Myself and my partner Jay, found out after six months of living together that I was pregnant. We were both twenty three and, to be quite frank, bricking it. After many a conversation about money, Jay having a vasectomy and how we would be kids raising a kid, we got over ourselves and started to prepare for our lifestyle change. In the end our little surprise Christmas present, (we found out in December,) catalysed our lives and brought forward one of the most rewarding periods of life- parenthood. Miraculously by the time our baby girl arrived we had left our inner city flat with six flights of stairs for a lovely three bed terrace, we looked for the perfect house with a garden, lovely nursery and quality schools on the doorstep. A far cry from the flat which we had chosen based on the local food places and bars.

Looking back, neither myself or Jay can believe that we had planned our lives to turn out any other way. It all just seems a little too perfect- living in a house that we love with a perfect little daughter. This got me thinking how good it is to be doing the baby thing at twenty three, and here are some of the reasons I think why…

1. Money ? What Money?
Even the most sensible of twenty some-things who have a savings account will at best describe their young nest egg as meagre, and we were not two twenty some-things you could put in the sensible category. The good news? You have nine months(ish) to get your affairs in order. The minimum requirement is to get yourself in the black; any more pennies you manage to squirrel away is a bonus. Most importantly, in our case, you don’t miss what you never had and living on a budget, (once statutory maternity pay kicks in) is a breeze. Your baby won’t remember that you had to buy Tesco’s own loo roll for the twelve months you had off work and nothing motivates you to earn more in the future than having a baby you want to raise to respect and appreciate you.

2. The energy
I spend half of my week in baby groups socialising my baby girl and speaking to other mums. My bairn is only six months and I can’t wait to do the baby thing all over again! When I say this to my thirty something mummy friends, they look at me like I should be sectioned, or I have turned up two weeks after giving birth in a body con dress. What can I say? My baby girl doesn’t knacker me out enough to not want to give her a little friend.

3. Pregnancy symptoms
I craved potatoes and I craved hobbies. Women either love or hate pregnancy, for me it was a bit of both. The physical issues that arise as you slowly inflate- waddling, water retention and the aversion to the smell of cooked meat aren’t something I miss; I did however particularly enjoy the secondary symptoms, which I read from important source was common and very normal. I found myself with the best part of a year alcohol free and with a lot of time on my hands- I spent it getting through my literary bucket list, knitting a blanket for bump and focussing on the things I loved like Jay and writing. I can honestly say, I have never spent so much my time in such an efficient and effective manner.

4. Babysitting
The average twenty something has parents spritely enough to run around after a toddler, allowing you at least one sunny day in the garden with a small glass of white.

5. Career? what career?
Just like with money, a career can’t really be had without a lot of hard work over a good few years; after uni, I just haven’t had the time to get to a level in my job I couldn’t leave. So instead of stopping my career at a critical point after a decade of hard work, why not start at point A, post baby and work all the way through to Z? As previously stated, believe me, you will work so much harder once you have a family to maintain with an insatiable Lego habit and the need for new shoes every other week.

6. Pregnancy and parenthood ages you- in a good way.
Prior to finding out about our little bean, we had the common mentality of the young that we would deal with grown up life at thirty, now we have been forced to deal with all the icky stuff head on right now. The upside to this is the sweet spot of a happy home life is coming around a whole lot sooner.

7.Pregnancy ages you- in a bad way.
Before pregnancy I was always told I looked younger than my age and I could never leave the house without my ID; now I am nearly twenty four and look around twenty six, (according to an ad hoc poll in the library.) I can quite happily accept this- an older dad I know once took his son to school and a teacher asked if he was his Granddad- and he wasn’t even the parent to go through the trauma of childbirth!

8. Laughing and smiling in photos at twenty three.
I saw a friend of mine at the weekend, the same age but baby free, we were looking through photos and came across one of her and some friends wetting themselves with laughter and looking euphoric of a Saturday night; when I asked her what was happening in the photo she had no clue what was so funny. When I looked through my photos and came across a pic of the love bite my baby girl left on her Daddy’s cheek when she was teething that happened to look just like a man’s bits, I remember exactly how funny that was. Get prepared and consult best dental specialists at https://www.parramattadentist.sydney/.

9. You’re young when your kids are young.
This is where I must admit that I am a bit biased. I am the child of a young Dad, he was twenty two when he had me and forty when my brother was born- guess who got the fun parent who loved a camp over in the garden?

10. I’ve never been so focussed.
Why waste my twenties being lackadaisical, slightly inebriated and skint because my money was spent at Topshop? I have busy rewarding days and I’m skint for a more rewarding reason. I look to the future and hope my baby girl and I will be good mates, I hope to be successful in my thirties showing an a good example to my daughter. At age thirty five when all of my friends are starting their families and baby proofing their homes, I might be purchasing that pale blue chaise-longue for my lounge that I’ve always wanted.