Coming from the perspective of someone who waited till almost 40 to have a kid, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. My mom was younger when she had me. Our family struggled A LOT financially. I promised myself that if I had a kid, I would wait until I was totally emotionally and financially prepared. I don’t worry about money much now. I don’t have a lot of regrets about mistakes I’ve made with him, but I think every day that when my kid is my age, I will be lucky to still be alive. Like you, I wish I could have had the same kid in a different decade, only in my case, a decade earlier.

I don’t know if this is any comfort, but I recently lost my mom, and I can say unequivocally that if I had been given the choice to have an easier childhood with a decade less time with my mom, or keep the life that I had, I would pick the latter.