Anonymous wrote:Yes this is insane. This board is obsessed with redshirting but it’s not that common IRL.

+1 I'll add that the idea of picking your kid's birth month/birth season seems like reasonable planning before you start TTC, but by month 4 or so you get over that and just want a positive.

Why would you start them when you feel they’re too young/not ready? Summer birthdays are great because if your kid is advanced you can start them but if they’re not, you wait a year and it’s not a big deal. I as well as many of my friends growing up had summer birthdays and we were all among the oldest of the class, not youngest.

I have a DS with a late July birthday. I aimed for spring babies after that because being very pregnant in the DC heat was miserable, though maternity leave for most of the fall was wonderful. Fwiw I did not redshirt. I actually find birthday parties more difficult for him because so many families are out of town.

I couldn’t, but if you can can, I would. I suspect many people do this as my kids have almost no kids in the classes with birthdays in July or August. Tons of October.

I think in the end, there are pros and cons to basically every time of year. Do what feels right.

Why would you avoid them? They are so much better for birthday parties, especially if you have a pool. Cheap birthday parties were difficult to plan for my late November bday dd. Maybe because we live in a boring area. She stopped having bday parties at an earlier age than I would have liked (11 or 12 was the last one). Her friend with a July bday had the same pool party for about 11 years. They were a blast and cheap. Except for the installing a pool part, not cheap of course.

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side, kids with summer birthdays get to have cool b-day parties at pools, parks, or just in their backyard. We have a small house and always get stuck paying big bucks for an indoor venue for our January and November babies.

Ha- yes, this is true. Parties are much easier for my summer baby than my early spring baby!

Anonymous wrote:OP -- you take what the good lord gives you. And you are thankful.

Yup. You can plan all you want but you will love and accept your baby no matter what.

On the flip side, kids with summer birthdays get to have cool b-day parties at pools, parks, or just in their backyard. We have a small house and always get stuck paying big bucks for an indoor venue for our January and November babies.

Yes, it's ridiculous. I remember thinking, should I not TTC so my kid doesn't have a Christmastime birthday? But I ended up getting pregnant and he does. And it is no big deal and I wouldn't trade him!

I also have a kid with an Aug birthday. You can redshirt if you need to (we did). Summer birthdays are great in a lot of ways, certainly preferable to a winter birthday during the party-throwing years. You can throw fun cheap backyard/outdoor parties, go to amusement parks, do all kinds of fun things to celebrate. It's a happy time of year.

OP -- you take what the good lord gives you. And you are thankful.

Yes this is insane. This board is obsessed with redshirting but it’s not that common IRL.

Even boys with spring birthdays are held back.

I was anxious about this. But life/early losses changed my timeline and my second born has a late August birthday anyway. Oh well.

I guess I just need a reality check here: is it insane to time TTC around avoiding summer birthdays? We have a daughter with an August birthday about to start preschool, and I feel some nerves about her being the very youngest in the class (she’s also a teeny tiny 5th-ish percentile kid in height and weight). If we were to have a boy, I’d be even more nervous.

Am I being nuts to think we should try and avoid a summer birthday? Happy to admit that the present state of the world has left me with too much damn time to ruminate. I’m 31 FWIW.