If 40 is the new 25, then 25 is the new 10?

Every now and then when I am out, I get people looking at me like I am a pregnant teenager. Things aren't quite as bad if my husband is with me, but the looks are still pretty remarkable. I kept wondering why someone would be judgmental about a pregnant woman in her twenties, but then I realized something. The majority of pregnant people and parents in the DC area these days are way past their twenties. Today I saw a pregnant woman at Trader Joe's. She was expecting her first child and had gray hair. I guess the fact of the matter is, if 40 is the new 25, I am actually 7 years old, so no wonder all these older women with toddlers are looking at me as if I am unfit to be pregnant, let alone be a mother.

I guess the upside of this is that I will be "25" around the time my son is ready for college. And if my son follows this trend of intentionally having babies after 40, I have some hope of eventually meeting my grandchildren.

My Story

I have spent weeks attempting to find a website that offers advice to a woman in my specific situation. I am in my early 20s and recently married. I got married after discovering that despite using two forms of birth control and being supposedly infertile, I was in fact 13 weeks pregnant. I had planned to marry my boyfriend (several years older than me) after I graduated from college, so we decided to speed up our initial plans. While we know that the next few years are going to be challenging beyond belief, we love each other and know that this is one of the best decisions we have ever made. I am finishing up my last semester of college and our baby is due on my graduation day. The odds of me being able to walk at my own graduation? Not so great, but as long as I get a picture in my cap and gown, I am not too concerned about it.

My point is, all pregnancy sites out there assume one of the following: That your baby was totally planned, and if unplanned, you were already married and are over 28 OR they are assuming you are a 15-year-old idiot who was too stupid to keep her panties up. What about women like me? What about when birth control doesn't work? It happens! It rarely occurs, but I am living proof that it still happens.

So today, I am starting a blog to share my experience as a younger than most mom-to-be, with a loving and supportive husband, who had no plans to have a baby anytime soon. I am sure there are more women like me out there.