Six months and just a dog

January 2nd was the six-month anniversary of our wedding. I am not a big anniversary-celebrator. I am not much for flowers, cards, or cheesy other things that go along with celebrating silly little milestones (or Valentine's Day-- I can't believe there's already stuff out in the stores). Twenty-five years? Probably worth celebrating. Six months? Not so much. Actually, I am not sure I would have remembered this half-year milestone had it not be for this little email I received from TheBump.com (sister site to "The Knot," which was actually a decent site for help with wedding planning) entitled "It's been 6 months since your wedding...":

With TheBump.com you can:

- Find a friend's baby registry
• Search for baby shower ideas
• Forward this email to a friend

• Get pregnant faster with our must-have tools
• Get stage-by-stage pregnancy and baby advice
• Chat 24/7 with other women trying to conceive

Geez!! I was a bit offended by this e-mail, actually. It presumes that, six months into a marriage, I should be well on the road towards planning imminent childbearing. Certainly well aware of all the risks of AMA ("Advanced Maternal Age") pregnancies (pregnancies where the woman will be over the "old" age of 35 at time of delivery), I have nothing against people trying to conceive soon after their wedding or at an age when they are definitely more fertile. Many people have been with their partners forever, regardless of when they tied the knot, and are ready to get the child-rearing show-on-the-road. However, I was 29 at the time of our wedding, and while I am lagging well behind most (er... pretty much all) friends in the baby-department, and do really love OB/pregnancy care and counseling as part of my job, I am not really one of those "can't wait to get pregnant" people.

I personally think that 2 years is a minimum to be married before contemplating children and feel that 4 years is the optimal interval between children if you can plan it that way. I think six months of marriage may be an appropriate time frame after which one might think one can handle a dog, but (for me), it is definitely too soon to contemplate trying for a child. I do want children. I just do not want them yet.

So, The Bump, I think I'm going to have to ignore your e-mail for now. Try me again in a couple of years. And, to friends and family, please don't expect any "announcements" anytime soon :)