This was a wonderful discussion, and it doesn't matter what generation you're in or from. As a boomer, I had tremendous pressure from family to have children (I married at 22 yrs old). But my husband and I were in NO position to have a child - financially, maturity [although nothing matures you faster than children] and otherwise. My husband was still in school, then I was still in school for a couple of years as well. I DID end up having our first child two years after I graduated and did keep working (for a while) afterward. I was 30 years old. I was lucky enough to live upstate NY at that time and the cost of living was low and easy and my part-time work along with my husband's full-time job helped. And I found out that no matter what, you just don't know WHAT to fully expect -- but as long as you have SOME plans in place, you adjust, adjust. Lifestyles adjust [fairly easily], finances adjust [not as easy, but they do]. I also worked from home at that time, I also realized that I needed to fully devote myself to the work at that time, and it worked, a balancing act, and it worked. My kids' Dad was very helpful -- he always worked full time, but when he was home he was amazingly helpful. Anyway absolutely no regrets and I feel that it worked out the way it should have when my kids were young. It became more difficult as they and their parents got older, but that's another story, with other learning opportunities. In the end, honestly, it is so worth it. And by the way, I try to avoid putting any pressure on my kids for grandkids (well, after asking a few times early on, of course). I was under A LOT of pressure to have children and it's amazing that I resisted it until I really was ready.
