LeTracey Tuck gave birth to her daughter one month shy of her 41st birthday in September 2014.

"In my 20s I felt I was still a child myself and I wanted to do things in my life," said the new mom, who lives in Harvest, Ala. with her husband and their 9-month-old daughter, MaThai. "I married at 29 and wanted to enjoy my husband and get to spend time, just us. We traveled the world.

"Now I'm more settled, more relaxed. I feel like I can be a better parent. She keeps me busy and keeps me moving."

Tuck is one of what is officially a growing trend in the United States: mothers who are waiting until they are older to have children.

The "baby recession" in America is over, according to preliminary data released by the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, as the number of births in the United States rose for the first time since 2007.

One of the drivers of the rise in births is women in their 30s and early 40s having more babies.

The U.S. overall birth rate rose about 1 percent from 2013. But while births to teens hit a historic low for the nation, down 9 percent from 2013 (and declining more than 7 percent annually since 2007) births to women in their 30s and 40s rose 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively, from 2013.

Births to women ages 20-24 declined 2 percent; rates remained essentially unchanged for women ages 25-29 and 45-50+.

The economic recession that began in 2007 has been blamed for being at least partly responsible for the decline in birth rates among all age groups over the past eight years.

As the economy improves, however, older women may no longer be postponing getting pregnant, according to Brady Hamilton, lead author of the CDC study.

For women like Tuck, however, economics weren't the only driving factor. She said she waited to have children until she felt ready, and felt like she was in a good place in life with a stable, committed husband.

She grew up with both a mother and father at home, she said, and "I wanted my child to have the foundation I had. I think I had the perfect childhood."

Career concerns

Leila Moorehouse of Madison, Ala. chose to focus on her career in the U.S. Army during her 20s and early 30s. She deployed twice to Iraq, and then commanded a company of more than 120 American and Korean soldiers in Korea, where she met her husband Dwayne. The two married and began thinking about starting a family.

"Having kids is something I've always wanted, but never really thought about it with an Army career," Moorehouse said. "Could I even do that? My decision was quickly made when my branch manager told me that I would soon be deploying again overseas...to Afghanistan."

Moorehouse, then a senior captain, also learned that if she got pregnant she could potentially be deployed 90 days post-partum. Having children was important to the Moorehouses, leading them to decide to get out of the Army.

Age and pregnancy

Moorehouse struggled with fertility issues. But after treatments, she conceived and gave birth to a daughter at age 35.

She was "elated" the treatments had worked in helping her conceive, but she was worried that waiting to have a baby at 35 had opened her up to potential complications.

"I was second-guessing the decision to have kids until Leilani was born," she said. Her daughter was perfectly healthy. Then when she was not quite 5 months old, Moorehouse became pregnant again - naturally.

"We really didn't think we could have another child and I thought Leilani would be an only child," said Moorehouse. "Wrong! God had a plan for us."

She gave birth to a second healthy daughter, Lilly, when she was 36.

Tuck said she was always reminded of her age when she went to the doctor for prenatal visits.

"I understood that," she said. "But I take care of myself, I'm healthy and age is nothing but a number."

Challenges and benefits

Moorehouse said life can be challenging with daughters so close in age - 14 months and two days - but it's all worth it.

"Some days are so hard with potty training, temper tatrums, fights, diapers, pull-ups," she said, "but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Tuck sees younger moms with babies sometimes struggling to balance the desire to hang out with friends and go out on weekends with the responsibilities of being a parent.

"I feel like I've done what I wanted to do and I don't feel like I'm neglecting myself," she said. "I want to say (having a baby later in life) is easier, because I feel I'm more mature. I'm not as selfish."

"I have friends with kids in high school and I'm taking mine to day care, but I'm OK with that," she joked.