Do mature mums have enough energy to face the‘ tricky teens’ again?
HAVE you ever had a little pang of nostalgia and asked yourself what it would be like to have a “late” baby and start all over again?
Maybe your children are at school and well on the way to becoming grown-ups.
If so, you’re bang on trend because an increasing number of middle-aged women are longing for one last baby.
What triggers it? Could it be nostalgia for the smell of a little downy head? Or the feel of a warm bundle in your arms?
Or is it the realisation that you rushed through the babyhood stage – and now wish you could do it again at a slower pace?
Whatever the reason, many women in their late 40s are asking themselves – what if?
Actress Halle Berry was almost 47 when she had her second child.
David Bowie’s wife Iman was 45 when she gave birth to their daughter. Actress Susan Sarandon became a mum for the second time aged 47.
Last week, after a high-flying career running the Serpentine Galleries in London, Julia Peyton-Jones, 64, became a mother for the first time with baby daughter Pia and she was thrilled to bits about it.
Now there are pros and cons
... young mum versus older mum.
Clearly you have more energy for the pregnancy, the sleepless nights, the endless rounds of feeding, bathing and walking the baby when you’re younger.
But age brings experience and things which might have fazed you earlier don’t matter so much when that 40th birthday has been and gone.
You know yourself better and can give yourself the time to enjoy the journey to motherhood and the new life you have created.
It’s about finding what works for you and your family.
I have friends who couldn’t wait to get the last baby buggy out of the house, the car seats and playpens given to charity shops and I know others who have a secret desire to be buying baby clothes and choosing names.
Much as I enjoyed the fun of young motherhood, I discovered that the real challenges start when they’re teenagers. That was far more demanding that walking the floor with a colicky baby.
Instead you’re lying awake after midnight, wondering when your son might come home from a night out.
Or you’re having yet another shouty row with your stroppy teenage daughter about her attitude.
Or the school is “concerned” about one son’s attitude to studying. Or you’re running a food bank in the kitchen for their pals. Or the STD (stroppy teenage daughter) is having a meltdown because her friend doesn’t want to be her “bestie” any more.
Perhaps you have the unenviable task of phoning your husband to tell him that one son has just crashed the family car.
I’ve been there, done that. Really don’t want to start all over again.
I enjoyed it as part of life’s rich tapestry, but no matter how satisfying that new baby smell is, project forward and think – have I the stamina and energy required for life on Planet Teenager? It’s a challenging environment.