Hellobee Boards Topic: Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 18:03:45 +0000 megjay18 on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683869 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 10:24:58 +0000 megjay18 2683869@https://boards.hellobee.com/ i'm happy with our timing. we got married in 9/2010 and our first kid was born 11/2012, and our second kid was born 2.5 years later in 5/2015. apparently we're on a 2 year timeline for everything. hahah ShootingStar on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683860 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 10:19:01 +0000 ShootingStar 2683860@https://boards.hellobee.com/ To paraphrase Morpheus, things happened the way they had to happen and couldn't have happened any other way. DH is several years younger than me and we got together when the time was right. I was in a crappy relationship before him that made me realize what I needed in someone else. And with him being younger I kind of felt like he was too young to settle down before me. I met him when I was 29, we got engaged when I was 32 and married when I was 34, and had our first when I was 35. We were in a good place financially and I owned my own home. We bought a bigger house and then had our 2nd child when LO1 was 2 years 9 month which was my absolute ideal timeframe. I wanted my kids close, but any closer would've been much more expensive in terms of daycare. And it's great that DS is getting more and more independent. I wouldn't have been good at handling 2 under 2. If the timeframe of my life could've been sped up by about 5 years so I could be a little younger and doing this, that would've been great. But life didn't work that way and where we ended up is amazing. JennyPenny on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683836 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:48:47 +0000 JennyPenny 2683836@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We had our first after being married for 4 years with the timing of getting pregnant right after I finished grad school. I had initially wanted to try a year earlier but DH wasn't ready. In retrospect I'm so glad because in my mind then being pregnant while wrapping up a PhD would be no big deal - I would just have a firm deadline for finishing. But in reality I cannot imagine trying to balance prepping for a baby with trying to finish up and defend a dissertation, with a very sharp deadline looming over me! cascademom on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683822 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:29:39 +0000 cascademom 2683822@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We waited about two years into marriage before deciding to try for kids. I wanted some quiet, married life time before embarking on the kids journey. By the time that LO #1 arrived, we were married close to 3 years and together about 8 years. The transition from married to married with kids was tough. It got better, but took a long time to find that groove and lots of marriage counseling. When LO #1 was nearing two years old, it became decision time about another. I had LO #1 at 31. Having another one would put me at 35, so we needed to decide sooner or later on it. LO #2 arrived with a little under a 3 year age gap. I got pregnant with him quick. He's our reason for moving to the burbs and changing our city life to suburban life. I love my two kids and am thrilled not be pregnant again. I'm done having babies. I'm already super tired with marriage, household balance, kids, work, and commute to think of another one. My baby making days are done. Truth Bombs on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683814 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:20:20 +0000 Truth Bombs 2683814@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm really happy with the timing, which is funny since our second wasn't planned to come when he did. When we got pregnant with our first we had been married for 2 years and together for 8, so we had plenty of time together before introducing babies to the mix. We were 27 years old, had just bought our first house and were moving forward nicely in our careers. Second one came along exactly three years later. We had already moved into a bigger house with the anticipation of an eventual second kid, and really we were only holding off because I wanted to have maternity leave during the spring instead of another late fall baby. But the 3 year age gap has been perfect and I love the relationship our two LO are building. I'm really glad we were financially comfortable before we added kids to the mix. There are enough stresses on a marriage that come with having kids, I'm glad we didn't have the additional stress of feeling financially strapped. skipra on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683812 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:16:43 +0000 skipra 2683812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I kind of wish we had LO1 earlier. We waited to TTC until I would have a due date after being vested at work and then it took a year to get pregnant. Ours are pretty close together and I do love it, but I wish LO1 & LO2 would be more than 1 year apart in school! I do love their age gap though so I can't say I am unhappy with how it worked out. avivoca on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683809 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:12:25 +0000 avivoca 2683809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it was good timing for our first anyway. We had been married for 6.5 years when she arrived, we both had stable jobs, had bought a house, etc. We planned that one. We didn't plan the second one, but it ended up being great. I'm glad to have the pregnancy years behind us. catgirl on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683773 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 08:24:17 +0000 catgirl 2683773@https://boards.hellobee.com/ It was good time for us and made sense for other timelines we had in mind. But none of our friends have kids, it will likely be years before any of our really close friends have kids. That part makes me sad. It would have been nice to go through this with my best friends. The friendships I've made after DD are just different. caterw on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683764 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 08:02:38 +0000 caterw 2683764@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Pen: I feel the same about being married longer/ buying a house before having kids but oh well! I love my sweet girls and I have learned to appreciate our life even though it's not what I expected when I was younger. We were 25 when we had DD1 (surprise!) and hadn't gotten married yet or bought a house. 3 years later we still haven't bought a house but we fit perfectly in our little 2 bedroom apartment with our 2 sweet babies. The material stuff will come. ElbieKay on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683743 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 06:41:57 +0000 ElbieKay 2683743@https://boards.hellobee.com/ In hindsight it would have been nice to start about six months sooner. But we went on a sort of delayed honeymoon 11 months after we got married. The destination has malaria risk, and you can't take anti malaria meds while pregnant. So, we waited to try but then since it was the dry season we did not see a SINGLE mosquito the entire time. Sometimes I really hate the CDC. Their recommendations are so overly conservative. After that it took eight months plus a miscarriage to get a sticky pregnancy. I was 34.5 when I got married, and after all this I was almost 37 when my son was born. Now we have been TTC a second for a year. It's not working and I am feeling some pressure about my age. Oh well. Kimberlybee on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683738 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 04:25:20 +0000 Kimberlybee 2683738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Pen: I have 2 girl cousins who are 5 years apart, are the best of friends! They were really close growing up too but are the very best of friends now at ages. 35 and 30. T.H.O.U. on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683737 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 04:22:58 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2683737@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I feel like we were young compared to our friends but old compared to family. I wish we had more time married but it also put us on the same timeline as our friends so we all have kids similar age. newlypregnantlady on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683729 Fri, 20 Jan 2017 01:38:04 +0000 newlypregnantlady 2683729@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My husband was ready to have kids as soon as we got married. We waited four years before we started trying. I'm really glad we waited because I needed that time to really mature. I was not at all ready when we got married (we were only 23), but by the time we started trying I was like "give me my baby already!" @Mrs. Pen: I'm six years older than one of my sisters, and 13 years older than my youngest sister. And we are pretty close! We watch all the same tv and read the same books and text each other all the time. I think it's a lot more about personality than age difference. sapphire on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683705 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 22:43:42 +0000 sapphire 2683705@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We were married for a little over 4 years when we had LO#1. I thought it was pretty perfect. snowjewelz on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683671 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 21:54:52 +0000 snowjewelz 2683671@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Happy... DH is a lot older so we started TTC 6 months after our wedding. #2 happened earlier than expected but we are still thankful! 2littlepumpkins on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683547 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 19:44:51 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2683547@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I know this doesn't exactly answer the question, but no matter what I feel like my babies were meant to be mine, and I can't picture a different timing. I would be a different person without them. I was going on 23 with my first. And I'm not one of those people who believes there is always a reason, etc... I think they are the only thing in the world I feel that "meant to be" feeling about! littlejoy on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683479 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 18:10:38 +0000 littlejoy 2683479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm happy with our timeline. We were together for 9 years before LO (married for 6 years). We moved across the country, were settled in our careers, and traveled a lot. Now that number two is on the way, I'm so happy the kids will have a nearly 4 year gap. I'm sure I'll be grateful for the solo time we have had with LO1. Boogs on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683471 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 18:02:04 +0000 Boogs 2683471@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Pen: If it makes you feel any better, I know sisters with the same spacing and they love it and have always been best friends. They loved it so much, one is now a mom and is doing similar spacing for her own. KayKay on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683455 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 17:52:48 +0000 KayKay 2683455@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pretty happy with it. I wasn't ready to start trying until we did (DH was ready earlier, but it was my body/life that would be impacted more...for various reasons). It only took 2 cycles to conceive and then we had DD1 just before I turned 30 -- we had been married for almost 4y at that point and together for over 10y. Plus I had had a fair amount of time to focus on my job, travel a lot (for work and pleasure), etc. The timing of DD2 was almost a year earlier than we had settled on, but had we used our original timing, we probably wouldn't have had a 3rd since neither of us wanted to be dealing with TTC/pregnancy for much after 35. We snuck in all of that just under the wire -- I'm 34.5 :) Mrs. Pen on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683439 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 17:24:16 +0000 Mrs. Pen 2683439@https://boards.hellobee.com/ It's such a hard question to answer because honestly I think we started having kids too young. But of course if we hadn't started when we did, I wouldn't have my sweet boy! But I was only 22. And he was 100% planned for. I wish I would have waited until I was completely done with school (to be fair I did have one two-year degree, and then stopped because I didn't know what I wanted to do... and it wasn't until I became a mother that I knew for sure I wanted to be a nurse). And I wish we would have taken the time to be married a little longer, save more money and have bought a house prior to having kids. Plus, having to fit all of that in the five years since having my first meant that we weren't having another one until now. I'm finally a year into my career and will finish my third college degree in December, so timing is a lot better now. While I love how excited my five year old is to have a baby brother, I worry they won't be close due to the large age gap. petitenoisette on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683418 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 17:04:21 +0000 petitenoisette 2683418@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I had such baby fever and was determined to do things by the timeline I had decided on; we had LO about a year and a half after we got married (together for 4.5 years at the time). There are definitely some things I wish we could have do pre-kids (more travel) but I would obviously not trade LO for the world! ETA: Was 30 when I had her and my DH 34 so I also wanted to get a move on thinking we wanted to have 3 kids. nana87 on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683416 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:58:54 +0000 nana87 2683416@https://boards.hellobee.com/ The timing has meshed really well with where I am in my grad school program-- I'm really lucky that my obsessive planning worked out and that we were able to get pregnant relatively quickly, even with a loss thrown in as well lilteacherbee on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683409 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:55:28 +0000 lilteacherbee 2683409@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We were young when we got married (21-22) and started TTC less than a year later. It took awhile to have our first, so I'm glad we started when we did. We got pregnant easily with our second and third babies though. When our last baby is born, we'll be a month away from our 6th anniversary (together 11 years). I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out. Anya on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683408 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:55:11 +0000 Anya 2683408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I wasnt happy about the ttc/loss circumstances that put my first LO a year "behind schedule," but in the grand scheme of things the timing worked out well, so I don't think I would go back and change anything. Mrs. Pickle on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683399 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:48:53 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2683399@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We started ttc right after our one year anniversary. We had been together 3 years at that point. The years of infertility that followed were hard, but looking back I think it was good that we got so many years together just the two of us. At 35 I think my DH is feeling a bit of a crunch to finish having babies. youboots on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683394 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:45:24 +0000 youboots 2683394@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We were married 8.5 years when T was born. DH was anxious to TTC and concerned it could take some time. I would have liked to do a trip to Europe first. But it happened quickly and we have such a wonderful DD- timing worked just right the have this exact child. Boogs on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683391 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:43:34 +0000 Boogs 2683391@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We waited until about 2 years into our marriage, so we are pretty happy with it. winniebee on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683390 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:43:19 +0000 winniebee 2683390@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We waited until I was 30 to start trying - we'd been together 10 years and married for a few years. I didn't expect it would take so long to get and stay pregnant with our first though. I don't really have regrets about starting younger. I got and stayed pregnant with DS2 easily...getting to our third living child has been a road of heartache, but in the end I think it will work out ok. I'll be just shy of 37 when we are done having kids. I'll be happy to move on but also feel that I had plenty of years of alone time and working on my career exclusively before having kids. Pinkberrry on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683383 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:39:36 +0000 Pinkberrry 2683383@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Well I'm currently preg with #1 right now but I only wish it had taken us longer to get pregnant..we decided that weekend that we would start trying not realizing that that's all it would take. It was very surprising for us. Bao on "Were you happy with the timing of when you had your kids?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-happy-with-the-timing-of-when-you-had-your-kids#post-2683379 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:36:04 +0000 Bao 2683379@https://boards.hellobee.com/ DH and I got married and didn't waste any time TTC. I love when I had my kids (got pregnant right away, and then had LO2 a year and a half later) BUT I sometimes wish we would have waited just another year or so. Maybe I'm just feeling that way now because I am really itching for some alone time, but it would have been nice to get more one on one time with DH before adding kids into the mix. Were you happy with the timing of when you had your little ones? Do you wish you would have waited? Tried sooner?