What's it like having your baby born around Christmas?

[Shanti]

(Mods I wasn't sure where to put this thread? Pls move if you need to )

Just curious to know what is it like to have a baby born around December, and particularly around Christmas time? Late December? Being Christmas, busy time of the year, and New Years....

When pregnant with a December bub, did you get questions like "oooh you are having a baby born around Christmas???" and annoying questions like that?

Also, do you then have to put your child back a grade at school seeing as they are born so late in the year?? I know it's up to the parents and individual decision anyway

I am asking this purely out of curiousity! Initially DH and I weren't keen on having a baby born in december as it's a busy time of the year for us with our business however because we would love a baby so very much, we aren't going to try and 'prevent' it from happening and if it is meant to happen it will! :P
(only asking this as if we were to conceive, hyperthetically, in this new cycle we would be due around 25 Dec!!! )

I can only imagine a child born in December gets spoilt rotten with double the presents!!!

[feeb]

I have a few frineds with ther birthdays near christmas and they always have said that they only get 1 present from family for a combined one. I personally always buy them seperate presesnts as my thought is they give me a birthday prsesnt in march and a christmas present in december so why shoudlnt they get 2 pressies!

I have said to DH if we ever have a baby in december we will make a big thing of birthday also.

[Willow]

DD was actually due on Christmas Day! Thankfully, she decided to wait it out and arrived on 4 January! And yes, I got heaps of annoying comments while I was prg, that week or so of xmas and new year was one of the longest weeks of my life!! LOL.

To be honest the only problems I've come across are:

• She gets all her gifts/parties/excitement etc during those few weeks of the year then has to wait a whole year for it all to come around again. We've actually started putting things away for her so we can get them out in the middle of the year, otherwise she just gets bored with everything and has nothing new to play with.
  
  
• It can get a bit overwhelming for her - we noticed in particular this year, now that she is a bit older and understands, that she was getting so many presents, every time someone came over she'd say "ooooh, a present for me?!' LOL!
  
  
• She will always miss out on having a bday cake at playgroup, preschool etc because it falls in the school holidays. For the same reason, it can be tricky organising her bday parties because a lot of people are away or I worry they'll be completely over the silly season by then.

Because she didn't arrive till Jan, we'll send her to school the year she turns 5.

But hey, that's her bday, that's who she is and we wouldn't have changed it or waited if we'd known this was how it would work out.

[~Trish~]

Hey Renee, I know this will sound weird, but I was thinking of you today and thought "Renee could end up with a December baby, I wonder what that would be like?" LOL!

My step-bro was born on boxing day and he usually gets one combined pressie, but he is older and doesn't really care. I think your child would just be used to it and I'm sure you and your DH would make a big deal of him or her if you do end up with a Christmas baby!

[Nicambhar]

My DS was born on Christmas Eve. I was so depressed being in hospital over christmas and especially since my birthday is boxing day. I had a c/s so was stuck in hospital while all my family continued their christmas celebrations.
My DS gets left out every year and always gets a combined gift from my family and usually gets forgotten by dinner time when everyone is full of alcohol. My family celebrates christmas on christmas eve so you can see my peeve here. Then when it comes to my birthday, everyone is so tired that they forget it too. I had my first birthday party ever on my 30th, even though it had to be two weeks before my actual birthday so people could come.

In saying all that, it's what you make of it really. I let my mum's tradition over rule my son's birthday for years and as of last christmas I have decided that my son's birthday is more important and it's his day so we celebrate his birthday now ourselves and my family have their christmas.
We ended up keeping my son back and doing an extra year of pre school because he wasn't ready to move ahead. Best thing we did for him because he just wouldn't have kept up.

[aussienic]

I was due the 16th Dec... I got all the oooo Xmas baby things but due to having a c.s I wouldn't have had her then anyways. She was meant to come on the 3rd but came in November on the 20th..

anyways.. It was nice.. Olivia was around 5 weeks at Xmas time. and I think thats a good age to have a newborn at such a busy time..

We were organized though and had all the presents ect bought well before December ( Well most of them)

I didn't find Olivia got any more presents, If anything she didn't really meet any of the family till Xmas day and thats when they gave over thier baby gifts

[pansy]

My sister always said as a child that she felt sorry for kids who were born around christmas...why I have no idea..But when she fell pregnant,you guessed it she was due 13th Dacember..She was ok about it as it wasnt too close to christmas..Well her DD decided she would arrive on the 23rd December and my sister had to stay in hospital over christmas....

She had her first birthday last yr and they had a party for her and made sure it was a big deal..She has had some family members on her DH's side say they would buy 1 present and combine birthday and christmas and she has made it quite clear that the 2 are to be kept seperate..

[Leanne]

Renstar,

We are all Christmasish babies in our house, I am on the 16th Dec, and DH and Drew are the 6th Jan. At the moment it isn't a problem, and I dont see it becoming one. Drew was originally due on Christmas day and yes I got all those comments like oh that was bad timing, etc. We weren't really in the situation to be fussy about when we fell pregnant so we didn't care.

Yes he is spoilt for 2 weeks a year, lol. I know when I was younger having a birthday so close to Christmas was good because you could ask for joint presents and get something big. I am imagining we will be like that too.

Good luck with TTC! Who knows santa might be dropping you off a bubba too (and us another one if we are lucky )