S/O How did you know when to start having kids?

Most people I knew who had babies in their 20s were usually shocked, shocked I tell you, to find themselves pregnant. Me included.

I'd give DH a little more time before I started getting nuts. 30, maybe.

Congrats on the shiny-new law degree!

Oh I think it was the vast amounts of white wine spritzers that decided for us The first time

Daughter on the other hand took five years to get.

We didn't start trying until I was 30 and DH was 34. We were married for 5 years before we started trying and married 9 before we had DS (we did have some fertility issues but it had nothing to do with age and would have had the same trouble if we'd tried earlier.

I think those years as a married couple were the best choice we ever made.

Even though we ended up having DS later than we thought we wanted, we would not change the timing at all. We ended up having him at what really couldn't have been a more perfect time if we'd planned it.

Lol...when the plus sign appeared on the pee stick.

I was so not ready and was actively taking precautions to prevent it and now he's 19.

We didn't get married until I was 29. We definitely wanted children and I felt uneasy waiting much longer because obviously things don't always go to plan. We'd been together for 6 or 7 year so we'd done some travelling, had some 'young free and single' fun and were just ready for the next stage. No reason to wait.

The deciding factor for me was when, the day after I lost my virginity at age 15, my best friend asked me if we had used protection and if we hadn't was it a "safe" time. And I looked at the calendar and realized it probably wasn't a safe time, and we hadn't, so ummmmm... yeah. That baby was born when I was 16.

So we later married, and 6 weeks after that, despite using contraception (and properly, I will add), found out I was pregnant (happened 2 weeks after the wedding). So no deciding there.

Two and half years later, surprise, again (different contraception, plus another, both used properly). So no deciding.

Our "plan" was originally 4-6 kids, spaced about 5 years apart, and then I would go back to college (yeah, I did start that along the way). But when the 3rd was 10.5 months old, we were on an overnight trip to a wedding and realized we didn't have any protection with us, so we started talking about if we wanted to stop and buy something or should we just go ahead and have the 4th baby and be done with it. Decided to go ahead with the 4th, literally got pregnant that night. But hey, at least she was planned!

At 22, when I had our 4th baby (in 6.5 years) I had my tubes tied. The "plan" was to adopt 1-2 more, in 8-10 years. By the time they all got that old, though, we really were done.

And then I became a grandma at 40. I certainly did not plan on that, but our 3 sons had our 5 grandsons in a 3.5 year period. So not only did we do the parent thing young and fast, we have also done the grandparent thing the same way. (But we know there are more grandkids planned by at least 2 of our sons, and our dd hasn't even started yet.)

I've heard of this "planning" or "knowing it's time" thing, just haven't had much experience with it.

I'm 45 and I've never felt the urge to have children and certainly never felt my biological clock ticking. I worked with babies and children for years so really that was enough for me.

For us that decision was made for me, we had been married for 3 years when I found out I was pregnant. I was on the pill at the time and 32. 13 months later the same thing happened with DD2! God must have known what he was doing because if it was up to me I would have stopped after DD1, she was a difficult child and I definitely needed the maturity of being older to deal with her, I couldn't have handled it in my 20's. So for us waiting until our thirties and having them close together was perfect. I have two lovely girls who are starting their careers and I am not longing for grandbabies for another 10 years.

I knew it was time when I went to the doctor for a vitamin B12 shot. At 34, I was on bc pills but was exhausted, tired and barely able to drive home at the end of a long day without feeling like I needed a nap before the evening commute. My doctor refused the B12, drew some bloodwork and I got the phone call I was pregnant. When I asked the doctor how this happened, he said, "Don't be coy. . .you know how this happens". Seriously, the decision was made for me and she's the happiest accident I ever had in my life. I feel blessed and grateful.

The second pregnancy was on my 36th birthday: DH asked what I wanted for a gift. I jokingly said another baby and I got pregnant on the first try. The cat started following me closely the next morning and she only did that when I was pregnant: DH that morning told me I was pregnant. The cat and DH were right. Motherhood was not in the cards for me (I was very career-focused and had no desire to ever have kids) but I'm so glad I did. Seeing "advanced maternal age" on my chart was insulting but they are here safe and sound and that's all that matters really. I am amazed by those who just knew they wanted kids: imho, maternal instinct isn't innate but it can be learned, at least for me it was. I never knew (or felt) what was missing from my life until I had kids. 

There's no "right" time. Motherhood will never be convenient or easy or financially effortless. But parenthood needs 2 "yesses" to make it work. You don't have a reproductive system: you have half of one and it takes two on the same page before that decision should be made.

I think for me it was that all my friends started getting pregnant. Right up to that moment, I had mixed feelings about it and ex was ambivalent about it enough to let me decide. So we figured we would try and see what would happen. I was blessed with no fertility issues and with both my children was able to get pregnant right away.

I think my only regret with the kids is that I always wanted another one. But my ex and I divorced while I was pregnant with my second, and by the time I recovered from the divorce and the exhaustion of young children, there really weren't a whole lot of choices for partners. So no more babies, and that always left me vaguely sad.

I've never wanted children. I'm less militant about being child-free than I used to be but it's still not a priority. I have a feeling that if kids happen, it will be because of an "aww... f***... really?" moment that ends by making the choice to keep it. I don't see there ever being a longing for children or being desperate to have one. If it happens, it happens. I'm not sure I want to ruin what we've got going by changing the dynamics.

I didn't want kids until the doctor told me after endometriosis surgery (at 22) that if I was going to have kids I needed to try soon. Not news you want at that age since I was not ready to even consider having a baby. My ds was born right at a year later. I had accepted he would be an only child. Nine years later I had ds #2 and dd came along three years after that. I also have had a step dd for 10 years and I call her mine too.

ditto although throwing up that morning was a good clue too (and what prompted me to check a pee stick)....he'll be 24 this year