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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Fantastic Forty Plus, part 9, this time is our time,bring on the bfp's!

992 replies

hopefulgum · 01/01/2013 23:20

We've filled out thread - I do hope you all find your way here. I can't add a message on the old thread to let you know it is here...Smile

This new thread, will no doubt have its own set of bfp's and babies. I am excited to see what it brings.

OP posts:
greenlizard · 13/02/2013 07:51

You go Isabeller - I am seriously impressed by your early morning activity! I suspect the next two days are going to be going a bit slowly Grin - everything crossed for you. Glad you have a break coming up - having some time away sounds just the ticket.

calibee I woke up thinking about your holidays! You might also want to have a look at Sharm El-Sheikh in Eygpt? The weather is fantastic there at the minute (late 20's) and if you like swimming and snorkelling the reefs are amazing - I learned to dive there many years ago. My sister went there recently and got an amazing package. Thanks for the tip about Boots conception, will defintely get some when I am next in - they are half the price of Pregnacare! I did a bit of reading and have ordered some Q10 and DHEA from Amazon (I will be rattling when I walk!) because even if it doesn't help plump up my ageing eggs - I will, apparently, be able to lift way more reps in the gym!!! Grin

greenlizard · 13/02/2013 08:05

sparkly and notsoold I didn't realise what a minefield looking at fertility clinics would be and how difficult it would be to get an appointment! We had a look at a few in London but to be honest as I live in the West of London (part time) and work even further out, getting to Oxford seems easier and less hassle that trying to get into central London. Also Oxford Fertility Unit has higher than national average success rates but shockingly for our age the success rate is much less than 10%. I was discussing appointment options with the practice manager who told me that if there wasn't any specific health reason for our fertility issues apart from our age, IVF generally offers no higher rates of success than conceiving naturally. Not sure why that would be the case if it involves introducing sperm and egg together in a petri dish then popping them back in a puffy uterus, but I was simultaneously cheered and depressed by that fact. Anyway, we have a list of the very few free appointments in March and now need to try and get a time when DP is around during the day to attend so we can discuss all that with the consultant.

Will be sharing any pearls of wisdom about TTC in forties when I go. Anyway was trying to google "success of IVF in your forties" and came across this article as thought for the day.......

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2009628/IVF-great-lie-fertility-40s-.html

Morien · 13/02/2013 08:12

Morning all!

isabeller I've got everything crossed for you! Where are you off to on holiday?

Poor sparkly, I can only imagine how hard it must be for you at the moment. All the best for your scan on Friday. (And remnant, how are you?)

lizard your poor pils! Hope they recover fully soon.

irish hope you enjoy your trip to Ypres. I'd been in Belgium for several years before I went there and I was sorry not to have done it sooner. Even without a family connection I found it extremely moving. Those endless lists of names...

BFN here this morning Sad so I guess the slight cramping is AF coming after all, despite all my imagininings. I hope AF comes today then I can just get on with my next cycle - with my longish cycles (35) I feel like I waste so much time. I was quite hopeful about this one; I know it's silly but it felt good right from the start, and having let go of all the stressing over ttc to such an extent that for a while I didn't even know what CD I was on made me so much more relaxed. I've had the most enjoyable month I'd had for ages, and I'm sure DP has felt it too - so I need to find some way of balancing the need to be relaxed and happy with the need for a BFP. That said, though I'd really like to continue as we are (ttc = have lots of sex, but we do that anyway, so in fact ttc = life as usual, but without contraception), I think it's time to be more pro-active. I plan to go and have a chat with my lovely gyne in the next couple of weeks. When I first discussed all this with DP in May last year, which was when we agreed to stop contraception, I said I wasn't interested in going any further than that - just let nature take its course. And it worked in the first month! But I find I've moved on from that now. How far I'd go now to have a baby, I've no idea - but a whole lot further than back in May.

Morien · 13/02/2013 08:20

Thanks for the link to the article, greenlizard - it didn't half cheer me up!

TinaO99 · 13/02/2013 11:35

sorry for the late response isabellar you're near testing date now anyway but if you had a trigger shot that can give you a false reading on tests but i believe it wears off after a week anyway, I didn't have the trigger as I was just the recipient - good luck for your test, I'm really excited for you :-)

Isabeller · 13/02/2013 12:11

Thanks Tina, I am same as you, recipient only. I really hope everything is going well for our egg sharer but I think I'll only get to know if we both end up pregnant or maybe only if we both give birth.

I haven't tested early (yet) and plan to wait until Friday although it sounds as if tomorrow would be the recommended OTD for some clinics.

We're going to Charmouth (brrrr) Morien, a friend of DP has a lovely (but not centrally heated) cottage at mates rates. It's long drive but I will stop when I need to and probably go to sleep when I get there!

TinaO99 · 13/02/2013 15:43

I didn't get to know if my sharer was lucky isabeller although I must admit I didn't ask, I just thought they would tell me if they were able to? I did say that I was happy for them to tell her I was pregnant however as I was extremely grateful for her generosity - do you mind my asking how many embryos you had transferred? Sorry if you've already said!

Isabeller · 13/02/2013 17:07

It is so encouraging hearing your experience Tina. In my particular circumstances the risk of twins did not seem wise so we had the strongest looking embryo transferred and two good and one poor embryo frozen so I hope at least one frozen cycle will be possible.

I felt really torn at the last moment because the fourth embryo wasn't one which would usually be frozen and I know it might not survive thawing but it was the way I could feel I was giving it a chance. I could have had it put back alongside the good one but I'm glad I didn't do that in the end.

JBrd · 13/02/2013 20:16

Hello everyone! Hope you are all well on this cold and windy evening! I'm sitting here with a hot water bottle under my feet, I'm freezing!

Isabeller crossing everything for you, that must be the longest 2ww ever! How are you managing to distract yourself?!?

greenlizard It really seems that ttc is just a logistics exercise in every respect, regardless which route you go down. I hope you can get your appointment sorted.

CaliBee Have you decided where to go on holiday? I think it's good to plan something like that, it gives you something to look forward to and a chance to get away from everything. Doesn't really matter where you go - and I'm not saying that because I'm 'only' going to Centre Parks in a couple of weeks Grin!

Morien I've also made an appointment with my GP to discuss some of my questions about ttc and if there is any chance to get some tests done. I want to ask about aspirin, and also if I could get checked for any blood clotting issues. I had a DVT/pulmonary embolism last year, and they never did any follow-up work. I've done some reading around and am now wondering if I qualify for thrombophelia testing... I know they don't tend to do anything before you've had 2-3 miscarriages, but if there is any way that I can contribute to not having to go through that again, I'll do it.

Well, my plan go start excercising again this week didn't work out - I now have another horrific cold, after literally just getting over the last one. And this time my sinuses are killing me! You know, when your teeth hurt so much that you can't walk down stairs, chew or -heaven forbid- bend down. I have to take painkillers to be able to cope, and have now ordered one of those nasal irrigation systems because I'm desperate for some relief. It has completely floored me, and I shattered.

And I'm starting to get a bit impatient about af still being awol... Really want to get back to being healthy and to having cycles. Can't even enjoy reckless dtd at the moment because I'm too full of cold Angry

hopefulgum · 13/02/2013 23:02

Oh Jbrd, sorry to hear you are feeling unwell. It sounds like you may have a sinus infection - should you get it checked in case you need antibiotics? My mum has suffered from sinus issues for years, I know how painful it can be. I do get sore sinuses sometimes, but have only ever had one infection, which made me feel really awful (aches all over,flu like symptoms).

Have you thought about taking Agnus Castus (also known as Vitex) to get things happening with your cycle? I am no expert, and it didn't work for me, but it has worked for some. After my second miscarriage I had a 54 day cycle.Nothing got things moving. The waiting was bloody awful.

I think it is a really good idea to have some testing for blood clotting issues. It may be that you will need aspirin and warfarin or something like that. It certainly can't hurt to know either way. I hate that you have to have 2 or 3 miscarriages before it is considered important to test for problems. In Oz the medical system is very different. My doctor ordered every test I requested after my first miscarriage (I read a book about miscarriage, did a tonne of research and asked for almost every test I could find) she also felt it was important due to my age.

We found out that I was a bit low on Vitamin D, and that I had a high ANA which means the possibility of an autoimmune disease sometime. Don't know what, or when, but finding that out has caused me to change my lifestyle, particularly my diet in order to keep inflammation down, which has been a really positive outcome for me.

Isabeller, I am getting very excited for youGrin

As for me, I am still feeling exhausted from work and the bloody heat. It was very hot at work yesterday, I hate that feeling when the sweat is collecting under your bra,undies and underarms. It is YUCK! We don't have air-con in some of our classrooms, it was awful. Then I had trouble sleeping as it was hot (and we don't have air-con in our house, because we are close to the beach and usually have a lovely sea breeze - not last night). Then I was woken at three am by DH's phone, I think it must have been an alarm.I must talk to him about that!!

Today is forecast to be a bit less hot, but will still be warm and humid. You know I'd swap a bit of this hot for your freezingHmmReally, I would, just a little bit to take the edge off the heatGrin

OP posts:
hopefulgum · 13/02/2013 23:05

What I meant to say was, I am still feeling exhausted, so there's no DTD action here. God I hope it cools down soon,cos I am approaching ovulation and still want to give it a go.I fall asleep on the couch every night at about 9, and then I don't much feel like waking up to get on with bonking!Grin Hopefully the extra estrogen I am taking in the red clover isoflavones will get my libido ticking over,despite the nasty weather...

OP posts:
CaliBee · 14/02/2013 07:29

Morning ladies.
Thanks for the holiday suggestions....I had another good search last night and came up with some ok-ish ones. As it is DP's suggestion and his money however I cant book it and dont know when he will next be home to show him. I have a sneaky feeling this break may come to nothing.

fingers crossed double Isabeller...Thanks

jbrd sorry to hear you're not feeling well. It seems your body has taken a bashing and your immune system is very low. Hopefully spring is just around the corner and will banish the bugs. Do you do opk's or temp atall?? I have heard of so many messed up cycles after mc. I actually got a positive opk and ewcm on Monday which was cd21 (since mc) for me, but will see if af turns up on time. That 54 day cycle must have been torturous gum. It seems so strange hearing you saying how hot it is over there. We have had another couple of days of snow and icy rain over here. I long to feel the sun on my face. Have to say though, that working in such hot temps must be nasty.

Happy Valentines Day to all...I hope DP's and DH's make you all feel very very special x

JBrd · 14/02/2013 09:30

Cali Yes, I'm back to OPKs and temping, but so far nada. I thought I had watery or even ewcm a few weeks ago, but it has come to nothing. It's only been 4-5 weeks since the ERPC, so I think I'm just too impatient.

gum Yes, I think my immune system is really low at the moment. I'm taking extra vitamins to boost it, but the problem is that DS just happily passes everything on to me. He's got a cold as well at the moment (but he is coping much better than I am!).
I have to admit that I'm a bit scared of Agnus Castus - you hear a lot of conflicting stories about it! But I'll read up on it, thanks for the suggestion. As I said, I think I just need to be more patient.

hopefulgum · 14/02/2013 09:49

Hi girls and happy valentinesThanks DH and I don't do much for Valentines, he feels it is too comercialised,and I don't have the time or energy to do anything special. He might get lucky later on thoughWink

I am cooking a delicious roast pork complete with roast apples, so that might give him a loving glow, or put us to sleep in front of the telly by 9 pm!Blush

I remembered that I'd posted something earlier in the thread about about taking aspirin, I got it from another thread I was on:
"Ive also had several miscarriages but I'm currently 24 wks. Like you my tests all came back inconclusive but apparently most multiple miscarriage cases are inconclusive only a small percentage are down to an identifable factor. As soon as I found out I was pg I self referred myself to the early pregnancy unit where I was scanned and told to take 75mg of aspirin daily. I didnt know the science but I did know that aspirin in small doses can definitely help. My parents have a friend who's a haematologist who kindly explained that after each miscarriage microscopic clots are left in the mothers bloodstream - causing no health issues for the mother but they can affect the flow of blood to the early foetus - potentially leading to miscarriage. Apparently every mc increases the amount of micro clots and therefore increases the risk of another mc! The drug of choice to treat this is aspirin and they usually start off prescribing 75mg to be taken daily, they prescribe clexane if they are more serious clotting issues. IMO I think you would be wise to take a low dose aspirin daily but you need your dr to agree, as for progesterone I asked about this and my consultant said that there was little evidence that progesterone supplements would have helped me"

I am going to continue to take aspirin in the tww.

I have to go and bath my DS. He's a bit smelly. DH picked him up from kindy and said he'd wet his pants - he didn't use the school toilet all day ShockHe must have been busting! I'll talk to his teacher about it next week.

Can't wait to hear your news,Isabeller.

OP posts:
TinaO99 · 14/02/2013 10:53

gum mmm your dinner tonight sounds lovely! Hope it puts your dh in the mood!

Interresting you mentioning aspirin, my hospital consultant told me to start taking 75mg per day when I went for my 12 week scan, apparently it's recommended for ladies over 40 having twins as it helps support the placenta, I've also read it helps to prevent pre eclampsia too so can only be a good thing!

Isabeller one day to go!!! Sounds very sensible in your case having two frozen, I was hoping for a back up but my remaining embryo deteriorated unfortunately so I'm glad I used the two I had, it was a case of all or nothing for me I'm afraid, I never thought two would stick to be fair so I must have a very welcoming womb lol - the consultant doing the transfer was convinced one was a boy as it stuck in the tube and they had to re-insert it, just shows he was totally wrong though! Can't wait to hear your news tomorrow

hope everyone else has a fab valentines xxx

notsoold · 14/02/2013 13:09

Well I poas on a B&m and BFP!!! Faint but there!!
Because I never trust my eyes regarding pregnancy test I went and got a superdrug test . Lighter then control but there within the 3 minutes....another BFP

calendargal · 14/02/2013 13:57

Wow, notsoold! Congratulations!

sparklysapphire · 14/02/2013 14:04

Congratulations notsoold Thanks!! Fx that this is a sticky one.

Isabeller, thinking of you, you must be really keen to test, but I bet it feels like a really long day til you can test tomorrow. I hope you're managing to relax a bit.

JBrd, I hope you're feeling better today, the cold/sinuses sounds miserable. You seem to have had a really bad run since your m/c, hopefully once you shift this one, you're health'll start to improve. Have you been to Center Parcs before btw? I think it's great, a really nice getaway, we've been a couple of times with DD, about this time of year, so it was relatively cheap. We'll probably never be able to afford it again, given how expensive it is in the school hols.

Gum, your Valentine's meal sounds lovely (even though I don't eat meat), I hope it did the trick and you managed to stay awake and DTD!

Greenl, thanks for the DM link, though I was astonished to read a positive story about women doing anything from that paper. I can stand it, but my MIL will insist on bringing it into our house, and occasionally I even have to buy it for her if I've gone shopping - yuk.

Calibee, I hope you can get your holiday booked soon, I'm sure it'll be great for you and DP.

Morien, any sign of AF yet?

DH finally decided to talk last night but it was really hard, we both cried. He still doesn't want to have the baby, as far as he's concerned, the best case would be an m/c. He didn't think I'd get pregnant (to be fair, neither did I). He says he wants his life back, and admits he's being selfish, but as far as I can see, it's more than that, and I think it's partly because it's something he has absolutely no control over. He's a bit of a control freak, which I can usually deal with. He feels even worse than when I was pg with DD. I didn't think that was possible, and going through that again was the one thing I absolutely did not want to do, it was awful. He feels I've chosen the baby over him - I don't understand why he can't welcome his own child - he can only see negatives and problems, and no positives at all. I suggested counselling for us, he refused point blank. I asked if he could talk to a friend, but he said nobody understood last time, and couldn't see that they would this time. So he won't talk to anyone, and I don't know how he's going to come to terms with it. Maybe I'm being selfish for continuing with the pregnancy when he's so opposed to it. I think he was relieved that I had I talked to my friend, because he knows that helps me. He says he doesn't want to leave, but the only thing that has stopped him looking for somewhere else, is that his dad (who died many years ago) would have been horrified. I'll ask him out of courtesy if he wants to come to the scan tomorrow, but I can't see it, and it'll probably better for both of us if he doesn't.

On the plus side, he does love me, I was beginning to wonder, and we ended up DTD last night, which I think was important for us.

Thank you all for your patience if you've got this far.

I hope everyone enjoys Valentine's day, and has lovely treats from their DPs - we never do it anyway as DH always says it's commercial nonsense and he doesn't need a special day to tell me he loves me.

love to all xxx

DoctorWhoFan · 14/02/2013 16:35

Hi ladies, just wanted to pop in and say hello and sorry I've been so quiet, but I'm more batshit than Mrs Batshit from Batshitsville right now, so concentration has gone the way of the dodo, however, I did see that congrats are due to notsoold! Sparkly, you poor thing, it just seems to get worse for you. Has anyone heard from Remnant?

Sorry not to namecheck anyone else, but when I'm conscious, I do think of you all

Xx

remnant · 14/02/2013 18:35

Congratulations notsoold x Glad to see another bfp here.

I've just got back from another scan and it appears this pregnancy has become a MMC.
Obviously this solves a few problems, for DH especially, but that doesn't really make it any less sad. This will be the end for me and ttc'ing too. I expect to be feeling sorry for myself for a while.

Irishmammybread · 14/02/2013 18:40

Congratulations notsoold ! Wow, what good news,you must be delighted,a lovely Valentine's Day present for you and your DH!

Irishmammybread · 14/02/2013 18:44

Remnant I'm so sorry to hear about your mmc. Even though the situation was problematic with your DH ,it's still such a loss for you and it's only natural to grieve. Thinking about you xxxxx

CaliBee · 14/02/2013 18:48

COngrats to notsosold
So sorry remnant you must feel totally shite. Sad
We're all here for you xx

sparklysapphire · 14/02/2013 18:52

Remnant, I just posted on the other thread, but wanted to say again how sorry I am.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to post much over the next few days - off to MILs and can only MN when DH not around, but will be reading on my phone, and will update about tomorrow's scan when I can.

xx

notsoold · 14/02/2013 21:06

Sparkly....I am so sorry how this whole situation is for you. As a wife of a person that struggled with depression in the past I hold your hand and hope you find a way to sort the situation ( if possible?)...xxxx

Our valentines dinner ( from m&s because I will not be cooking tonight) was lovely, albeit with lpts of extras because ds was dining with us!!! He even had my desert....

Remnant... I am so sorry for you! It isso ddifficult to lose another part of our heart in a mc...thinking of you...xxx

Irish...I am not telling anybody in RL...not even DH.
After my mmc and cp my dh suffered so badly... So I vow to try to be quiet if I ever got pregnant again until I knpw everything is well...
So I am sharing with you gals!!!!

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