "How long till my soul gets it right? Can any human being ever reach the highest light? Except for Galileo, god rest his soul, king of night vision, king of insight." ~ Indigo Girls Anniversary
    When you've been married this long, you need a ticker to remind you.

    Baby Boy M - 08/01/2013
  • poppies717poppies717 member
    500 Love Its 1000 Comments Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited December 2014
    You'll never be "ready," but I would caution that your financial situation be stable when you do start TTC. Babies aren't cheap, and if (I hope not) pregnancy doesn't come easily, the ART stuff isn't cheap if you don't have coverage.

    ETA: Hit post before I was done! I hope your TTC journey, whenever it comes, is short and sweet!
    TTC #1 since Feb. '12. dx: "unexplained" IF
    After 2 shitty IVF cycles and 1 loss at 6+2 (EDD 11/7/14), DH and I are pursuing DIA.
    11/17/2014 - ACTIVE AND WAITING!
    image
    Pregnancy was never the end goal; being a mom was.
    I've been holding out on GP: I got drunk once and started a blog: Here it is (11/7 update)
    3T<3

  • **a whole bunch of BR stuff down here**


    My sister got married young - she was 22, and they waited until her H had a good job, good insurance, and had bought a house (of course buying a house isn't required - it was just what they wanted), and had her son at 24, and her daughter at 27.  She's a great mom and I'm pretty sure she doesn't regret having kids at a young age.  I didn't get married until I was 29, and we started TTC later that year - 2 pregnancy losses and one healthy baby later, I'm nearly 34 and I wish I had met my husband/gotten married much earlier, because I'll be 35 if we have another baby -  I always wanted to be a young mother.

    The first year with a baby is HARD.  Not just emotionally and physically, but on your marriage.  The dynamic in your house changes.  I thought we had managed to escape it, but we didn't.  Eight months PP, I had to go on anxiety meds because my husband's anxiety made me have anxiety and I was irritable and angry at him and the baby.

    Our marriage went through a lot while TTC - our first pregnancy we found out at 19 weeks that our daughter had severe heart defects with poor prognosis and we chose to end our pregnancy.  It was the most difficult day of my life (surpassing the day my dad died), and Adam was my rock, during diagnosis, throughout testing, and then at the end.  It made us stronger, and we can still talk about her to this day.  Then we had a miscarriage a few months later.  Your marriage has to be strong, you need to have the same ideals, ie; will you pursue infertility treatment should that happen, what if you have a child with developmental problems, congenital abnormalities....you need to figure out what you will do together.

    I think in terms of things being not what I expected them to be or whatever, there wasn't much.  A baby is a baby.  You know you're not going to sleep well the first few months.  Breastfeeding was a challenge and we ended up formula feeding because I couldn't produce.  Cloth diapering wasn't all I had wanted it to be so I switched to sposies.  Things that could be changed.  If you feel you're ready for a baby, then you're ready.  A baby does change everything.  But once they're here, you change your life for them, and 99% of people don't look back.  You live for your children.  You love them more than your spouse. 

    I know I'm in the minority here, but we didn't have a huge savings account, and there are times we are just waiting for the next paycheck when big expenses hit.  But we're making it work and we have enough to make us happy and take care of everyone in the house (dog and 2 cats included).
    image

    <3<3 "You know my name, not my story.
    You've heard what I've done, not what I've been through.
    If you were in my shoes, you'd fall the first step." <3<3


  • Personally, I'm very happy that I chose not to have children in my early/mid twenties.
    Married 2011.
    Baby Boy 2015.
  • I was engaged at 23, married at 24. I'll be 29 in March, and we're planning to start TTC next year. 

    We've been putting it off because we both wanted stable jobs (check), to pay down debt (working on it), and to have good health insurance (check). I wanted to be done with all my schooling (graduate in August), and I prefer to have a house purchased before a child would arrive (working on it). Go through your list of goals you want to hit - the big ones - and make sure you knock those out before a child arrives, because it'll be harder to achieve them with a little one in the picture. Late night feedings going on at the same time as trying to study for a final doesn't sound like fun to me. 

    All in all, though, it's your call. Good luck!
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