When do I know I’m ready to have kids?

Question

I’m 20 and definitely want kids in the future! I have a healthy relationship that’s lasted almost two years and want to start a family in the next five years but what do I need to have in place before I start to try and have a baby?

Answer

Personally I would suggest that you have your own place, that you both have very strong jobs that give you more than enough financing than you currently need to pay bills. I would also suggest traveling a little and having some fun adventures before having a baby. Babies are AMAZING!!! But once you have one it’s very hard to find time to date your spouse again. Make sure your relationship is very strong and can make it through dry spells, tired months, groutchiness, and maybe even the feeling of falling out of love. Strong relationships can come back from that

Answer

Being financially secure is great, although plenty of families are happy and make it by easily without having much in the way of savings, me included. But what's truly important is to learn yourself, love yourself and get through any anxieties and traumas you may have. Make sure you and your partner have plenty of talks about how you'd want to raise a child, what your values are and what's important to you in the position of being a parent. Figure out now if your partner will be actively involved in caring for kids, like getting up in the middle of the night for feedings, diaper changes, baths, tantrums, teaching and playing.

Answer

In addition to these suggestions, I highly recommend googling lots of “lists of things to discuss before having a baby” with your partner. It’s a good idea to have some grasp of what each others expectations are of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. A lot of people only seem to think about the pregnancy and babyhood, but that’s just a small part of the whole parenting process. I found listening to lots of pregnancy/childbirth/parenting podcasts before and during pregnancy helped prepare me for a lot of things that came up that I otherwise wouldn’t have been aware of. I also highly recommend Emily Oster’s books, Cribsheet and Expecting Better. They explain a lot of the data (or lack thereof) behind many pregnancy/parenting topics.

Answer

Finances are great, but support from family is even better!

Answer

You’ll never fully be financially stable but you need to make sure you have some in the savings for sure. So many things come up and you need the just in case money. 
Support from others is major. Especially for those times you need help. 
Research things. There’s so many products out there that’s just a waste of money. Also research formulas for the just in case you can’t produce or low supply. 
Being a preschool teacher I’d look into some techniques. I’m huge on Montessori. Where you live and what’s around you. 
This is all for when you come close to having one or trying. I got with my husband at 18. We didn’t get married till I was 27 and started trying right away. 
I’m 31 and we just had our first. I’m so glad we waited honestly. Not trying to convince of anything. But we’ve gotten to really build a strong foundation (I see so many friends fall apart in relationships) and we’ve also gotten to experience a lot. Gone places , traveled. It’s really nice doing all that kid free lol no responsibilities. Everything is harder and extra with a kid lol my babe is only 2 months so we haven’t been able to yet.

When do I know I’m ready to have kids?

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey