Originally Posted by little_tippler

I feel it. I started feeling it around 25. When my last long term relationship ended I thought about it a lot. It made me think hard about why I felt that way.

When I was in my early twenties, I used to think 27 would be a perfect age to have kids. I'm almost 30 now and still don't have any. It sometimes tugs at me but I try not to let it get to me. I think, I have a great life, good friends, I'm still young and there's a lot to do in life besides that. I would still like to have kids. I worry that I won't.

Unlike men, women seem to have a sell-by date looming over our heads if we want kids. It's hard to work through the feeling. The reason I would have liked to have kids younger is because of health, the generation gap, and also the amount of time I will have with my kids in my lifetime. But you can't always have everything at the same time.

I also think it's not a question of being ready. When you want them, and the context is right, it happens. I think very few people actually plan their kids. What gets me is, when you decide to have them, you can get pregnant pretty fast or it can take years. You never know until you start trying. So if you start late...

But since thinking through my feelings clearly, I have realized also that I am happy in myself and my life without kids being there. I believe I will have them someday. Even if I have to resort to being a single mom at some point...if I decide I really want it, I will make it happen.

shesus, I also worry about the 'outcome'. But I also think that, irrationally, having your own child must be a beautiful, awe-inspiring experience. I want to feel that, regardless of my skepticism.