Fab Forty-Plus! Where are the BFPs...

Sometimes we know too much jass ....too many facts and figures, nature has her own way. I agree with diege things definately sound more positive than negative. Keeping fingers crossed.

I am really beginning to doubt I even ovulated this month, even with the usual three days of smiley's on digi sticks. There is a distinct lack of sore boobs. Oh well, Fiday will see if AF arrives.

Scan sounds more positive than negative jass, pretty good news I'd say! Especially good that there was development post hcg 'dip' - think of it as one more hurdle that you have got through - relax for now...you can't sustain any level of anxiety for 2 weeks! xx

Hm. I am spending these 2 weeks enjoying that I am still pg. I did not look forward to this ultrasound today and i do not look forward to the next neither. i prefer hope, so time is not dragging at all. I have never felt like this in my failed pregnancies, but this time I even prefer the limbo to the loss of hope. Weird. We have heat wave still going on and doctor has ordered to stay in the shade and drink a lot of water, only walk in the evenings, but walks are encouraged to stimulate blood flow in the uterus:-)

I know we were offering nervous congratulations a few weeks ago Jass but I am saying it a little louder now! Your dr sounds very positive & I hope the next 2 weeks do not drag too much for you.
JBrd ouch! Did you get your antibiotics? They were reporting on the system of drs calling you & you only getting an appointment if they say so on the news today. Sounds a bit odd but I guess there are a lot of time wasters & missed appointments. It doesn't help when you are genuinely I'll though.
Welcome Lemon, it's very supportive here & lots of success stories that give us all hope.
I am back from holiday today. It was such a lovely time but so hectic I feel like I need another holiday to recover. Dd has gone to granny's for a few days & I am going to decorate her room. I have totally relaxed this month having missed dtd around ov as dh was away. I drank too much & ate too much on holiday so am now going to cut the carbs for a few weeks & get back to my acupuncturist. Obvs with dd away I am also catching up with friends in the evenings so will have to accept a little more wine might be consumed.... These lovely long school holidays are not always good for our health!!
Time to start on the holiday washing now. Hope the rain stays away for the next few days.

Wow jass what a roller coaster and what fabulous news! Of course it would have been even more wonderful if you got the full heartbeat, right size news but I think it sounds pretty damn hopeful as it stands I wonder what people did before they had access to all this information? Blissful in their lack of knowledge probably.

Now what are you going to do to distract yourself from worrying over the next two weeks??

Lemon, welcome, may your stay be brief!

My doctors visit today was not all roses, but not bad enough to take all hope away. The embryo is alive, it is much smaller than it should be at 7+3, but nice round egg with yolk was visible. no heartbeat, but the machine was a routine scan one, so it would not detect a 6w heartbeat anyway. More (positively) indicative is that the area around the egg is clearly the live embryo's "double halo". I also had a tiny drop of brown smear this morning, which of course meant I webt in 100% negative. Doctor ordered me to be positive and take some baby aspirin and progesteron, stay calma nd hopeful and return on 15th. the brown smear is probably because my period would be due this week and the areas in uterus where muscular tissue and lining get mixed up (my adenomyosis) do not know there is a small pregnancy in uterus and bleed away. there was no hematoma anywhere close to the embryo, it was,not looking like it may be peeling away from the lining.

So, I was given almost 2 more weeks to be hopeful. What the doctor cannot analyse and I can is the fluctuating hcg in the beginning I saw from my tests. It was at the levels below 200 hundred (digi said pg1-2w), and that means that the development we saw today has definitely happened after the fluctuation happened. I found out 14 DPO and beta was doing tricks 18-19DPO, got going around 21DPO - whixh means that after tthat, the embryo has developed with exactly the right tempo. This adds to my hope, whixh of course means if the embryo will die by next scan my devastation would be evn worse. OK, I am grateful for what I saw and definitely it is better news than I have had for any of my failed pg last years (betas never surpassed 1000 and eggs were always empty). Also, previously the US has only picked up implanted eggs which showed the size of the moment when betas started dropping. This one clearly has shrugged off initial implantation difficulties and it remains to be seen whether it came through intact or it will dye because of these implantation difficulties. I have a positive feeling it will live. I have no explanation apart from the fact that it clearly has developed on track after rough start.
This was the longest ever ultrasound descrition on MS,afraid:-) I am now graduated from reading misdiagnosed msicarriage site section "low or declining beta levels, baby alive" to the section "baby measuring 1-2 weeks behind, but all OK". Weirdly, I am grateful for the added time to be pregnant and I plan to enjoy the time given to me. Smearing has stopped now as well. Head goes into sand again:-)

Hi ladies I wonder of there is room for a newbie? Turned 40 earlier in the year and have a 1 year old dd. still bf and tentatively realising I need to get a move on if I'm to have another one. Dh is of the view that we need to see what happens so no space for stressful ttc yeah right
Anyway cd 9 for me, cycles have been more or less regular despite bf but not sure I'm actually ovulating.
Will have a read to see where everyone else is.

jass .

Holding my breath and sending you all the luck for today's appointment.

Hello everyone. So nice to hear from you Morien. I also love the name Edie. How gorgeous. It sounds like you've had a lovely time on mat leave.

Jass I will be thinking of you. I know what that scan anxiety is like. Ghastly. However, like Diege says, the only way is through it. I look forward to hearing your news.

Diege, there's been no comment at all from the parents of that little boy. It is shameful how they've behaved.I just hope the birth mum gets the help she needs. I'll bet she's not the first third world surrogate mum whose had this happen.

Well, I am not feeling so old having read the thread: "My 58 year old mum is pregnant" I believe it was ivf, and I imagine it was donor eggs too, but wow! 58! I am not making any value judgements about it because I am almost 48. And many, many people would think it is very wrong of me to want a baby at this age. One good thing about that thread was the people popping on with 'my neighbour/friend/granny/aunt got pregnant naturally at 56' type stories. I always find them very uplifting.

Back to work for me today. Still feeling a bit tired, and have no idea what I'll be doing in my classes today: flying by the seat of my pants I should think! I am feeling much better than DD. She's still not eating much. I think it is more due to anxiety than the illness. She worries that eating will make her feel sick. She has anxiety at the best of times, much worse when she's not well. I have to keep an eye on her as her hip bones are jutting out.

Have a lovely day everyone. Enjoy those lovely babies, pregnancies or the anticipation of ttc again this month This month I will be doing opks so as to bypass any confusion. Operation opk and SWI will start in a couple of days I think... that's for good luck...

Great to hear from you morien and lovely that you have enjoyed your maternity leave. I love the name Edie btw!
Jass I will be thinking of you tomorrow - scan anxiety is a truly tormenting thing. There's no other way past it than through it, and I am praying that it is good news for you. The lack of spotting and pretty usual pregnancy symptoms bodes well xx
Gum I too was very shocked by the surrogacy storyline, so very sad for the children involved. I really can't understand where the parents are coming from . What has been their response to the media storm?
calibee good to 'see' you - sounds like the job is a welcome break from army life and your planned afternoon with the commonwealth games sounded great. I'm just watching Kylie in the closing ceremony - can't believe she's late 40s
Love to everyone I haven't mentioned xx

jass I feel your pain. I will be thinking of you tomorrow and sending good vybes...good luck

Green, good to hear your scan went well! I am especially happy that you do have all these heavy symptoms because of teins, as my symproms are mild really. I can sleep on my belly, my breasts are tingly rather than truly sore and I have some stretchy feelings. And I have massive fear for scan tomorrow. Even if I think it would be better to know if it is bad news so that I do not settle too well into this pregnancy. But if it is bad news I would be devastated and who looks forward to being devastated? Some reassuring lower abdominal pain and massive appetite is here, so I try to enjoy it at least for tonight....

Morien, good to hear you and baby are doing well. Already back to work in October - time goes so quickly......

Gum, good tou feel better now. It is indeed truly in the hands of god how these things go at our age. I know I am a toad tounger, but then you have not had all these mc I have had, so I feel about equal!

Calibee, I hope IUI will do the trick and you can save the money for sth else than DE:-))

Good to hear from you morien and so glad little Edie is doing so well...how time flys eh??
I am staying in NI whilst DH is away, purely as I now have my job here. Life has been better over here since we moved to the city in June...however it does now mean quite a commute to work for me (an hours travel either way). I don't think I'm a great army wife though I have to say....I like far more control of my own life lol. But it's not forever...just a means to an end for now. :)

Hello all! Sorry for this long, long silence; I lost my password (don't use MN any more). I've been thinking about you all, and popping back occasionally to read what you're up to.

green TWINS!!! I'm soooo happy for you, and I'll keep everything crossed for a smooth ride for you from here on in. Was this another natural conception, or had you already started your fertility treatment?

jass I've got everything crossed for you as well. Congratulations!

calibee great that things are starting to move for you - hope you won't have to wait long for treatment to start. Are you feeling more settled now in N Ireland? Are you staying there while your DH is away? Sorry if you've said all this but I only read the last couple of pages.

diege I don't know why I'm surprised that Laurie is 9 months already, given that Edie was 5 months on the 23rd. It goes so quickly! Hope you're all well.

Hello to all my other old friends here - gum, jbrd and no doubt others who are still posting too - as well as to the new people.

Edie is thriving - she's sunny and good-natured, and a huge bouncing baby. I'm going back to work part-time in October, and she'll go to nursery when I'm at work. I've really, really enjoyed this time with her.

Morning all....happy weekend.
Green DH and I skyped last night and he is very keen to do DE as soon as he gets home...assuming IUI is not successful, so as soon as I get called for an appointment I will be discussing this with the fertility team. For some reason it appears to be fairly cheap over here in NI. Unless of course our consultant gave us wrong information, which would be a huge blow. I was wondering (you may know) does the cost just include one attempt or do any embryos get frozen and reused?? I am so pleased for you and continue to keep all fingers and toes crossed for a very healthy and uneventful "double" pregnancy.

gum glad to hear you are all a little better. My daughter and the two little ones were all struck down with something on Tuesday. Sadly too far away to help....mind you I will avoid vomit at any cost!!!

So its my first weekend with DH away in the sandy place. I am 8dpo but having no symptoms...nothing atall. None of the usual sore breasts...hmm, I hope I did actually ovulate?. As we were on holiday I didnt actually do temps this month...infact I am stilll trying very hard to ease off peeing on too many sticks or obsessing in general about ttc ( it works on the surface at least lol). Time will tell I guess.

I have a friend from work visiting this morning and the plan was to take the hounds out for a long walk after she left. It is however, persisting down so I'm thinking an afternoon on the sofa watching the commonwealth games. I am also trying to teach myself to crochet (sniggers)...the idea being to keep myself occupied in the long evenings ahead and maybe make toys for the little ones for xmas. Hmmm my efforts so far are a five inch piece of wiggly knotted wool which the dog stole and chewed...oooops.

Opps, it wasn't 20% carbs, it was :
"Studies show that if a woman has a high protein (>25%) diet in the lead up to IVF, she will have 50% of her embryos make it to blastocyst stage. If you also reduce your carbs to less than 40%, you statistically have an 80% success rate. "

Hi green, it is lovely to hear your news. I am so happy your little twin has a healthy strong heartbeat, and I hope your other LO comes out of hiding for the next scan. Oh my goodness, reading about your scan has just made me feel soooo broody.

I have just spent the last two days telling myself there is no way I should keep ttc, as I haven't been well, and how on earth would I cope if I had a baby in the mix. I do this to myself every time I have a tough day or feel exhausted, or get sick, or one of the kids is sick. It's mad, I know, this ambivalence. However I always come back to the "I really want to do this again" feeling. Of course it is mostly in the lap of the gods at this satge of my life. I keep reading about donor egg ivf and wish that my Dh would feel the same way as I do, but I know, unequivocally, that he wouldn't be the slightest bit interested in doing that. Sigh...in another life perhaps.

In the news lately, there has been an uproar (and rightly so) about an Australian couple abandoning a baby boy they had a surrogate have in Thailand. She had twins, and the little boy has Downs, so the Australian parents left him behind It is such a sad story. I took one look at that gorgeous little boy and thought, I'll take him home. Of course that isn't possible, but I realised how much a I really would like another child. Thankfully, the birth mother loves the little boy and the Australian public have donated $60000 to help with his medical bills. I cannot believe that the couple could just leave him behind.Heartless bastards. It also means the Thai government is cracking down on surrogacy which is pretty heartbreaking for some genuinely lovely parents who still have surrogates in Thailand.

Green, I haven't heard heard about the two Jaggers having babies - which ones? I might have to google that (Thank goodness we have google, 'eh? Otherwise how on earth would my curiousity be sated??)

Jass, I am really, really pleased that your pregnancy is going well. I can't wait til you have the scan. You really are a bit of an inspiration to me. I have always felt that despite our age (I know I am older than you, but you know what I mean), that if we persevere, eventually a good egg will be the one that is fertilised. I think it is true that some women a have very selective uterus' which don't allow the fertilised eggs to implant, and others have less fussy ones, but still the embryo doesn't develop. I remember there was someone else on this thread a few years ago (I've been here for 4 or 5 years) who would get pregnant almost every month, but had miscarriage after miscarriage and she was diagnosed with an "unfussy uterus" or something like that. I can't remember is she went on to have a baby, but I suspect she did.

Jbrd, how did the counselling go? I hope you found it helpful.

Diege, how's life for you?

Fireflies, I hope things aren't too awful for you and DH. I am thinking of you at this tough time.

My FIL is still going, despite being quite frail. The good news is that he got out of hospice, was sent to hospital and is now at home with a nurse visiting daily for 12 weeks, to give the family time to find a nursing home. Which is great. However, MIL seems to be going down the dementia path, she has become very forgetful and is doing weird things (like waking DSIL at 4 am to go to an appointment which wasn't until 11).Anyway, my DH is on the phone daily about all this stuff, as well as having his uncle calling constantly about organising things on the farm, selling things, getting rid of the guns before the police come to check the gun cabinet, etc, etc...Poor thing. Plus his pile of marking is getting higher and higher. He just isn't organised like I am, and is the world's greatest procrastinator. I am hoping that things even out for him soon.But with his elderly parents, I doubt it.... You can see why having a baby wouldn't be on his list of priorities I think we'll just keep it in the "women's business" basket

I am feeling better today. I really only had a mild case of the gastro: DD was much sicker with vomitting, and still had diarreah two days later. I felt better yesterday, though I had a headache and still had a dodgy tummy. I feel ok today, but it is only 8 am, so we shall see.

I plan to take it easy this weekend. Might go see what's ready for picking in the garden. The last couple of days I've eaten nothing but white carbs, so it is back to high protein and low carb. I read on one of the "infertility" threads on mumsnet about the success rates for ivf with a low carb diet (less than 20% carbs), the rates were so much higher than normal. I know that is ivf but it has to do with the quality of the eggs I think. From the thread:
"I read a study that women with previous IVF poor embryo quality were put on a high protein low carb diet for 3 months before repeating IVF. The embryo quality improved, the % of embryos that made it to blast was 50% and the preg rate was 80%"

Well, have a nice weekend everyone. I think I'll boil the kettle and have another

fireflies so sorry to read about your FIL. Hope you and DH are doing ok? Times of high emotion often bring stuff to the surface - hope you manage to get through the next few weeks intact.

calibee glad your holiday was good and you met DH family - how was that? Really hope that IUI works out for you but I wouldn't rule out donor eggs if you need to but I would say that though I did read up on epigenics which was interesting.

grizzer butlins sounds tiring...Fireman Sam, live in person, first thing in the morning - yikes!!

grinch hope you are ok. Thinking of you. It does get better but feels rubbish for a while. Take good care of yourself.

jass hope your are enjoying swapping one beach for another . Excellent news on continued dark lines on the sticks. Glad the wedding went well. As for looking at the younger generation I think look at the jagger's - birth mother and daughter have given birth within 4 weeks of each other - so why not us?? I will keep everything crossed for you and your scan in Monday.

gum hope you feel better soon. You have gad a run of it.

I had my scan today which is 7 weeks. Was feeling ok about it despite having had another bleed last week - this has mainly been because I have been feeling really sick and my boobs are killing me (I can no longer sleep on my front ) and I am tired. The scan revealed one embryo measuring 7wks 2 days with a really strong heart beat the other was hiding behind it and she couldn't get a good look at it but thought she could see a flicker of a heart beat. I will need to be rescanned on the 11th by which time they should be able to see it even if it is lurking behind the other one. Apparently they grow quite fast at this stage.

It is really funny because I was shocked at the twins news but I have managed to get myself attached to the idea in a couple of weeks and I am now really praying they both make it - I certainly feel sick enough for two!

I am relieved though and happy to be scanned again in another week or so - if I had my way I would have a scan a week. My sister in law guessed the minute she saw me last weekend - she said it was female intuition so I am not sure how long we will be able to keep it a secret. Discretion is not one of her strengths

On the subject of improving egg quality. I used to take EPO up to ovulation, DHEA and q10 and a conception vitamin. I don't know if it made any difference or not but I did get pregnant twice in six months (even if I didn't keep them) I guess they were good enough to fertilise if not go all the way. I also put Do on man vitamins and I. Think they made a real difference to the quality of his sperm - which were at the low wend of normal and considerable improved over six months of taking them.

Hello from sunny Butlins!! This is such an exhausting holiday but so perfect for dd. We have been swimming every day & she is loving the fairground & all the character shows. We ventured off site today & collected weird & wonderful stones from the beach, a mini train ride & a pedalo around a lake. Even better is that my mum is taking dd & my brother's 2 dc next week to her house so I have some time to recover!
FF sorry to hear about dfil, I hope the funeral is bearable & dh is ok.
Jass your daughter's wedding sounds beautiful. Has she gone away for a honeymoon? Everything crossed for Monday.
Cali your holiday sounds lovely. Almost as exotic as Butlins.......
Hope you're feeling better Gum. I think we often go down with things after a holiday, we get back in the classroom & the germs hit us!!
Very interesting to read we can help our eggs quality. I've never really considered it before. This week I'm am definitely not helping in any way unless strawberry daiquiris (one of my five a day) count? I will return to a healthier lifestyle next week but I challenge anyone to survive the madness of a butlins holiday without alcohol & a few tubes of Pringles!!
Better go to sleep now, it's fireman Sam on stage first thing in the morning.....

calibee I can relate. I do too. Feel like the world is out to get me. Makes me tearful too. Hate it. At least I have learnt to avoid conflict and reassess any perceived injustices once af turns up.

I have been home the past couple of days. Dd was vomiting all day yesterday . I went into work today but came home after a bout of diarrhea. Didn't want too many dashes from the classroom so came home. I feel nauseous and tired so I have called in sick tomorrow too. I wish we could all just be well for a few months!

FF I love your description of PMT symptoms. ....online snooping...hehehe. I seem to get paranoid during the build up. Its a horrible feeling as it feels perfectly reasonable at the time. :)

Evening all

Thanks for kind words Gum and Irish re DFIL. Sadly the funeral is going to be a total ordeal but I can see past it

Thanks for the top tip on not re-heating those noodles, Gum. I will bear that in mind. They’re on special offer at the moment so going to stock up. I can see now how the 5:2 diet could be possible with those. You sound like you have a very disciplined diet. I keep being derailed by one thing or another.

Lots of interesting stuff on here about eggs. What a knowledgeable group we all are! It’s making me feel quite optimistic, though I have slipped a bit on the booze front recently. I guess, based on what jassS says, I have a choosy uterus as I have only been preggers once. Until then I really thought having my own children was never going to happen.

I’d also heard reports of DNA passing from the mother even to a donor egg. I guess it does make sense really and it quite nice to be reiterated.

JassS the wedding sounds great, as does your pregnancy. I hope it keeps going well for you. Have you found a nice cool spot by the lakes?

Calibee v of your holiday. I hope you’re doing ok without DH. Good luck for the IUI!

jbrd go girl!! Nice to hear you sounding so positive. I hope the counselling isn’t too wearing.

Super-strong PMT symptoms here – shopaholicism full-on as is on-line snooping. Such weird symptoms! I probably shouldn’t admit them!! Doesn’t bode well for meeting lots of weirdo family in the next few days as I just won’t have the patience to deal with them. Help! Still, on the other hand, it does at least mean that it is not long before we can DTD again.

Night all. FF x

yes, Calibee, it is true that lots of mitochondrial material in a baby would come from carrier, as all the building blocks of the baby's body anyway.

i am rather hopeful about my scan, even if I know i had fluctuating beta levels in week 5 - normally a sign of a mc. But since i feel so fine now and doesnot have even spotting, i cannot feel totally down to earth about this pg....

jass you are totally right. As much as I would loveour baby to be biologically "ours" if its not possible then donation is a great option. I have heard/read that DNA can actually be passed in some form to the developing fetus from the Pregnant Mum. So pleased to hear your pregnancy appears to be progressing well for now. Fingers crossed for your scan next week