The Truth About Being Pregnant in Your 30's

Pregnancy is such a beautiful experience. I still do not understand how my body is able to carry another life, a baby, for 9 months. Everyday and every moment I am amazed how God made a way for women to give life. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I have been pregnant in two separate decades, and let me tell you, they were very different! I had Rico at 18, Zech at 21, Mak at 23 and King at 24. So I was super young when I had all my boys and I carried each one of them with no complains and no problems at all. Seven years later, here I am having another baby at 32! How many would say 32 is not old? I don't believe that it is but, my body is not the same as in my 20's!

I do not even see how woman in their 40's and 50 have kids? I really didn't think that it would be a terrible experience. The whole 9 months hasn't been bad but my body is soooo over it! Your body just isn't the same once you hit 30. I know you should wait until marriage until you have children and yes I do recommend that for all young women because raising kids on your own is not easy! But, I do recommend to having kids while you are young and married LOL. I've gained more weight with Journee then any of my boys and I found myself in tears, very emotional because of how much my weight has increased. I was unaware of what was to come and naive about the future, but I had no idea how to prepare for things like morning sickness, which I never had with any of my boys , heartburn, and how feeling uncomfortable in your own skin can impact your mental health. In a way, both the unknown and the overwhelming knowing is what made pregnancy so amazing and so annoying, all at once. So overwhelming I have to call my mother to calm myself down! I am only 140 now but by the end of it all I believe I will be 150, which is a size I have never seen before in my life! I am use to always being petite. What scares me the most is having Journee and not being able to lose all the weight that I have put on since this pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, it will be nice to keep some of the weight, but not all of it.

What is really getting to me is that it is very hard to sleep. I can't roll over on my own at night LOL, everything on me is swollen, I am tired 24/7. Choosing when to get pregnant is pretty much the most complex and personal choice a person can make. It seems that being pregnant in your 20s is not necessarily better than being pregnant in your 30s, it's just different and in the following ways.

It Might Be Easier To Conceive In Your 20s

According to the Mayo Clinic, your fertility declines as you age because the quantity and quality of eggs decreases. So, ACOG notes, it can be harder to get pregnant in your 30s, especially past age 32. According to BabyCenter, egg quality not only can impact your fertility, but it can also increase your risk of miscarriage from 10 percent in your 20s to 18 percent once you reach your mid 30s.

- Which I can say when I was in my 20's I got pregnant sooooo easy! When I hit 30 and married my husband it was extremely hard to conceive… it took a lot of prayer, tears and just trusting God.

You Might Be In A Better Place Financially In Your 30s

When it comes to being able to afford costs related to your pregnancy, birth, and having babies, you might be better off waiting until your 30s to get pregnant. This is because you are more likely to be better-established in the workforce, and better able to weather the impact of parenthood on your career when you are older. According to Crittenden, "Women who have their children later in life have higher lifetime earnings and a wider range of opportunities than younger mothers."

-I totally agree with this although many people now days make really good money in their 20's. I would differently look at my finances before deciding to have a child. When I was 18, I had no business having a baby. I really had another baby for my mom because I was still in school and I worked part time which clearly can not take care of a child. I know things happen but if we as young women and men really sit and think about the choices we make before we make them our lives would be so much easier.

You Might Have An Easier Pregnancy In Your 20s

As reported by Psychology Today, the optimal age for getting pregnancy, health-wise, is in your 20s. According to ACOG, women past age 35 are more likely to have health conditions like gestational diabetes and hypertension, birth complications like preterm labor, and babies with a chromosomal issues — the risk of which increases from 1 in 525 at age 20 to 1 in 200 at age 35.

-This pregnancy I had the most problems with then any of my boys, and I do believe my age is playing a major issue in why I have had so many problems. Thank God she is healthy and doing fine. But in the beginning the doctors had me stressed out every time I went to a doctors appointment.

You Might Be More Likely To Have A C-Section In Your 30s

According to ACOG, your risk of a C-section delivery increases in your 30s. As the Mayo Clinic notes, this is because you may be more likely to have pregnancy and birth complications than younger pregnant women.

-With Journee I believe at 20 weeks I found out I had Plasta Preva and was told I would have to have a C-Section if it did not move. Well THANK GOD it moved. I found out on June 5th that it moved and that I would have a regular delivery!

You Might Recover More Quickly After Childbirth In Your 20s

When it comes to recovering from pregnancy, OB-GYN Steven Goldstein, MD told Parents that younger moms might have an easier time with physical recovery after childbirth.

- This I have not experience yet but, trust I will keep you guys up to date!

Pregnancy Might Be Hard On Your Relationship In Your 20s

As psychotherapist Leah Seidler told BabyCenter, if you get pregnant in your 20s you might have a harder time coping with the way pregnancy might change your relationship with your partner, because you have less experience dealing with challenges and stress as a couple.

-I do believe if my ex husband and I would of waited to have kids, instead of soon as we got married, our marriage may have lasted longer then what we did. Instead of learning and enjoying each other, we were busy taking care of kids. I believe it was a major problem in our marriage. I wouldn't have waited until I was 30 but, I would have waited 3/4 years before I had my first son.

I thank God for blessing me with my daughter. I would go through whatever I have to for her and most women that want to be mothers will go through hell and high waters to conceive and have a healthy baby. I wouldn't trade anything in the world for her. I know when I finally get to lay my eyes on her, it will all be worth the hurt, the pain, the weight gain the swollen feet and everything else I am going through for her to get here.

With God anything and everything is possible and he will never put more on you then you can bear. Always remember that. Whether you are having a baby in your 20's or 30's or 40's etc., whatever is in God's will, he will make it happen in his way and in his timing.

“A baby fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty.”