I recently had a baby at 42 years old, and while being pregnant again definitely had some challenges, it’s the raising of another baby that I believe might scare some folks away.
I thought it might be helpful to discuss both the challenges and the blessings of being an older mother. I will be speaking of my own experience, as opposed to a more general report.
So in other words, this is anecdotal.
Older Mom Energy Levels
One area that I have noticed a difference was in my energy levels during the third trimester, along with the first 6-8 week postpartum. There wasn’t a huge difference in the third trimester energy levels, but I definitely needed a quick afternoon nap, and a solid eight hours of sleep at night.
I noticed a bigger difference in my energy levels during recovery. I took a two hour mandatory afternoon nap for the first 6-8 weeks, which gave me the rest I needed to complete all of my home and parenting tasks.
I never really made time for this before, and it was amazing! It made me feel more human when night time sleep wasn’t a given.
This was actually my husband’s idea, and my 15 year old daughter enforced it daily.
I wish that I had done this with all of my postpartum recoveries!
Older Mom Aches and Pains
The aches and pains that come with being an older mom are real!!! But again, I have noticed this more dramatically during the postpartum time than during pregnancy.
Over the last six years I have done a lot of physical therapy along with deep tissue massage therapy, and I think that actually made a huge difference in this last pregnancy at age 42!
In physical therapy, I worked to close my diastasis recti after pregnancy #9, #10, and soon I’ll be starting again after #11. Closing your diastasis recti can help so much with lower back pain, it’s so worth the time and effort!
I think the massage therapy has actually had a bigger impact than physical therapy though. I found a very talented massage therapist and I have been going 1-2 times per month for the last five years.
Now, one area that I definitely need to work on is building my physical fitness levels back up. I feel so much weaker after this last pregnancy, and it is time to start slowly re-building so that I feel strong again!
Older Mom More Experience
Now it’s time to focus on the blessings of being an older mom!
I have SO much more experience now. The notion that motherhood comes naturally to anyone is a fallacy. Motherhood is actually a skill.
The way that you become better at any skill is through practice. What better way to enjoy the fruits of your labor to build your skills at motherhood than to have a child (or multiple children) at an older age.
The best part of having more experience at motherhood is that it makes everything easier…not that motherhood is easy. But it can be easier when you aren’t shocked and surprised by every new phase.
Older Mom Time Management Skills
I am so much better at time management now at 42 than I was in my mid twenties, late twenties, early thirties, and even mid thirties.
Time management is another skill that is built over time and with practice. And can I just say…time management with children is next level.
Having children will not naturally lead to developing great time management skills. You will have to be intentional about learning the skills.
My ability to squeeze everything in now, without losing my mind, but actually maintaining my calm even when schedules are ultra-tight is actually something that I am quite proud of.
Older Siblings In The Family
There are multiple benefits to having older children in the family, but my favorite benefit is that the new baby has a built-in fan club.
I currently have five teenagers, an 11 year old, a 9 year old, 8 year old and a 4 year old, along with the baby. (My oldest son is married and has his own apartment) My baby is always being entertained and is rarely in her little seat. Someone ALWAYS wants to hold her and dote on her…what a life!
I hesitate to mention that it’s also a great help to have older children because I don’t want to be misunderstood. None of my older children are acting as stand-in parents. Our children do occasionally babysit for a date, etc. but the vast majority of parenting and childcare tasks are not being done by the children.
Older Moms Are More Financially Stable
Generally speaking, the older a mom is, the more financially stable the family will be simply because of time.
I remember when we first started our family in our early twenties. We didn’t have two dimes to rub together. But over time, and with increasing job experience, my husband began earning more and more.
I also contribute to the family budget from time to time, but my husband generates the bulk of our income. But that took time.
Having a baby in our forties has been so much less stressful from a financial standpoint because of the financial cushion that time has provided.
It’s probably easy to see that I believe having children into your forties is overwhelmingly a positive choice. Is it tough, yes, parts of it have been harder than when I was younger. But other parts have been so much easier!
If having another child in your forties is something you’ve been thinking about, I always say that nobody ever says “I wish I hadn’t had that last baby!” But I have often heard from so many different ladies…I wish I had had one more!
Having twins at 40 (#6  for our family) I can agree with this article!
I also am feeling the need to get better physical habits and get in better shape. I gained 70lbs with the twins. I had 1 twin weigh 8 1/2 lbs (my biggest baby) and the other twin was 6lbs. I lost all but about 8 lbs. My earlier pregnancies it all came off nursing and living life. My twins are almost 2 and those 8lbs have stayed. That is the only thing for me I would add to what you said. The weight doesn’t come off as quickly or easily. However, snuggling babies and watching your bigs love your Littles is the best thing in the world. ❤️