[Submitted Question]

I already have two children who are 10 and 14. Now, at 43, I find myself pregnant again. To say this is a surprise would be an understatement. I just wonder whether I am too old to start over again with a newborn. Will I be able to keep up with all the demands and the broken sleep?

[WombToBloom]

Oh, you probably won’t have quite the same spring in your step as you did at 29 – but who does? My guess is that newborn baby care is like riding a bike – you remember immediately how to do it, you fall back into your same habits, practices and patterns. The demanding nature of newborns and the sleep deprivation are still the same – they’re still hard to handle regardless of your age. You’ll do just fine. It’s amazing how much our bodies give when we ask them to.

And, think of this – you’ve now got a 10 year old helper and a 14 year old helper that you didn’t have when you were raising babies before. Obviously, you’re not going to put them on a nighttime feeding rotation. But the 14 year old is probably capable of holding down the fort long enough for you to take a quick nap when you need it. And the 10 year old is old enough to change some diapers from time to time. Do you trust them to cook? That would be awesome!

I’m not suggesting that you draft your big kids into indentured servitude - but helping out will be good for them and good for you.