Older Parents how did people react to your pregnancy announcement (weeks, years)

[raggy491]

Just curious,

I am going to be a 41 year old dad, wife is going to be 40 year old mom.

Last couple weeks we told grandparents who were totally excited.

But as I slowly tell people at work some are quick to congradulate me while others have a slow reaction.

I think it is so funny, they first look at me, pause and I can just read there minds.

1. How old are you? and your having a kid
2. Birth control must have failed.

two smiled at me and said seriously as if I were joking.

For those who give me the pause, I come back and say, "yes, it was totally planned" with a smile.

I was not offended, I actually thought it was funny, And not all I tell do that, just some.

Just wondering if other older parents stunned people when they made there announcement?

[suedonym]

i cant comment cause i was a young mom but CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and i think 'older parents' are more common than most people realize

[nuala]

Nope, nobody was stunned (2 kids, me 39/41, dad 56/57). The kids are school age now, the parents at the school (about half) are in their 40s- 50s. If you look around, a 40yo as a new parent is commonplace, as the above poster said.

Here is a site for you to read, "Pregnancy stories by age, 43-56+ years old":

http://pregnancystories.blogspot.com/search/label/43

[michelleleigh]

Cool, and Blessings all the way

[no kudzu]

Hey, you think you get strange looks from folks?
We were 55 and 62 with 2 kids already grown and in college when we decided to adopt TWO babies, and from Vietnam no less. Most people were too shocked to even have anything to say. That was 9 years ago and it was the best thing we ever did.

Actually I think you are pretty much on target from what I've read. Congrats and Have Fun. You will wonder how you ever lived before you had this child.

[gimme it]

Congratulations! I think where you live matters. No one would blink an eye here in NYC, where lots of people wait to have kids. I think there are places in this country where people start much earlier. I was in my 30's and so where almost all of my friends when we had kids. I hardly knew anyone who had kids in their 20s. Lots of moms that I know had their last child in their early 40's. They all had beautiful babies

[uptown_urbanist]

I know many people who have children around that age, so I, too, think it's not so unusual (at least among the people I know) to warrant a raised eyebrow. I will admit, though, that for one slightly older couple I WAS surprised and probably did pause; for what it's worth, my surprise came because they'd been telling everyone for years that they did not want kids for environmental reasons, and while they never envisioned themselves as parents, if they changed their mind they'd absolutely adopt. So you can see why I was a little surprised when suddenly the pregnancy announcement was made!

[Hopes]

One reason people get that response is because some people view it as not fair to the children since it's not uncommon for parents to die in their 50s.

But the same thing happens when it's the last child of a large family. That's what happened to my little sister and my husband. They were parentless at a very young age.

[FinsterRufus]

Originally Posted by Hopes

One reason people get that response is because some people view it as not fair to the children since it's not uncommon for parents to die in their 50s.

But the same thing happens when it's the last child of a large family. That's what happened to my little sister and my husband. They were parentless at a very young age.

But it is uncommon for parents to die in their 50's. The life expectancy of people in the US is - male: 75.65 years, female: 80.69 years.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by FinsterRufus

But it is uncommon for parents to die in their 50's. The life expectancy of people in the US is - male: 75.65 years, female: 80.69 years.

It's not uncommon: Table 3. Number of deaths and death rates, by age, race, and sex: United States, 2006