Before getting married, I thought it would be something like this:
30 - get married
32 - baby 1
34 - baby 2
I never thought I'd get married as young as I did, This was my actual timeline:
26 - get married
28 - starting trying, but had 2 miscarriages
31 - baby 1
32 - baby 2 (just before I turned 33 though!)
How did your actual timeline match up with the timeline you thought you'd follow?
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Imagined Timeline:
26 - get married
28 - baby #1
30 - baby #2
Actual:
26 - get married
27 - baby #1
29 - baby #2
cantaloupe / 6791 posts
Since DH and I were high school sweethearts, I imagined that we'd get married right out of college and have kids a few years later. I never really had any specific ages in mind, though I hoped I'd be done having kids by 30.
I got married at 21 and will have baby #1 at 24.
pomegranate / 3388 posts
Imagined timeline --
24/25 - get married
29 - baby #1
31 - baby #2
Actual --
29 - get married
30 - baby #1
34-ish? - baby #2 (planned... this one hasn't happened yet)
Two things changed. One is that I got married later than I had imagined. If I had gotten married younger, I would have wanted to be married for a few years before trying for kids. Also, my job is so stressful that I can no longer imagine having two kids in close succession. We'll be waiting 3-4 years from #1 before having #2.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
My original timeline was: no timeline. Didn't care to get married or have kids.
Actual timeline:
I just wanted to have my kids before my eggs all shriveled up and died... Since at 35 I discovered that I did indeed have some f'd up latent biological clock!
coconut / 8234 posts
The only timeline I ever had was for having a baby. 32 was my baby age. I never planned out when I was getting married. I just wanted a baby desperately.
31 - got married
34 - baby #1
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
I wanted to get married by 25 and have two kids by 30. I'm ahead of schedule!
persimmon / 1436 posts
I didn't necessarily have an age I want to be married by, but I did want to have my first child at 30, which is happening!
I also thought it would be ideal to be married for a few years before having a child, and we will celebrate our four year anni about a month after LO is born.
Feeling pretty lucky and surprised it all worked out! 
pomelo / 5258 posts
DH and I got together when we were 18 so I sort of thought we'd marry around 24 and have a baby at 28. We got married at 28 and had a baby when I was 30.
grapefruit / 4049 posts
I had just imagined being married at around 30 and having my 1st around then too...
Never ever thought I'd get married at 25, but we met when I was 23 and we just knew... So got engaged and planned a wedding pretty quickly.
Actuality:
- married at 25
- LO 1 at 28
- LO 2 at 31
persimmon / 1171 posts
Imagined:
19-married
21-kid 1
23-kid 2
25-kid 3
27-kid 4 (:
This was all when I "knew" I would marry my high school sweetheart and we both wanted a big family. He was an Army Ranger so we figured he would make enough and blah blah blah...
Life happened:
Married the most amazing guy ever: 24
*i even joke that God made him perfectly for me, that's why he's younger (:
Baby 1: 25
Baby 2: hopefully next year, before I turn 27 (:
Then maybe baby 3 at 28 (: mayyyybe (:
clementine / 899 posts
No set timeline here. Or at all, for that matter. But so far:
- Married at 22
- Hoping to be done having kids by 30.
I guess the 2nd one is my "timeline" now. 24 and not TTC yet, but got some time.
pomegranate / 3113 posts
I imagined getting married around 32/33, kids were never really part of the plan. In reality, got married at 27 and will be having our first LO at 31. If we decide to have a second, I'd like them to be 3-3.5 years apart, will hopefully be done with childbearing before or around 35.
grapefruit / 4819 posts
My only real timeline was:
NO MARRIAGE BEFORE 30 (had to put that in caps as that was how resounding of a message it was in my head!) And then I didn't want kids until after I was married.
Actual timeline:
Married: 31 (a few weeks shy of 32)
First baby: 32 (a few weeks shy of 33)
Second baby: will arrive when I'm 34
My life has pretty much followed my 'life's plan' exactly so far...we even wanted our first two kids 18-22 months apart and LO #2 is due when our first LO will be 20 months.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
I had wanted to be married for 5 years before having a baby. In reality we got pregnant right away. It was ok though because we had a house and jobs and had been together dating for quite a while.
Cancer - 22
MBA - 23
Full Time Job/bought a house - 24
Married - 25
Baby Girl- 26
Baby #2 - Hoping between 28-30.
I feel like once I hit thirty, I will have to find stuff to keep busy because the past few years have been crazy!
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
Planned on getting married/having babies once I was in my 30s
In reality, I graduated college at 21, got married at 24, had my baby at 25.
Growing up I anticipated taking longer to finish school and having a strong desire to party/travel/do whatever I wanted in my 20s. Once I actually got there all I wanted to do was settle down and have a family.
pineapple / 12526 posts
Before:
Married: Never
Babies: Post 30, if ever
Actual:
Engaged: 21
Married: 22
Pregnant: 23
Baby: 24
Baby #2: sometime between 28-32
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
Before:
25 married
26 first baby
28 second baby - done.
Actual:
Started dating at 25
Married at 32
First baby at 34 - done.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
Way different than I expected.
What I thought:
Married: 25/26
Kids: 27/28
What happened:
Married: 23
Bought house : 23
Pregnant: 25
Much earlier than I expected!
watermelon / 14206 posts
Imagined (or Plan A) timeline:
1. Get married
2. have #1
3. continue to have more until I decide I'm done...before I'm 30
Actual timeline:
22 Got married
25 Had #1
26 Got divorced
30 Got remarried
31 lost #2
31 TTC more babies
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I like the comparisons, I had vastly different plans vs. what actually happened!
Plan:
Married by 27
First child by 29
Second child by 31
Actual:
Married: 33
First child: 35
grapefruit / 4823 posts
I didn't have exact ages for things, but I thought i'd be married and have at least 2 kids between 25-30.
actual:
married - 29
kid #1 - 30
kid #2 - 31
cantaloupe / 6800 posts
Imagined:
-Married between 18-20
-First LO at 21
-Second LO at 23/24
Actual:
-Married at 19
-First LO just before 21
-plans for second LO at 23/24.
So, pretty close. But to be fair, I dated DH the entire time I was in HS, which is about the time I started thinking about what I wanted my life to be like. I knew we'd get married right after I graduated and we want to be totally done having kids by the time i'm 25 and DH 29.
pomelo / 5178 posts
Plan:
Marriage: 30+
Babies: 35+
Actual:
Marriage: 24
Baby 1: 25
Baby 2: 26
I fivgured I would go on to get advanced degress and have a career so I wouldn't have time for marriage/babies in my 20's. I'm still doing those things now, just with a husband and kids in tow, which I never imagined I could do.
apricot / 334 posts
I didn't really have a timeline but thought I would have kids a bit younger. I married at 28 and will be having baby #1 at 34.
clementine / 896 posts
Imagined:
Married - 22/23
Baby #1 - 24
Baby #2 - 27
Actual:
Baby #1 - 18
Baby #2 - 21
And not married yet at 22 (but with my SO 5.5 years).
Lol way different than I had imagined but that's ok
pomegranate / 3604 posts
I didn't think I'd get married so young (24), or that id have a baby right out of the gate (at 25). I figured 28-30's for all that
Now I just kind of want to be done having babies by 34(ish)? Or before, since 9 years of having babies is a long time, now that I think about it!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
My plan was so specific-- I thought I'd go to college, be single and fun for 2 years, start dating my future husband junior year, be serious by senior year, graduate, have a few years before we got engaged... So:
Plan:
Married: 26 ish
LO#1: 28
LO #2: 30 ish
Possible more LOs
Reality:
Married: 29
LO #1: 32 (any day!)
LO #2: Hopefully by 35
We did end up starting to date in college, but not until 2 months before graduation and then we moved 5 hours apart-- that wasn't part of the master plan!
cantaloupe / 6869 posts
What I thought would happen growing up:
25: Get married
27: Child #1
29: Child #2
What happened:
29: Get married
31: Child #1 (hopefully)
3?: Child #2?
kiwi / 673 posts
I never had a timeline, I just knew I wanted to get married and have kids someday. Here's how it's worked so far:
Married: 26
Kid #1: 28
Kid #2: hopefully around 32
And then maybe some more children after that. We're definitely open to more, but we take it 1 at a time and don't have limits on the amount. I would probably ttc even sooner if I wasn't in school.
watermelon / 14467 posts
I honestly thought I would get married at 28, and babies? Babies sometime after that.
Married: 21
LO#1: 27/28 (depends on when she's born, she's due the day after my birthday)
L0#2? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-31.
pear / 1693 posts
I thought I would be:
married: 29/30
Baby1: 31
Baby2; 33/34
Reality:
Married: 28
Baby 1: 28
Baby 2: hopefully31/32, leaving room for a potential baby 3 a couple years later
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
I was married at 26, first baby at 28. Interestingly it's the same time frame my mom had!
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
Thought:
Married by 30
One child by the time I was 35 (only wanted one)
Reality:
Started dating DH at 27
Married: 32
1st child: 33
2nd child: 35
Probably done by 35
pomegranate / 3231 posts
In the abstract, I would have liked to have had my first child by my early 30s. But, I didn't meet my husband until I was 32. We got married when I was 34. We had only known each other for 2 years, so we gave ourselves a year to just be married before starting to TTC. I had a miscarriage which delayed things even further. If this pregnancy sticks -- fingers crossed -- then I will juuuuuust sneak in my first baby right before I turn 37. Not ideal, but I am definitely glad that I waited for this particular husband. As the great Diana Ross sang, you can't hurry love!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
I didn't have one. Finding a person I wanted to get married to and have kids with was an absolute surprise. Things will happen when they happen, if ever they happen.
coconut / 8279 posts
Thought: Married only when it was decided to have kids. Wanted to have one child before 35.
Reality: Married at 30, pregnant 8 weeks after wedding.
In a perfect world: Baby #2 at 37.... we'll see..
grapefruit / 4187 posts
I always thought I would get married and have kids in my early 20's, but I didn't start dating DH until we were 26. We got married at 28 and I am pregnant with lo#1 at 31!
Looking back I'm obviously very glad things happened when they did because I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I'm actually very thankful I didn't end up marrying any of my ex's, I would definitley be either very unhappy or divorced now.
grapefruit / 4703 posts
I thought:
Married: 24/25
Baby #1: 27
Baby #2: 29
Actual (so far):
Married: 26
Baby #1: Hopefully 31 (started TTC so I'd be 29 with first LO, but that didn't work out)
Baby #2: Hopefully before 35
apricot / 259 posts
Before I meet my husband, I planned on never getting married but adopting a bunch of kids.
NEVER, EVER thought I'd get married so young
Actual
22 - Got Married
23 - Bought a House
26 - Baby #1 (hopefully!) (One and DONE!)
I will have been with DH more than 8 years whenever baby comes and have been married for slightly more than 3 yrs.
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