Older Mum

[dibdibqueen]

A surprise pregnancy at the grand old age of 41!! First one and totally delighted, but also a bit anxious about being that bit older. Any advice?

Is it your first? I had DS2 at 40 and had a problem-free pregnancy and uncomplicated home birth. Good luck!

Thanks! I hope mine goes as well as yours! Yes, my first pregnancy - only 8 weeks right now and not feeling too bad at all. Am a bit paranoid about miscarriage though because of my age. Still in a bit of shock too as was unplanned - a nice shock though!

I was 37 when I had DS, and DD is due in October, 2 weeks before my 41st birthday.

What are you anxious about? If it is the pg, then the only problems I had were not age related (hyperemisis, undiagnosed breech), but then that is a bit of a done deal for you now. You might want to think about what you'd do if your tests (bloods, nuchal fold) show a high risk of chromosomal abnormalities. Would you do anything? If not, then don't worry about it.

If it is the "social" side of things, then I have never found it a problem. Having children around the same age is a great leveller. In my group of mummy friends, we range from 25-43. No one cares how old each other is, what they do for a living, how big their house is.... it is irreleavant. What is relevant is that we all have 3ish year olds and they are/are not eating/sleeping/growing/talking/tantruming ... Once a month we all go out for a curry and have non0age related fun. I have never found my age to be an issue in 3 years of being a mum.

I am 39 and felt a bit overwhelmed to start with even though I was thrilled to be a mum!!! All is going well so far. I was unplanned too - feels a bit funny to have got 'caught out' after all these years of careful contraception! Good luck with it all and enjoy!!