Last baby age

[Khaleesi]

When i was younger i wanted to have kids in my late 20's early 30's but then i fell pregnant at 22 & decided i wanted to be finished by 30.
I had my last at 28

[~Kim~]

I actually never even thought about it as a number.
I didn't think I wanted any. Definitely not in my twenties. I was busy.
Best laid plans and all that.
I had DD1 at 28.
My last was born a month shy of my 34th birthday. My last pregnancy was by far my easiest - physically and emotionally.
I don't know if I'm done. With all our plans over the next 18months I could be very close to 39 before we get there.
My parents were over 10 years older than DH's parents at the same stages in their lives, but are the 'younger' couple by far. Being older hasn't stopped them travelling, building houses, having adventures. Guess it's just a perspective really.

[ButterflyForever]

I had my first at 19 and my youngest just before my 40th b'day.
As people have said, you just can't plan life, I didn't expect my daughter to die (I was 37 then), so didn't expect to desperately want another.
So many people go through that awful journey of long term ttc, and obviously the clock ticks on, so there isn't any planning for them either.

[Freya]

I always said my cut off would be 30; but I married at 19 so I had 11 years to fulfil that requirement lol I will hopefully be having my last baby right before I turn 30.

My parents were older parents (28-35 having kids) and I can always remember my mother telling me when she was 40 that she should have been enjoying kids going into highschool not sending one off to kindergarten and she encouraged me not to wait that long to have kids. So thats always influenced my decision.

[Cassius2]

I think my 'last child' age has been a moveable feast...

When I was younger (as a child and teen) I thought that I would be late 20s and only have 2 children.

As a young woman (late teens/early 20s) I experienced an unplanned pg and subsequent last first tri miscarriage and then felt the need to maybe start having kids by 25 and last baby by late 20s (and only two babies lol!).

I had my first after TTC for 23 months at 24 and still thought that I would be done and dusted by 28 with my brood.

I had my third baby at 29 and now i am two years older and feel that I am done. So maybe I did hold on to idea of late 20s...but it makes me sad...now that the norm is so varied and so many of my mates are only *just* starting to have or even think about babies it makes me feel really really old to already have an established family. and now there is a part of me that wants to have a baby in the next few years at this stage of my life. but then i do worry as my last pg was a bit rough with severe MS and threatened pre term labour...and the thought of being classed as 'high risk' just because of age kinda freaks me out...even though I actually, if i do a proper navel gaze dont hold that much gravitas to it (because my circumstances have not led me to needing to face age as a number in relation to pg).

So now i just say that if i have another baby before 35 then I am doing fine...and that then let's me keep my options open for later down the track duggars watch out...Cassius is on a roll

[Melbournemumma]

I had my first at 29 and my last at 33. When I was having ds3 I knew I couldn't do another. Mostly because being pregnant with a baby and running around after 2 little kids wore me out. I'm done, dh is done and We're happy with that. I'm glad we're on the younger side as parents but that's just us.

[Tegam]

I had my first just before I turned 26, I felt incredibly old and had wanted a baby for years. As soon as I had her I felt so young and I had no one my age at any of my mothers groups. DH and I were so lucky to meet young (19) and have had no issues falling pregnant. We had children young to stop young. I always wanted 4.

This pregnancy - baby number 5 I have just turned 36. This has been so much harder, but is that because I'm older, because I've been doing this for 11years or because its my 5th. Who knows.

I always wanted children from when I was about 4, if I hadn't found DH so young? If I'd had fertility issues, boy who knows. I don't think I would have had an upper limit. Now after feeling complete, I can stick to my guns and say I wouldn't have one after 38. But like I said if I'd meet DH at 36 then hell I'd probably say my upper limit was 46!!!!

[*Sparklez*]

Growing up i never wanted kids at all, i came from a very big family, seperated parents both remarried or re-partnered and being the second eldest was over the whole "wait till you have kids". So pretty much decided in early teens i never wanted any at all. I wanted a big career,money, live life etc.
But didn't happen, had my first at 16, 2nd at 17, 3rd at 23, 4th at 27 and now pregnant at 30.

After this though i am done. No kore for this birthing machine. I feel like my boy has aged way before its time hahaha!

[Arimeh]

I had my first at 29, and my cut off was 33.

Then I had an accident at 36 lol

Definitely no more though.

[peanutter]

I wanted to have all my kids by 30, which I did - but if I hadn't finished (and hey, never say never) I'm not sure whether I'd set myself a "cut off" date.

[MummyNaomi]

For a variety of reasons - one was that I never actually wanted kids until much later when I changed my mind - I had DD1 when I was 34 and DD2 when I was 37. I've never felt old and had pretty boring pregnancies - no morning sickness, no SPD, no GD, no high BP. I think you deal with what you get and whatever age you are at you don't tend to feel that it is old. I still don't feel old

It must be a Naomi thing - I had DS at 34 and DD at 37. Also didn't feel old or find the pregnancies hard (conceiving, well that was another story)
I meet DH when I was 31, so wasn't with anyone I wanted to have children with prior to my 30s, so that really drove the age rather than any other factors

[milly5]

When I was younger I always imagined late 20's to early 30's would be when (if???) I had kids.
Reality - uni, career, travel and the fact that I didn't meet DH until early 30's - and then we weren't in a position to have kids (financially, emotionally, until mid 30s at least.
Then when we did try I had losses and difficulty TTC.
But we had DD1 when I was 38 and DD2 when I was 40. And our next arrivals - well I am now 42 (I prefer to say celebrating the 21st anniversary of my 21st birthday LOL). We would have liked to have #3 earlier, but again we had some difficulties with m/c & TTC, so are just so happy that we have our #3 - and bonus #4! - on the way. But this is definitely it for us.
so in answer to your question - we started TTC when I was 36, had our first at 38, and our last at 42.

just another thought - a friend of mine started her family way younger than me (her oldest is now 17) and she has 3, which she deliberately spaced 5 years apart so that she only had one very small child to deal with at a time (as the oldest was now at school). I like that my kids play together, however, It worked for her, and the older kids are quite responsible with their jobs to help.

whatever works for you and your circumstances really.

[jellybean88]

I haven't really put a number on it but I guess 40ish would be my cut off I guess it depends on how life goes
I had my first at 23 and second at 24 and feel I need a rest for at least 6 years while I study but dh is finished I could go another though so were looking into maybe adopting or surrogacy given the issues I've had from the last 2 pregnancies who knows I'll study and work a bit and see what's going on at that life stage I'm only 26 so I feel no rush