Best time of the year to be pregnant?

[mom2huskies]

After 8 years of marriage and much planning, we're going to take the plunge and TTC. Here's my first question to the moms and dads of 'The Board':

Assuming I get to do the choosing, which is the best time of year to be pregnant/have a young baby? We just moved north to Iowa, which means real winters again. If I try for early summer, I'll have my mom to help out (she teaches).

Thanks everyone- I've already learned a ton!
Cate
ttc 03?

[brubeck]

Glad you have this luxury! I teach for a living, and I took one semester off for each baby. I actually timed my kids for the end of the year so that I could have the winter semester AND the summer off to make a nice long maternity leave. I'm actually down to the last 2 weeks of my leave for Andrew. :(

The problem with winter babies is that it's hard to take them out of the house when it's so cold and/or wet. However with summer babies you have problems taking them out because they can't wear sunscreen yet need to be protected from the sun.

From a more long-term perspective, you could consider birthdays and holidays in your family. I'm not sure my son is ever going to be happy with a birthday so close to Christmas, but we plan on celebrating half-birthdays for both kids. When I grew up my entire family had birthdays in May and June, not to mention Mother's and Father's Days, so that was an exhausting period.

Lastly, you may want to pick a goal date based on the cut-off date for kindergarten school entry in your area. It's a real pain if you miss the cut-off by just a few days!

[lvp49]

My dd was born in late June, and I thought it was great. I was off all summer, not pregnant in terrible heat, and not stuck in the house after the baby was born. My next is due Nov. 3 2003, and I'm a a little anxious about the holidays.

The other thing is easy birthday parties. DD #1 will have pool parties, and #2 will have halloween parties, I guess. I was born in Feb, and was always jealous of my sisters summer birthdays, cool parties and summer gifts!!

[Calmegja]

Honestly, it doesn't matter. Any time of the year that you have a baby is the right time of year. ;-) My mantra,only half jokingly is I don't how the baby gets here, even if it's FedEx, and I don't care when the baby gets here. ;-)

I have two November babies, an August baby, and a tail end of April baby.

It was easier to dress, pregnancywise, for the April baby, because it was more of one season, but every time of the year has plusses and minuses.

Sometimes the best laid plans go astray, so it's best to just think about what you might like, and what would work with your schedule (if you have a job, if you have help available at certain times), and make that your goal, but with the open mind that no matter when it happens, that'll be the absolute best time for that baby, and concurrently, for you....

Best of luck.....

[mharling]

The timing wasn't planned, but I LOVE how it worked out for us. I got pregnant in July of last year and ds was born in April. It was great not being pregnant through the summer and I liked the idea of being able to wear more clothes when I was pregnant vs. less (winter vs. summer). April was great for him to be born because the worst of winter was past. I also like this because it won't put us on the fence about when he should start school.

My SIL is a teacher and planned her first pregnancy so she would have the second semester and the summer off. I think she's planning to do the same with the second. Financial people may tell you to try to have a baby on December 31 so you have the tax deduction for the entire year. :)

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b3237413c427 - New 6/18

[ctsiouts]

I had Anya in august in Houston and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be as far as the heat. I was even able to take afternoon walks late in the pregnancy with DH. My Dr. said that August was a good month because of the school year or something like that, I don't exactly understand yet but I'm sure I will.
If I could pick ANY time to have my next baby it would probably be late spring/early summer. I liked the fact that I could go out immediately and not have to get us both all bundled up.

[COElizabeth]

Ugh, one of my pet peeves. I was born in early January on my due date, and my whole life, people would say, "I bet your parents were disappointed they didn't get the tax deduction." What kind of person says that to a little girl?!

I didn't mind being pregnant during the hot summer. It was easy to wear t-shirts, shorts, and sandals the whole time and not worry about buying a new winter coat or anything like that. Plus, my skin was very sensitive when pregnant, and the mere thought of a wool sweater (or anything besides pure cotton, really) on my skin gave me the creeps. I also liked having James be still in his infant carrier with the bunting cover over the top of it when it was cold and then have him be older and better able to wear sunscreen when it got time for shorts and lots of stroller rides outside.

But I agree that babies come when they want, and any time of year would be just wonderful.

Elizabeth
Mom to James
9-20-02

[Bearhut]

Please don't try to plan a time of year. Too much pressure. There are so many variables to conception; it's not unusual for it to take months to occur. Just hope for a health pregnancy that doesn't take too long to achieve.

Heather

[KimberleyDawn]

I got pg with Christopher at the beginning of July & delivered at the end of March and got pg with William at the end of May & delivered at the end of February. I was lucky and wasn't "really" pg during the summer months and that was fine by me (lol) and not to mention the $ I saved only buying mat. clothes for one season. Also, by the time I was ready to venture out of the house it was spring which was nice. If I were to do it again I would try and get pg at the end of July or the beginning of August so I could have an April baby.
Good luck!
Kim

[parkersmama]

I much prefer being pregnant in the winter but I live in Georgia and our winters are mild and summers are scorchingly hot and humid. I had an end of summer baby first which was totally miserable (ack! the swelling! the heat!) and vowed to not do that again! My next two were born in early March and early May and it was much better. Since you'll be having extra cold winters, I'd try to plan the due date for the time which will enable the baby to be as old as possible before it gets really cold. More mature babies handle cold much better than newborns. That being said, sometimes Mother Nature doesn't cooperate and you just get what you get! And, of course, you'll be thrilled no matter what!!

[MelissaTC]

I didn't want to be pregnant during the very hot and sticky months here in NC so DS was conceived in September and born in June. Worked out wonderfully. Both my Mom and In-laws are teachers so I had them here in the summer as well :)

We are ttc now and will be headed to the RE in September after our family vacation. I am praying for another June/July baby :)

[newbelly2002]

WHile my parents didn't plan the pregnancy that way (so they tell me), my mom did have to be induced. And when offered the choice of dates anywhere between Dec 29 and Jan 2, they went with Dec. 30 for my birthday--especially for the tax deduction. When my mom learned a few years ago that my dad had been telling me that for years, she was mortified. Guess she wanted to keep it one of those "mommy secrets."
The kicker is they keep forgetting my birthday altogether these days.
Oh well.

Paula, Mama to Dante
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b32384e84594 -6/25 update

[MartiesMom2B]

I whole heartedly agree with Mary. Everything she said applied to my pregnancy too!

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

[bnme]

Haivng Mom to help out would be a huge plus!

But on Winter babies, my DS was born 1/3 and I think it was ideal becuase
1) I was not huge during the heat of the summer
2) It was kinda nice to be more home homebound with him as a newborn. Not that I was weary about taking him out in public in general, but in the winter you have to more concerned about germs/RSV etc and with all the snow we had I wasn't gona out anyway! It wasn't like it was beautiful out and I had to decide whether or not to go somewhere...I wasn't going anywhere anyway...and not feeling like I was missing out!

LOL on the tax deduction issue...My edd was 12/24 so we thought we were gona get in under the wire, but no such luck! I got a lot of comments on that "Oh, he better come soon or Mommy & Daddy are gona miss out". It was somewhat funny, somewhat annoying.

Though in the end as other people mentioned, anytime of year is ideal for a baby
:)

[kransden]

As a Dec. baby myself, I didn't want a "holiday present". People kept telling me that I didn't want to be pg in the summmer, but guess what... I have a/c! So it really didn't matter that I was pregnant in the summer. I was too tired to do much anyway. Since the weather turned bad in Dec. and Jan. we stayed at home, watched Dr. Phil, snoozed and nursed. I enjoyed it.

Karin
Katie 10/24/02

[trumansmom]

I live in SD (Hi, neighbor!) and Truman was born in late November. I was hot from conception to weaning, so my particular recommendation would be to get pregnant now to avoid being super pregnant in the summer.

Also, it was a bit intimidating dealing with a frigid prairie winter and keeping a newborn warm when we went out. I really hated putting blankets over DS's face, but when the windchill is 20 below and you have to get to your ped's office, you have to!

So, although having a winter baby is fine and definitely doable, all things being equal, I would choose April!

HTH-
Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01

[agomalley]

I agree! I have an April baby, too and I loved being pregnant during the winter. I liked the maternity clothes and being pregnant over the holidays was a lot of fun!

Anabelle and Ryan 4/9/03

[jojo2324]

I had DS the beginning of July, and this next baby is coming smack dab in the middle of winter. Ho hum, all new maternity clothes for me. The one thing about having a baby in the hot summer months that freaked me out was dressing the poor thing!! Everybody kept saying, "Oh, you need to keep him in one layer more than you...But be careful, because they overheat...But wait, don't forget they're colder than you are..." Egads!!! I was a mess trying to get him dressed each day and not overheat or underdress him.

[KMommie]

I would definitely try for early summer, since I found MY mother's help invaluable! And if that's when your mom can help out, I think you'll appreciate it, but some people prefer to have alone time with the baby and DH first for a few weeks and then get the outside help.

I'm a teacher, and I decided to try to have a baby at the end of the semester, so I could have the summer off too before going back to work. I miscalculated and ended up with an April baby--- almost had to go back in June to finish the year, but my OB wrote a note extending my maternity leave. Whew!

Also, being a first and second grade teacher, I'd like to say that if you are thinking along the lines of "making the deadline" for schooling. Know that in early childhood, a few months of maturity makes a HUGE difference--- you might make the deadline of November 30th or whatever it might be in your state for your child to go to school, but late in the year babies (more so boys, but it also affects girls) may not be ready for school with their "same year" peers, developmentally. Just think about how much a baby changes month to month, and you'll see what I mean.

One last thing, DH has a late December bday and it bugs me that his family always forgets his bday. It doesn't bother him, because it's always been that way.

edited to add--- Good Luck! :)
Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03

[luvbeinmama]

I would have to say, try to have the baby late spring or early summer, then, since you can plan it. Mom's help is invaluable with a newborn.

Plus the WORST time to be 7-9 months pg is during the hot summer months. I had DS in January and that last month, I was throwing off ALL the covers at night, while DH was trying to bundle up because he was cold. Thank God last summer was mild because I had DD on Oct 15th. While it wasn't too horrible, it can be if the summer is really hot.

I wish I had the luxury of actually planning when to conceive. Must be nice!

[Lori in NJ]

I would say any time from here on out, b/c if you start trying in Aug the earliest due date you would have is around May which is PERFECT (my b-day is May 24th :7 ). I'm due in the next 2 wks and must admit I was perfectly happy with the times of my pregnancy (got pg in Nov), I loved that I didn't have to go out and buy a maternity coat/jacket and I've LOVED that I can absolutely CHOW on all of the delicious summer fruits!!! (I know silly things)... Also, I like knowing I don't have to worry about bunting and hats and gloves to come home from the hospital.

Best of luck, pregnancy is SUCH a miracle to begin with, whenever it happens you will be able to find positives & negatives about the weather, holidays, etc.

Lori