Later Life Baby Changes

Hi my name is Irish Waichler I’m the author of Riding the Infertility Rollercoaster: A Guide to Educate and Inspire and I’ll be looking at infertility issues in the coming weeks.  I’m going to be talking today of part two of older parents and menopausal moms. I wanted to look at some of the challenges that go along with this and believe me I know it’s a challenge! 

I’m 51 years old and I have a five year old daughter.  For a lot of people that have been working for a long time that transition to being a staying at home parent can be really tuff and the physical demands are different than work demands.  Parenting can seem very exhausting, a lot tougher than work and without the tangible reward that come with the end of the day the parenting day that never ends and it feels that way.  This can add to sense of fatigue for people who stopped working. 

The financial piece is pretty tough to at times because that money that you put away and had plans for your retirement may need to go for college tuition and other expenses.  You may need to move because the space that you had before a child isn’t workable or else you need to be in an area with a different type of school that meets your needs and your child’s needs and that’s tough to. You’ve got to give yourself time to adjust to all of these changes. The key is adjustment and change and recognizing that and you realize that transition is a significant adjustment.  It’s normal to feel a bit disoriented in the early stages and for me even the later stages of parenting but you do begin to become more flexible and it can be something that is manageable. 

As we age change in our routines can become a lot tougher because our bodies and our minds have established some set patterns of reacting and thinking, beware of it and prepare yourself for it and think about how you react to change.  Think about how to keep doing some of the other things that have meaning and importance in your life as well and explore new ways to approach your emerging roll as a parent.  You can pursue a really rich variety of rewarding endeavors that can serve both you and your child and you both need that external stimulation and you both need to thrive on building routines that provide for it. 

There is no design as we get older, everyone knows our energy level is not the same as when we were younger, our hormone levels are changing and contributes to fatigue.  One of the biggest challenges about being an older parent is just physically keeping up with your child.  Make sure that you have a chance for your child to nap.  I’ve found that if you pace your child and have them engage in a lot of physical activities then they get more tired and it gives you a chance for some rest as well.  My belief after spending time with many women who are older moms is that they are not afraid of their age, they are willing to take risks, make personal sacrifices for things that they believe are really important and these women don’t let age stop them from doing what they really want to do like making it possible for a child to become part of their lives. 

These women are not afraid to do things that may be against societal norms; they have the necessary self confidence to be different, do what they do and be who they are.  Menopausal moms are to be celebrated.  By helping to nurture ourselves and keep ourselves strong and healthy this will ultimately help us to feel better about ourselves and bring more quality into the lives of the people around us and that especially includes our partners and our children.  Good luck with being an older parent and have a good day, thanks very much.