TTC for the Over 40s

[birthdaycake]

The first thread I've ever started.

Me age 41 and TTC since mmc in June. Anyone else out there.

What's a HPT test?

I think it is home pregnancy test

Rowingboat - my painful af only started after losing the baby so GP thinks it may be linked to that. She didn't hesitate to refer me so that is good. Also should be getting a scan before I see the consultant to speed things up a bit...

hi all, just found this thread and i agree that there are not many of us over 40 ttc.

i have a DS age 4, and ttc now, actually just started yesterday. i am 41, nearly 42. conceived DS after 1 month, but i was much younger then! DH thinks that i will conceive quickly again. i hope he is right

i am using clearblue fertility monitor, actually just started a week ago. so my peak should be in a week's time.

it is so exciting to have started ttc, and am keeping positive. although i am nearly 42, i am healthy, regular periods, so fingers crossed!

Good luck to you all!

Hello Heron

Good Luck!

Hi Heron. Welcome to this thread and good luck!

Just as a side note - Clearblue Fertility Monitors go for crazy amounts on ebay but Amazon are selling new ones for £59.99 with free postage. I hope this is useful to someone.

Hi there - feel a bit of a fraud cos I started ttcing at 33 and it took 3 years for us to have DD (the pregnancy was nime months!!)

Anyway - I used testsforless.com ovulation stix as they were WAY cheaper and they did the trick. My DH and I together have low fertility, and now that I'm 40 I'm really unsure if I want to go through the ttcing process again - I know it's really stressful.

However, I'm taking a HUGE multi mineral and multi vitamin supplement (SOLGAR MULTI FEMALE) and extra vitamin B complex including folate (Vitamin B6, to prevent neural tube defects) just in case.

As I live in the republic of Ireland nuchal scans and amnio aren't routinely given - it depends on your consultant, if you go private, and as there are no terminations carried out in the republic of Ireland, if we found out that the baby had a chromosomal anomaly we would have to travel to another jurisdiction if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

I'm really unsure if I want to go through the ttcing and then the dark ages medical care here.. and in ways I feel that I've been very lucky having DD and should just age gracefully as a mother of one!

Good luck to all of you who are going for it! Hope you get your BFPs soon.

sorry that should read my pregnancy was nine months, (not three years) IYSWIM
good luck!

I really enjoy my ds especially now that he's 6 but he wants a brother or sister and has started making comments to other people telling them that mummy and daddy don't kiss enough and that's why he hasn't got a brother. I never ever in all of my life imagined that I would only have 1 child. When I got married at 33 we decided to have 4 children. I don't want my ds to be an only child. I have too much love inside me for just 1 child{grin].

Wow! It's quite busy on here today. )
Hi Heron and Zazen! Good luck to you as well!!
I know what you mean Zazen, I do think, 'get over it!' sometimes. At least if I knew DS was my only baby (he's not really a baby, but you know what I mean )) ) I could get on with the rest of my life. In some ways it would be nice to make firm plans, knowing that he would be at school and I could go back to work full time in a couple of years. If I have baby two, then that would put the brakes on any work/career type plans, plus we would probably have to move in the next couple of years. We only have a two bed flat, which is OK with one child, but add another and it becomes quite tricky.
Oh well! I sound cheerful don't I. )))))
I didn't think you had a three year gestation Zazen.
Oh, it's day 11 for us. How's everyone else getting on??
I can't explain all of the extra parentheses on this post. [shakes head and looks confused]

Blessed2 my DD is the same - she is talking about babies non-stop now.. I know what you mean about the love inside

It felt like a three year pregnancy Rowingboat! Especially at the end with SPD!! And we have a two bed flat also - it does put a realistic damper on things doesn't it?

Zazen, when I had my DS the girl in the next bed had SPD and she was walking with two sticks. She was a lovely girl though and great fun despite her obvious discomfort.

im 40 and 21 wks pg with my 7th baby we decided to try for our last baby last january i was10 mths of of 40 then with no luck when my 40th birthday approached we had a talk and said ok maybe im to old and said wed give in and thats that.cut a long story short he took me away for my 40th birthday and i got pg that week baby due in july now it may seem as its my 7th im very fertile but this is not the case i could not concieve naturaly and had fertility drugs to help me with 5 of them other wise i had no chance but my consultant said with some women when you reach a certain age your fertility can peak again mine certainly did and i just cant wait.good luck you all you out there i think very soon there will be many 40 + in the antenatal room much more than in recent years.i was quite embarrased when i finally did get pg cos it was different saying im 39 to ppl than 40 i guess i felt it a bit of a stigma attached to the age limit.silly really i told my to older children there 21 and 19 they were like oh wow really my son just looked at me as if to say "oh no you guys still do that " it was quite funny.

hi all, thanks lillibet rowingboat and blessed2!

i am now dy 11 into my 1st ttc cycle. i use the clearblue fertility monitor and since dy 9, my fertiity has increased from low to high. apparently, there will be about 5 days of high and then hopefully it will change to peak. then 24 to 36 hours after that, an egg will be released. has any of you used this monitor?

i am not strictly following the monitor, as we've started ttc on dy 7 . it is good to practice!

Disneystar, you are just so fertile and lucky for you! i hope i will be like you
i am especially happy that your consultant said about some women getting fertile again!
i agree there is a stigma attached to older moms. and i am not talking about women in their 30s!

i will be 42 soon! but i feel like i am in my 30s, prob cos my DS is only 3 1/2 yrs old.

children keep you young!

Yesterday I started my period 11 days early

I hadn't ovulated this month, so I'm not quite sure what's going on with me but I can't hlep going down the menopause line of thought

oh lilibet

Lilibet, i am sorry to hear that
on a more practical side, have you had your blood test done at dy2 or 3 of your cycle? to test FSH, LH, etc? if you are at all worried, better to get a clearer picture.

also, at what age did your mom started menopause? you are likely to be the same, apparently.

fingers crossed that your next cycle will be back to normal.

still using the clearblue fertility monitor, am on dy13 today, and fertility still at high. it was low when i started testing on dy6, from dy9 it was high.

does anyone know how if this is normal? does peak fertility happen after dy15?

i am confused

Hi Ojoy generally you should ovulate on day 14, so that is the kind of absolute peak. After that the chemical that the monitor is reading will decline. Are you checking CM as well, that is another quite good indicator for your fertile period.
I think it is giving you quite a few fertile days, because sperm can live for a few days so if you have sex on the days preceeding ovulation, they may well be around and able to fertilise the egg on day 14.
Some people chart their temperatures, because there is a temperature high after ovulation for a few days, just to help pinpoint their ovulation day.
Is that kind of what you were asking?? Apologies if I am being patronising.

hi all, it is dy14 of my first cycle ttc. i am nearly 42, have DS who is nearly 4.

using clearblue fertility monitor. i started having slight cramps on my lower abdominal area yesterday, possibly ovulation pain? i hope so!

is this to be expected at mid cycle?
also got lots of EWMS!

hi rowingboat, thanks for your explanation. i am checking my CM and it is quite stretchy and like egg white today. does it mean ov will happen in a day or two?

i never paid much attention to this kind of thing before. conceived DS at first go really, without trying!

what cycle are you on now?

also, my other login name is heron. so i am heron and ohjoy! just to be confusing

Hi Ohjoy/Heron, which name do you prefer?
Yes EWCM is supposed to accompany ovulation, and indicates a fertile time. Cramping can indicate ovulation. Although sometimes I find I get the cramping in the days leading up to ovulation, but not so much on the actual ovulation day.
We have been ttc in a casual way for about a year. Then we really started seriously last Autumn, using charts and stuff. I work nights and weekends, and DP has athletic training on the nights I don't work, so we have found it difficult to time the bding.
I have just found out one tube is blocked, which means we only 6 chances a year, instead of 12 - that's helpful isn't it?!?!?!?
I have never been able to take temperatures, but have used the ovulation predictor sticks, and they seem to work for me. Haven't really bothered with them for a little while, because I think I know when I am fertile by now. Although, I could be way off.
I hope you get pregnant right away and don't have to bother with any of this information, but if not, I highly recommend fertility friend (google the name) as it gives you a crash course in conception and allows you to keep a diary/record of your cycles.

Hi Rowingboat, i have 2 login names because when i am at work, it is ohjoy, at home it is heron

sorry about your blocked tube. i have only 1 ovary, the other one had a huge tumour and had to be removed (when i was 5 months pregnant with DS)

fingers crossed for you. when is your AF due?

mine is end of this month = 27th march

OMG, that sounds really traumatic! Did they find it during a scan or something?
I am day 16 at the moment and I'm pretty much a 28 day girl I'm due in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed for you as well. It can be a bit unromantic when you TTC for more than a couple of months.
My DS is three and a quarter and started nursery about two months ago. He was fine until Monday, when he decided he didn't want to go any more. Not sure what that's about?