Thursday, November 10, 2011

Is timing really everything when it comes to starting a family?


Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the influx of stories in the media discussing starting a family later in life and the implications many women are facing by pressing the pause button on having babies?

30 years ago, when my mother discovered she was having me, she felt as though she was too old to be having another child. She was 33.

Today, being pregnant with my first child at the age of 30, I feel like a fairly young-ish mother. While there are many women who chose to have children in their 20's, a growing number of women are leaving baby-making to their late 30's and even early-mid 40's.

So how exactly does leaving the business of baby-making until later in life affect not only the baby, but the mother? It seems the more common this practice is becoming, the more publicity the topic is getting in the media.

While some women are meeting their partners later in life, or some spending their 20's and 30's concentrating on their careers, many are left to wonder where their path has led them when it comes to starting a family of their own.
The number of couples turning to IVF is at an all time high, and many single women are opting for other means to secure their place in the line to become a mother. Freezing eggs is becoming more popular than ever, and not just for those women who are taking this option for medical reasons. Fertility clinics, charging between $10,000 and $14,000 per cycle, are offering women who are not yet ready to start a family due to personal reasons, a chance to freeze their eggs in the hope that they will meet their 'Mr Right' and he can help finish the process.

A couple of weeks back I read an article in The Age in which the Director of Monash IVF, Professor Gab Kovacs said 'women considering freezing their eggs for social reasons would be better off settling for ''Mr Not-Quite-Right'' as a father sooner rather than later'.
Professor Kovaks brings up a very interesting point here.
Should women who are wanting to have children simply 'settle'? Or is it that we're being too picky, looking for something that may not even be out there at all? Or perhaps the business of baby-making is a very complicated one at that, and all women have the right to chose when the time is right for them?

This topic certainly is a complicated one, yes.
Sure, it would make things so much more simple if we would all just pick-a-partner and and at a set time in or lives, around about our mid to late 20's I'd say, an in-built reminder goes off telling us it's time to make a baby.
However, how can we fit each and every woman out there into such a small box? Life is complicated.
Why should we feel as though we should settle for 'Mr Not-Quite-Right', just because we want to have a child some day. Surely an unhappy marriage wouldn't exactly lead to a happy, healthy upbringing for the children involved?!

While Mr Kovacs does bring up a good point, that perhaps many of us are leaving it until it's 'too late' to start our families, in my opinion the topic isn't just a simple as 'settling'.

One thing's for sure, it's a controversial topic. One that all women out there should take the time to think about. While we all have the right to chose when we want to start our families, there are issues that we all need to think about. Starting a family before our bodies take over and start telling us it may just be too late may not be for everyone, but it certainly is something we should all take into consideration.

What are your thoughts?

Monday, October 31, 2011

Are you getting enough sun?


Thankfully, these days we are well aware of the damage the sun can cause us. From premature aging (or as my girlfriend and I like to call it - 'leather skin'!) to skin cancer, the picture that has been painted for us is pretty damn grim.
Nowadays many of us lather up the sunscreen and make sure we stay in the shade where possible on a daily basis.

But did you know that by avoiding the sun all together we may in fact be doing ourselves more harm than good?

You see the sun produces a lovely little thing called vitamin D.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, is required for bone growth, and is essential for the human body to function properly.
Whilst you can get vitamin D from foods such as fish, dairy, margarine, ready-to-eat cereals, liver and beef, the best, most effective way to get your daily hit of vitamin D is simply by sitting out in the sun!

Now I'm not saying go and bake yourself on the beach for 5 hours until you start to resemble a lobster. Here in Australia (in the often not-so-sunny Melbourne) getting yourself around 10-15 minutes sunshine daily in Summer, and a little more (aim for 30-40 minutes) during Winter months is all you need. And even if it's just some rays on your legs and arms, that's all you need!
Sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 8 or greater will block UV rays that produce vitamin D so try to get your dose of sunshine before you lather up.

Just because I feel like I'm seriously lacking some vitamin D I'm heading off to Port Douglas this week!
7 whole days of sun, swimming, sleep and ice cream - I can't wait! :)
x

Thursday, October 27, 2011

All things beautiful... October


Being smack bang in the middle of renovations I have to be careful not to get too carried away just yet with decking out our nursery. Especially seeing it's currently our make-do bedroom/storage room for boxes...

But I can still plan!
And boy are there some gorgeous things out there for me to check out.

Seeing we're not finding out the sex of bubs-to-be, we have to make sure the nursery is kept neutral. 
We've decided to go for white furniture and we've found a beautiful cot and change table.

To help me get organised with all the things I need for changing bubs, I found this sweet paper rope change table set. You can buy it online at Mor Store and it comes in white so no need to worry about choosing pink or blue! Mor Store also has some other gorgeous storage ideas for the bathroom, laundry and living room.

Check them out and let me know what you think!

Picapp Widget

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