jennica wrote:
PainfullyShy,
Fertility really does drop off after age 35. I conceived my son at 29, and my daughter at 34, and I conceived the first month I started trying. This time around I'm 38 and I thought it would be the same story, but it took almost a year to conceive. I was almost ready to give up.
Also, meltdowns might happen every now and then despite best intentions. But to minimize them, I did the whole "attachment parenting" thing, which to me just seemed like "lazy parenting" designed to not have to hear a lot of crying. I can't stand crying, so I did whatever my kids wanted so that I didn't have to hear it: co-sleeping, carrying/wearing them around, breastfeeding, etc. Of course, there is a risk of getting touched out this way, but I preferred that to hearing crying. I also figured out that I need alone time. So I got a babysitter for my daughter twice a week, and before that I spent lots of evenings at a coffee shop while Dh watched the kids. Oh, and my kids aren't spoiled, and they do just start sleeping through the night on there own around 3 years old by some sort of magic - certainly not from anything we did
.
I am so sorry I didn't respond to this sooner. I think I forgot to click on the 'notify me' tab when I posted!
Oh I know it does; my Mom is always reminding me when we talk about it. She's not a pushy Mom at all (thank goodness) and neither is my Father. They both understand that I'm single (and of course childless) until I say otherwise and are more than happy with that. However I do understand that the older I become, the more difficult my chances will be, which is a terrifying notion. I do want children that are produced by myself and my husband (whoever he may turn out to be), but if it turns out that it can't happen that way, I will have to accept that. Will it suck? Massively, yes of course, but like I said I know there are plenty of other ways to have kids (Mom even mentioned the surrogate, but the concept bothers me sort of...I can't quite explain why). I'm terribly optimistic about the whole affair: I firmly believe I might get a surprise and become pregnant after the first try (if I'm lucky), or at least a short time later.
On the subject of crying; I can't stand it either. I noticed that whenever I'm in the vicinity of a baby who is crying, I feel entire body go rigid and there's this tingling, panicky sensation that shoots up my back. I wonder though if that will go away when it's my kids I am dealing with...may be I will luck out and not have a meltdown, although I hear it is very likely I might have some or even get those dreaded, "Baby Blues". I certainly hope not, but in any event my Mother is already on standby: "call me", she tells me, "and I'll come racing over for those Grandbabies." She wants them to call her "Graham"...my goodness, she's already got a term of endearment, lol. That's my Mom though