Conception - Second Child - Late 30's - ADVICE needed

[ReallyHip]

I'm a new mner so pls forgive inappropriate use of acronyms till I get into the swing of this!

Have DD aged 21 months. Am 38 and DH is 43. Really thought would have had 2 or 3 in quick succession. Have been ttc since Aug 03. Started Clomid Dec 04. Got totally confused about dates, likely conception times and what the mucus down below should or should not be doing!! (Sorry, bit gruesome!)

To complicate matters am now going back to work on Monday (first time in 2.5 years) so held back on ttc last month to make sure I did not accidentally miss the enhanced mat bens by a couple of weeks. (Hope that doesn't offend anyone!)

Try to get lots of sleep, eat well (lots of fresh fruit/veg), exercise moderately, keep weight under control (v. difficult) and take Pregnacare when I think of it (most mornings).

Conceived DD in 2 months. DD delivery not pleasant (c-section after a couple of days).

Questions:
Will the c-section have had an effect of ability to conceive?
How much does weight (too little or too much) affect conception? Consultant recently told a friend that later on in life you need a higher body fat % to conceive which is something I had never heard before.
Should I be taking other supplements?
How often (and when) should we be having sex?
Do I really need to lie with my legs and bottom in the air to assist the process?

I've heard Zinc is good for you and your Dh to take.

Legs in the air helped for me twice, but this time I actually got in the bath straight away, and now I'm expecting twins!!!

I don't know about the Clomid but there are plenty of people on here that do.

Do you know how long your cycles are?? It helps if you can work out when you ovulate, to know when to have sex. Then you should have it every other day!!

Forget to welcome you - Sorry

Hi Reallyhip,
Sorry can't be alot of help as am just starting ttc myself, but title of your thread grabbed my attention as I am also ttc 2nd child at 38. First (ds) is 17 months - so not a lot of difference there either.
Sorry about the problems you have been having so far - there is loads of advice on this board that should help.
I've just been taking the pronatal vitamins with folic acid. Didn't know about the higher body fat thing.
I think there was another thread about c-sections recently and the general concensus was that it didn't make any difference
Will see if I can find any other relevant threads..
Best of luck any way and welcome

Hello ReallyHip,
How easily did you conceive last time?
Am no expert in any of this, and I'm sure it varies from woman to woman, but if it's any consolation, I conceived DS at 42, at a time when I had barely ounce of fat on me...was v lean and muscly. (If your friends consultant is right I am noe considerably more fertile....eeek!) Perhaps you'd better eat more chocolate....could this be because the female hormones are fat soluable? Isn't that why athletes with low body fat have no periods?
Good luck!

Here is the c-section one

(first attempt at link BTW!!!)

link

Hi, Welcome to the list,

I am 34 years and on Clomid for the 2nd time in 8 years. I'm starting cycle 2 tomorrow (days 2-6 of AF) I have to have ultra sounds on days 8 & 12 and a blood test on day 21, the ultrasounds count my follicles etc and the blood test is to check if I have ovulated. I can't do the opk tests like most women as I suffer from PCOS, so my cycles are anything from 28 days to over 70, hence the clomid. Clomid is given to women who have vey irregular cycles to monitor ovulation and it basically kick starts your ovaries into action, you should get a regular period as well, mine has come down from 70 days to 39 days, but I didn't ovulate until really late this time, so missed it. With ovulation, I get a very slight period pain and a thick creamy mucus, this was bang on 16 days ago, it starts off very light mucus almost clear and by the 3rd day its heavy and creamy and very sticky, you usually get signs in your knickers (thats crude enough) and when it comes b*nk like mad.

Hi ReallyHip

Welcome! I can't answer any of your questions, but I think what the Consultant told your friend is really interesting. I'm also 38, and I have a lot of friends who are TTC. The ones who have had the most problems are really skinny. Has anyone else noticed a similar pattern? Is this a controversial topic?

hi reallyhip - not much in the way of advise but for want of sounding like a Miss World contestant - I am 38, Dh is 44 had c/s last time (DS is 4) for foetal distress and seemed to take forever to get pregnant again with 1 m/c in between. I am now 29 weeks pregnant. We tried everything, having sex every other day from day 11, supplements (zinc included), pillow under butt, healthy eating, no alcohol, I reduced my hours at work to destress, etc etc....at teh end of the day for whatever reason I got pregnant the first month I resigned myself to the fact it wasn't going to happen and this baby was conceived at a very weird time of the month, in a haze of wine and rich lovely food when I was in and out of the spa pool all the time and highly stressed out....so what I think I am trying to say is there is heaps of helpful info on this site, in books etc. and try whatever you are comfortable with but I have no idea what actually works at teh end of the day!!!???!!!
Oh and that it can and does happen for those of us nearing our 40's who are on teh skinny side who have had previous c/s so GOOD LUCK

Thanks everyone. Great help to start with particularly links to other sites/threads.

Have you tried Fertilityfriend.com (hate recommending other sites here but it may be of some use). It provides free charting software (very easy to use) so you can record all your fertility signs over the course of your cycle and then predict when you are going to ovulate. I got pg on the second month of using it (I'm 38, was 37 then).

Position-wise - doggy style helps (gravity I think and also the sperm is deposited near to its intended destination) and legs in the air do help IME.

good luck

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Hi ReallyHip. Am in a similar position to you, 38, with a ds 32 months, and have been trying to ttc since just before he was one.

Can't really add much to what Twiglett has said, apart from one other tip being to take a cough medicine with guaifenesin as the active ingredient (take the max daily amount on the bottle) beginning three to four days prior to ovulation.

It's normally used to loosen up mucus (the normal sort) but apparently can also alter cervical fluid, making it thinner and better able to transport sperm.

I used cough syrup on cycle 1, on cycle 2 I used Evening Primrose Oil which does the same - that is the cycle I concieved in.

with regards to weight - being too skinny can sometimes mean that women might not be ovulating regularly or having regular 'normal' periods, and thus could affect your fertility. YOu'd have to be quite skinny though and not eating a healthy diet

Twiglett, I just posted this Q on another thread before I read this one - GP recommended 4000mg Evening Primrose Oil for breast pain, she knows I'm ttc, but EPO tub warns not to take if pregnant or ttc, and you mentioned stopping it after ovulation - is there anything known about risks of EPO in early pregnancy do you know?

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bl##dy h#ll! Thanks Twiglett. I searched for contra-indications on the internet today and found a vague reference to it altering hormones but that was all. This is a cr#p catch-22 isnt it. You stop taking it in case you conceive, then when you dont you get your period, and you're miserable and you get all your PMS symptoms unabated. c'est la vie, a woman's lot I suppose!