Over 40 TTC - lots of baby dust for us...3!

Well had EWCM yesterday, DTD last night. So that's it, I'm officially on the watch list First time ever for me this. For trying, for even being off a contraceptive. I'm an anxious person to begin with, so blooming heck. Hey ho though, gotta be in it to win it I suppose. X

@Cleozeta only if there was some kind of shortage of donor eggs and there were lots of childless people vying to get each one - but I don’t think that is the case at all! Although I don’t know much about the donor egg process. Are you having second thoughts about going down that path? x

Is it selfish for someone who already has children to consider donor egg for a 3rd?

Great news@Russkispy!

I'm still in 2WW and crossing fingers as we gave it our best shot this month

I’m driving myself crazy POAS, line was much fainter this morning and I’ve not gone above 1-2 on cbd. I only got my BFP on Sunday, why am I doing this to myself!?

Blood tests are back and my beta is 215 and progesterone 87. Waiting to hear from my doc on progesterone intake if needed at all. In all my pregnancies after fertility treatments I was taking a lot of progesterone pills. This is natural pregnancy and it's all new to me. Repeating bloods on Friday morning. Hope the HCG doubles then! 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Hey again all, thank you for all your well wishes . This group got me through some dark times last year, it really meant so much to talk to other ladies going through similar who could relate to how I felt x I should have mentioned that after my first miscarriage I did lots of research online on how to improve egg health and ended up taking several different supplements. Of course I can't prove that they're the reason I managed to conceive a couple of months later but maybe just knowing I was doing something to help myself gave me the more positive mindset I needed in order to fall pregnant - who knows! Here's what I took each day:

1 x prenatal tablet
1 x Aspirin 75 mg
1 x Folate 400 mcg
1 x Evening Primrose Oil 1000mg
1 x Cod Liver Oil 1000mcg
2 x Ubiquinol 100 mg
1 x Royal Jelly 500 mg

A couple of things to note: It's very important you only take Evening Primrose Oil for the first half of your menstrual cycle (from menstruation until ovulation) as it can cause uterine contractions that could make it difficult for a fertilised egg to implant if you managed to conceive. I actually wonder if this is what caused my second miscarriage as I was unaware of this at the time and taking it every single day .
Secondly, I found the cheapest place to buy Ubiquinol BY FAR was from a website called Piping Rock.com. It's based in the USA but even with shipping costs it worked out much cheaper than anywhere else I could find!
Ubiquinol aside, these supplements were all relatively cheap and easy to source either in the supermarket or health food shops. I must admit I didn't consult with a doctor before taking them but as soon as I conceived, I was advised to stop taking all but the prenatal tablet.
I hope this is of help to someone, I found the whole supplement thing a total minefield when I started my research!!

@eloisa246 still very early days! I never had a natural pregnancy! It's a completely new territory for me as my DD was conceived with IUI. Then we moved on to IVF, then rolled the ball with DE and now this surprising BFP! Absolutely pooping myself as it's just so soon after a MMC. My first reaction to FRER was - "what have we done!!", whereas DH had happy tears in his eyes. I then pulled myself together and had a serious talk with myself and said everything will be just fine! We flew home last night and I did another FRER and it came up right away and the line was much darker. My doc asked me to get HCG and progesterone blood tests done today and repeat on Friday. Just done the bloods and waiting for results. Depending on results I'm sure I'll start taking progesterone pills as before. When came home last night there was a letter from my local hospital where I had the last D&C, offering me a reassurance scan around 7 weeks should I needed it again, and offered their condolences on my last short lived pregnancy. That was nice from them. I'm only hoping and praying this one sticks and if not, then, no more TTC and straight to DE. I can't keep going and being back to square one every time. But for now I'm pregnant and hoping for the best. And I'm also hoping it will work out for you and all lovely ladies on here. Such a lovely and supportive bunch of girls. Thanks you!

Amazing news @russkispy! I thought we might be DE buddies but am so happy for you that you got a natural conception in just in time! Sounds very 'meant to be'.
@littlemimosa so sorry you are feeling low and still having long cycles. It might not feel like it but you are still young and still have time for things to come into balance.
Good luck to everyone in the 2ww.

@Catconfusion That’s a really lovely positive message, exactly what I needed to read this morning :) x

@Catclock no I’m a Catherine. We do have a cat who belongs to my husband. She’s ok but I’m more of a dog person.

One thing I would recommend for tracking your cycles is Ovusense. I have irregular cycles due to pcos and it’s been great.

Also a good preconception supplement. I’m taking the Zita West Vitafem and finding it good. Also evening primrose liquid from AF to ovulation has really increased my EWCM.

You’re right positivity is really important. It’s tough for those of us who’ve had pregnancy losses but it comes after the grieving process. Try not to worry about what could go wrong. I know plenty of young people who lost pregnancies. It’s often just a random thing you have no control over.

You have every chance of conceiving and having a healthy baby. See your doctor if it doesn’t happen in 6 months. Xx

Thank you @Catconfusion ! (Are we cat lovers..?! ) Well this is the first time for me to even try so will see how it goes. I'm desperately trying to do the 'casual, breezy' thinking - if it happens it happens kind of thing. But that goes out of the window when night comes and ya break in to a sweaty panic!
Positivity is absolutely so important, for our own well being, so I appreciate your post! X

@Elles1980 I’m so sorry you went through that. It sounds very scary. It’s just the dark side of pregnancy no one wants to see. I hate it when people make light of pregnancy loss and say it’s like a heavy period if it’s early. Urm it’s not whatsoever. It can be life threatening. I’ve heard of ladies at 6 weeks needing blood transfusions.

I hope after all you’ve been through you get your bfp. 39 is not old at all. I just turned 40 and I still feel on the young side. Xx

Don't worry dear, I'm just a year younger that you @serenintheforest and on my way to trying what tech has to offer for girls like us. I'm sked to meetup for my first IVF before month's end.

@Catclock and welcome. I have N interesting story for you. A good friend of mine met her husband at 40 and got married quick but they couldn’t try straight away because she has severe diabetes needing injections every day. Her doctors told her she’d need to get her insulin to a certain level. It took her three years with diet to get there. They saved up for private blood tests for Down syndrome to avoid an amnio, fully expecting if they could get pregnant for something to be wrong. Anyway she fell pregnant the first month and also didn’t need the expensive blood tests as the pregnancy was low risk. She now has a beautiful little boy born just after her 44th birthday. Good luck and I really hope you get to start your family soon! Xx

Hello lovely fellow 'older' folk I'm an utter newbie, and just starting out getting a family together at the ripe old age of 43. Met my partner a year and a half ago after being single for most of my life, he already has a young son, so I'm already in the step parent bracket, but we're really hopeful something may happen for us. This is such an interesting forum. I wish you all love and luck! Xx

@Constance1234 I'm not even sure. She told me to get it and I did she also said probiotics was an important supplements and best to take twice a day on an empty stomach in the morning before breakfast and before bed. It's one of the supplements on the list I posted

@hmmm123 I'm also 4 dpo, no symptoms at all yet but my brain is trying to convince me this evening I have cramps type feelings lol! I have had very light spotting but it would be too early to be implantation so I'll out that down to my just being a bit weird lol! But it would be nice to keep in touch to see how your feeling and if I can stop convincing myself of other symptoms ha!
@Russkispy it's lovely news, you should never feel bad Hun, enjoy it . And thank you @rubyroot I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, even if it is a bit sad at the time I'm pretty robust (or a bit dim I'm not sure lol) so tend to just get on with things! It's lovely having somewhere to see others being so open and supportive of each other through both highs and lows! If there were more of this the world would certainly be a nicer place

@Elles1980 sorry for your loss. The ladies on here are great

@Russkispy excellent news, congrats and really hope this one sticks for you x. Don't leave, this is not like the other thread where you cannot share your news of a positive pregnancy without upsetting people. Gosh, most of us have experienced loss and can be happy for someone with positive news.

@raffeylou, thanks for sharing your news and good luck for the birth, you''ll get to meet her soon- how exciting!

I had my first at 39 after one MMC and I was an absolutely anxious wreck, the things I invented in my head - so I can only imagine what an anxious time it has been for you. I hope you have still enjoyed your pregnancy though, I know I certainly did, even though I was anxious!

So after a 'chemical pregnancy' I am waiting for my period. I have felt like I've been about to come on for about four/five days now. I don't know whether I feel pregnant or it is just wishful thinking. I don't want to test as I don't want the hope an then the disappointment.

I will wait and see, but I've been waking early and not being able to sleep and have very sore boobs which has often been a sign for me, I have also been in a rotten mood. But these early days its hard to tell the difference between PMT and pregnancy. We shall see...

Evening all! Fingers and toes crossed for those of us who are pg and in those in the annoying 2WW

I am about 4 dpo and boobs very full and painful. Trying not to symptom spot!

@BooseysMom it's super annoying, I'm a super active pe teacher, I feel like a 21 year old (once IV gotten going in the morning haha) and my mental age declines by the day. I fully understand the lady's comment about dragging her arthritic bones back to her chair. And that also made me lol! @littlemimosa it is sad you feel so low but take a little comfort knowing that people relate, and none of us are frauds, were just a group of women supporting each other and trying to get by in life. Your here supporting other ladies and that is an amazing thing
@NicLondon1 it's also my tww but I'm going to be chill (pahaha made myself lol then) and IV decided to break it down into two week waits, so IV got af then two weeks till ovulation and so on and so forth, somehow in my tiny mind it seems like a shorter and more manageable timeframe so I don't feel like I'm going from month to month (I hope this makes sense )!
We're all in this together, dear lord I sang that in high school music in my head.... Can you get kicked from threads? Asking for a friend lol! Xx

@Elles1980.. That's a positive msg you send! It's so true. I did once meet a young midwife who was very much pro older mums and said to not be put off by anyone and that you'll get extra care too. She was very inspiring. Also it made me laugh when you said it's not as if our arms and legs are falling off! It reminded me of another thread where there was general cynicism of older mothers and one lady in her mid 40s said 'right, i'll just drag my old arthritic bones back to my recliner"! Or something along those lines and it was very pointed. But yeah i'm also glad to be here whatever happens it's nice to know there are others out there who get it! xx

@Littlemimosa. Sorry to hear you so low. You're not a fraud..if you are then i am more so being as i'm too scared to really try! You will always be welcome here just as you made me feel welcome and encouraged me to stay ..xx

@NicLondon1.. Welcome back! Good luck in your 2ww x

Congrats russkispy! Great timing!! And will save you a few pennies too! Fingers crossed this is it.

Mimosa - sorry to hear your cycles are still shitty. I understand how stressful that can be. Would you ever consider IVF or DE? I'm thinking that may be my only option now, so starting to glance that way....

Hi all

I joined several months ago then went very quiet, as was working long hours on a freelance job... have no big news, just been ticking along really. My cycles have been 51 days long (!) but wanted to thank @SparrowSG for recommending OvuSense, but it's really helped my sanity to monitor cycles.

@Russkispy - such amazing news, huge congratulations!!

I'm in the dreaded 2 week wait now... driving myself mad wondering if I'm having symptoms and just counting the days down...
It's so hard to think anything else!