Worth the wait to start a family later in life

Sharon Wellington - who is pregnant with her third child - with her youngest daughter, 2-year-old Makayla Willow Wellington. Photo / George Novak

Gate Pa mother-of-two Sharon Wellington, who is expecting her third child, says she has no regrets about having children later in life.

The 42-year-old had her first child Rachael, now aged 14, when she was 27 and in another relationship, which ended while she was still pregnant, she said.

Coming from a broken home, Mrs Wellington said she always intended to wait until she was married to have children, and met her husband David when she was 37 and he was 42, after 10 years of being a solo mum.

They met online on a Christian dating site, and married in 2012.

The couple waited a year to start trying to have a family, and Makayla was born in 2014. After two miscarriages, Mrs Wellington fell pregnant again 18 weeks ago.

Both were planned pregnancies, she said.

Mrs Wellington said that coming from a broken home, it was so important to her that her children grew up in a loving, secure environment with a mum and dad in a committed and loving relationship.

We have also seen the blessing of waiting to have children in a secure marriage.

Sharon Wellington

After the failed relationship, she was determined to wait until she found the right man to share her life with who also wanted children, and was "blessed" to find someone with the same values as her.

"We have also seen the blessing of waiting to have children in a secure marriage.

"As older parents, we are more relaxed and secure in our relationship. We have done our travelling, socialising, built our careers and set up a loving home together, and are both more focused on raising our children."

Mrs Wellington is a qualified teacher aide specialising in caring for special needs children, but is currently a stay-at-home mum. She also volunteers at the Tauranga Pregnancy Choice centre, an organisation which supports mothers who have unplanned pregnancies.

Mrs Wellington said the hardest part as older parents was coping with lack of sleep.

"But to me the age when you choose to have children doesn't matter. What matters is being in a committed, loving relationship with the right person for life, so that your children grow up in that environment knowing they are loved, secure and part of a family unit for life."