I wanted to have children when I was 25+ but I had my first pregnancy at 15 and gave birth at 15 going on 16. [name_f]My[/name_f] son was premature and it was a very difficult labour. I was definitely not ready to have a child when I did, I was a very immature teenager who still played with [name_f]Barbie[/name_f] dolls and my parents said I had the mind of a 7 year old. I think having a child did mature me though as I quickly became very independent. Another issues was, because of my autism, I struggled a lot with my schooling so having a child didn’t help at all. Having a child also damaged a lot of my relationships, even with my own father. I had a very hard time gaining full custody as well because social care didn’t want me having a child and made allegations that I was an incompetent parent but luckily, I have an amazing mum who fought every battle with me.
On a more light hearted note, I named my son after [name_f]Sesame[/name_f] [name_f]Street[/name_f]’s [name_u]Bert[/name_u] and [name_m]Ernie[/name_m], my sons name is [name_m]Ernesto[/name_m] nicknamed [name_m]Ernie[/name_m], which I find very cringey looking back, I mean, I love his name but the reasons why I chose it were cringey.
I am 23 now and getting married in [name_f]Spring[/name_f] next year then we are going to try for a baby so if we are lucky, I will probably have my second child (first with my soon to be husband) when I am 25-26. And this time, I won’t be naming them after [name_f]Sesame[/name_f] [name_f]Street[/name_f] characters 
I don’t think it’s cringey at all! [name_f]Sesame[/name_f] [name_f]Street[/name_f] still has a lot to teach adults and children 
I’m sorry you went through difficult times as a young mother, but glad your child stayed with you and your mom had your back as you fought for your little family. Your story is very moving.
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!
I had my first at 24, my second at 25. I always wanted to be a young mother, so I’d have the energy needed. And boy did I need it!!! Having two kids just over a year apart is exhausting.
Both of you look precious! Thank you for sharing this special picture 
.
Such a cute pic and I love that you named him after [name_f]Sesame[/name_f] [name_f]Street[/name_f]!
I wanted kids in my mid twenties by 26.
I conceived my first at 25, had him at 26.
Conceived my second at 28 and had him at 29. No I would love a third but I would like to not be pregnant and have my birthday lol.
I’m 32 now and aiming for our third and last baby next year. I’ll be 33.
I wanted babies early. All I ever wanted growing up was to be a wife and mother. I had my kids at 24 and 25.
Haha, thank you
When I was younger I definitely had the thought that I wanted children early. However once I actually reached my twenties I decided I definitely didn’t want kids until my 30s and was financially stable and in a position to dedicate my life to anothers. [name_f]My[/name_f] mother had my younger brother at 40 so I already knew that waiting until I was 30-33 wouldn’t ruin my chances of having children.
I’ve imagined myself as a parent for as long as I can remember! It was always the plan to finish college, marry, move back home and have a baby. I did two out of those! We haven’t moved back home yet! The challenge has been to get my mind wrapped around having two children, as both of us were very certain and comfortable with the project of having an only child! Twins have been a curve ball, but I’m getting the hang of it!
28-30. And yep, totally ready and prepared.
-
We took several years to enjoy just each other’s company and travel/enjoy our 20s, and do a bunch of things we knew we’d regret not having done first.
-
Then spent about 2 years to make sure our relationship, all careers, finances, etc were in a good spot.
-
Pregnancy, labor, and recovery were all nightmarishly traumatic, but we weathered it best we could. That bit was entirely outside of our control. Really thankful that we’d spent that time making sure our relationship was solid because shit got scary, and hubster was my rock. During this time, when I wasnt in and out of the ER, in surgery, etc, we also did a TON of research on child brain development and select parenting styles around the world and their core theories’, pros, and cons.
-
That said, newborn stage was a breeze. Lots of great times, laughs, and fond memories shared with my husband. Hubster and I really were able to take the time to enjoy it and enjoy one another. Some less prepared peers of mine really struggle(d), and the difference here could not be more notceable. Because we were prepared, we were able to be efficient, confident, confident, all while feeling rather relaxed.
My body is WRECKED lol (anyone know some good plastic surgeons? No seriously, Im actually asking lol)… But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Hubster and I are tighter than we were in our 20s, and we’ve got this amazing kiddo. 
[quote=“pinkbar, post:22, topic:315815”] However, I didn’t see myself as a mother, and didn’t think “I want my own”, until I met my SO and we started getting serious.
[/quote]
It was exactly the same for me - even though I liked kids well enough, I never saw myself becoming a mother until me and my wife (then girlfriend) got serious, so I was in my late 20s when I first felt like I actually wanted children. It was weird at first, after thinking I didn’t want kids for most of my life, but over the last 4 years that has definitely solidified (and now I have serious baby fever 
).
@HeavensAngel I love that you named your kid after [name_f]Sesame[/name_f] [name_f]Street[/name_f]! I think that’s really sweet, and you and your baby look beautiful in that picture. 
If I had had a child at 15 I probably would have tried to pick a Japanese name from anime which would have been so awful on so many levels… (I’ve got 0 Japanese heritage; I was just a clueless weeaboo.)
I always wanted kids young but I was wild in my 20s… Travelled the world, raved for years, had loads of terrible relationships with the wrong people, burned through jobs and friendships, always seeking the next high.
When I turned 29 I realised my number one goal in life, to be a mother, was not about to happen any time soon. A lot of my friends were older than me and did not have the kind of life I wanted at all. So I did a big 180. I broke up with my dead-end end partner (a gorgeous musician/philosopher on the dole who did not want kids at all) on my birthday. Cried a bunch and went on a hike by myself where I called in my future husband and father of my children!
I met “the one” 8 weeks later and I knew instantly. We’ve had quite a tough road though, faced business failures, the fires in Australia, moving states, and now enforced separation due to covid. But we’ve worked our asses off to get ready for a family. I went back to university and he got a carpentry apprenticeship and we’re both finally doing what we really wanted to do. Now 3 years on I’m about to graduate and I couldn’t be more ready. I’m praying we’ll be back together by [name_u]November[/name_u] and achieve a fast conception. Best case scenario I’ll be 32 with our first, and I really want four children!
I’ve always wanted to have kids. When I was younger, I thought I might get married around 25 and have my first child a couple years later 
. There’s always been this sort of checklist at the back of my mind… Find the right person, finish school, get married, get a good job, save up some money, pay off loans, buy a house, etc.
After being together for 10 years, we realized that there will never be the perfect time to have a child. We decided that while we don’t have all the boxes checked, we were ready and able to care for a child. So here we are, I’ll be nearly 33 when the first little one is born and we cannot wait!
I always wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, it was always the one thing in my life I was absolutely sure that I wanted to do. I always wanted to be a young mom, luckily I met my husband at 18, got married at 22, I’m now 24 and pregnant with my first!! I feel completely ready to be a mom and couldn’t be happier🥰
I wanted to have one or ideally two children by the time I was 30, but life doesn’t always go the way it’s planned. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I married at 24, waited a couple of years, and then it took 4 years trying to conceive (including an ectopic pregnancy and IVF) to have my daughter not too long before I turned 31. I’m pregnant again and am due just after my daughter’s 4th birthday, which again the delay was due to fertility issues. There’s only so much control you have!
In terms of was I ready to become a mom when I did, even though we’d been TTC for 4 years there still was a bit of momentary panic of ‘this is actually happening! Are we ready?’ I think no matter how much you want it/think you are ready, when it happens everyone has a gut reaction of ‘what are we doing?’
There was a lot of clarity on our part as far as wanting to be a couple, live together and get married, but not so much on parenting. We agreed that we were entering into marriage with a solid “maybe?” on kids, and didn’t want to venture into it without being 99.9% convinced that we had enough qualities, dedication and guts to give a good home to a new person. A lot of questions had to be answered about what we wanted out of life, but ultimately the answer came to “yes, we both want this and we’re in this for life”.
For me, the wheels of motherhood started moving when I was 24, so that’s two years ago, and since it came to me first, I was the one to bring the discussion to the table. He came to his own conclussions last year, when he was 27, and ttc officially began on the fall of 2019 and now! Here we are!
I’m expecting now, but ideally I would have started sooner. I’m 32 and I feel like now I’m on a time crunch.
DH and I are high school sweethearts. I was 25 when we got married and wanted to start having kids around 27-29. Once we did get pregnant, I had a late-term miscarriage which was fairly traumatic and made me hesitant to be pregnant again.
I do think this is where we were meant to be though. We are more stable financially, in better health physically, and will be able to give these babies a much better home than if we started 5 years sooner.
Basically, you can make plans, but life happens. And you’ll end up where fate puts you.
I wanted a kid right after graduating college, so I would’ve been 22-23. That didn’t happen due to not being in a relationship (I was in a relationship when I’d made that “plan”).
From 22-26 I thought I would have a kid in my mid- to late-30s. A relationship just wasn’t happening and I had a lot of stuff to work on, personally.
From 26-present, I decided to have a kid on my own, no relationship 
If the conception and pregnancy goes well, I’ll have my baby at 29.