39 And Pregnant!!!!!

I can only account for the school moms, but you will not be the "old" mom. I had my kids early, and I'm in the minority. Most of the moms with kids similar in age are a good 10-15 years older than me.

More and more woman are waiting until their 30s to have kids, and yes, even into their 40s, so relax, you won't be the oldest mom at the PTA :)

I have a son who is 8 and a daughter who is almost 7 months. It is amazing to have an older and younger child at the same time. Congrats.

Congratulations!
You won't be alone at all.
There are quite a few older Moms out there.
Just make sure you don't come to see your eldest as built in baby sitting.
With her hormones coming online, your pregnancy hormones, possible ppd and perimenopause on your horizon and baby/toddler usual stuff all happening simultaneously - you're going to have an interesting time and a hectic few years.
You'll get through it!

Lol! Congrats!
I had my FIRST at 39.
I assure you, I'm not the "oldest" mom at school functions!

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had my daughter when I was 39...her brother was 5 when she was born. Despite all the warnings about being an older mom, she is a super healthy, happy, smart child. I do have plenty of mom friends who are similar in age to me, so I feel like I'm in good company! Right now my daughter is in preschool. I am 44 and yes, a lot of the other preschool moms are about 30 and look so young and cute! sigh. Having my daughter has been a joy...a true joy. I do feel more tired and like I have less patience than before, but besides that all is good. Congrats!

I was 38 when I got pregnant with my third. I was nearly 39 when I delivered.
She was born perfectly healthy, full term from an all natural birth at a birth center.
She's 5 now, nearing her 6th birthday.
When I went in for my initial apt where they asked me all those questions and everything she ultimately said that I was healthy and all was good. It was a pretty easy pregnancy and an easy and quick labor and delivery. I recovered really fast after her birth as well.
A lot of women are waiting until later in life to have children so you're not going to be "the odd one out". Even if you are, who cares? It doesn't matter!!
Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Your perspective is way off! There are TONS of moms who have a child at 35+, including many in their 40s! I was 37, and a friend of mine was (drum roll….) 47 when she had her first child! She was totally surprised, as you were.

Relax - there will always be moms younger than you, and older than you. It's just a number.

Just be aware that it's normal to be more tired. Not specifically because of your age, but because you have a child already who is giving you a run for your money. So cut yourself some slack and rest more.

Re the PPD - you just never know. You could have zero symptoms this time - every pregnancy, every delivery, every postpartum experience is different. You may have nothing at all. On the plus side, even if you do, you will recognize it more easily, and there are many more ways of treating it than there were 11 years ago.

You will not be the oldest mother at kindergarten pickup ;-)
At The most recent childrens birthday party I was, I learned, the youngest mom in a group of four women (I'm 37). One was a young grandparent raising a child, one mom had five miscarriages, one woman just chose to have a child later in life etc. They were all over forty, a couple closer to fifty. Congratulations! I find motherhood more fun the second time around.

[Mom of a 7yr old, and 6 month old]

Congratulations! My sister had twins at 38. A good friend of mine had her first at 42. Another friend had two kids in her early 20s and a 'surprise' at 40--same dad. So now she has 1 college graduate, 1 in college and a kindergartner. There are a lot of 'older' moms out there. As for PPD, I'm glad you're aware. Talk to your doctor.

Yep, my daughter is in 3rd and all the moms are in their mid 40's, including me!

why would you think that at 39 you wouldn't get pregnant? unless you were way on the far side of a very early menopause, that seems a rather ridiculously naive assumption.
you spend time in your daughter's school, right? i mean, if you look around, i think you'll see that motherhood age has been trending upward for years.
concern over PPD is sensible, and i think discussing it in advance with your doctor would be wise.
the rest of this post strikes me as slightly hysterical.
congratulations. take a breath.
khairete
S.

I had my youngest at 39. I'm 44 and mine are 9, 7 and 5. I've always been youthful for my age. Still am. I fit in fine with the 30-ish (even 20-ish) moms in my new rural location. My city friends from my old life ALL had their kids at 40. My best friend had her youngest at 44. My dad's mom had him at 42 70 years ago. Having babies at 40 has been normal for a long time, especially in cities where people focus on careers before kids. It's great you are prepared for PPD and will be able to address it. Congratulations!

I know lots of moms who had babies at your age. And with the age difference, your daughter will be a big help to her and you.

And since you know ppd is in your medical past, plan for it now, including therapy and possible medication.

Congratulations!

I was 41 with my first and 43 with my second. Easy pregnancies and easy labors! Healthy children! Please do not stress yourself. Keep a positive attitude and enjoy this miracle you will have soon. Congratulations!!!

I'm 44 and have a son in kindergarten. I'm older then a fair number of the parents of his classmates. But, on the up side, people usually think I'm a lot younger than I really am. Some of my friends my age have grandkids. But others have kids even younger than mine. One friend who is a year older than me has a 1 year old. her older daughter is 15.

I had severe PPD after my first one was born. I had a little PPD after my 2nd, but it wasn't nearly as bad. I knew what to look for and caught it earlier so it didn't get as bad. Be sure your doctor knows that you had it before and he/she will help you to take preventative steps.

Congratulations!

Looks like that baby was just meant to be :)

I had our first child at age 37 and our second (and last, I'm pretty sure) at age 40. So I'm one of those 40-year old moms you mentioned at the school functions :). Actually, I just turned 50, so I'm even OLDER than that! Our geographical location (rural Georgia) also means that I am a bit older than the average parent. It has been fine. I actually feel like I am a better parent now that I've had some more life experience, gotten my head together, and generally am settled. It's great that your husband is thrilled.

You've got good suggestions below about making sure your medical person knows about your post-partum depression the first time around, and remember that this pregnancy, birth, etc may be completely different from the first. Be alert to the possibility that history will repeat itself, but don't assume it will (if that makes sense).

Good wishes for the process!

Congratulations!

Be sure your doctor is fully advised of your previous PPD, so that you are closely monitored for that and can receive the best, most appropriate treatment as needed.

As far as age? Well.... I'm 46. My kids were born when I was almost 30 and about to turn 33. I sometimes feel like the "old" mama around my daughter's friends parents. But I also sometimes feel like the "young" one around my son's. (shrug)
My best friend thought she had hit menopause early when she went 5 months without a period at age 43. Nope. She was pregnant with her only child (to date, lol). She's 47 now, and her daughter turned 3 several months ago. She loves being a mommy.

Don't let the age thing with other parents bother you in the least. Really, there's no need for concern there. You will just be wiser, since you'll have been through it once before with your older daughter. :)

Again, congratulations!

Congratulations! I turned 40 4 days before my son was born (my husband was 45). He kicks my butt but he also keeps me felling young. He's a handful, I always say, if he came first there'd only be 1. :-) I do love him to pieces. He completes our family just as your new little one will complete your family.

We were only going to have one (my husband has two from a previous marriage) but as my first son got older and my step-daughters started to come over less and less, I decided my son needed a sibling for a couple reasons (he was pretty much an only child as my step-daughters lived with their mother most the time) ....so he wouldn't be an always get his way only child and so he'd have someone to help make family decisions when my husband and I are 80 years old. The second may seem like a silly reason but I know a few only children who really struggle caring for and making decisions as their parents are aging.

Having my second son (the one I had when I was 40) was all my idea but when I got pregnant I panicked. I wouldn't let my husband tell anyone for two months, not even his family. My pregnancy was easy. I had a few extra tests due to my age and I remember napping a time or two but that was it. Since you know you're prone to ppd, tell your doctor now. Maybe there's something you can do to circumvent/lessen it. You're older and your hormones are different so maybe you won't even get it this time.

My son is in 1st grade now and some times I see parents of the other kids and think I could be THEIR parent (I'm 47 now) but I don't think much of it other than that. There are other moms and dads that are my age. Plenty of women are having kids later and later these days (my sister was 36 and 39 when she had hers). I wish you the best in your pregnancy and for you new family.

Absolutely. Here it is not uncommon at all, and one of my friends had her frist at 39 and her second at 41. I didn't have my daughter til I was 31 and there are plenty of moms older than me in her school.

Since you had PPD before, make sure your OB knows this so you can stay on top of it if it crops up again.

Congrats!

I've noticed that alot of it has to do with the socioeconomic make up of the area. I am in an upper middle class school area and most of the parents seem to be older. I was 40 when I had my second child.

Congratulations!!! Awesome news! I was 40 when I delivered a healthy boy! Your emotions are normal but it will be okay. God has plans for this baby! :)

Congratulations!
Take care of yourself and get lots of rest!

And I promise, there are lots first time parents at this age, so you will be an expert!

Oh boy, DH and I are 37 and we are BY FAR the youngest parents at our kids' school grades (1st and PreK).

I would not worry about your age.
Congratulations!

I had my one and only when I was almost 41. He will turn 9 this year and I will turn the big 5-0 in January. Almost all the moms (and dads) I'm friendly with at school are close in age to me. I'm actually not sure I know any moms in their 20s, though I'm sure there are more than I think. Most seem to be late 30s/early 40s. Sometimes it's hard to tell. Everybody takes such good care of themselves in the community where I live. Anyway, so much of it is how old you truly feel inside.

Congratulations!

I had my first at 35 and my second at 43! Surprise! I am now 47 with a 12 year old and 4 year old.
I see more older parents now at the schools. I am not in the minority and feel the little one keeps me young.
Congratulations and good luck to you. Everything will work out just fine.

there are 12 years between my son and my daughter. That being said, my son was my 35th birthday present. I will be 42 in a couple of weeks and have a 7 year old. you are not alone. Congratulations!!!
Have you talked to your Dr. about how severe your PPD was with your daughter? A lot of things have changed in the last 11 years!

You can do this. One of my best friends had 2 kids in her 40's. She says it's totally different. I'm a grand parent raising grand kids and I feel like I do it completely different too. I do not worry about the small stuff. They know they're loved and we take time to do so much with them. Rules and making them mind is good but the things they'll remember the most is the fun they have with their family. So we focus on family stuff so much more.