40+ mums to be

[littleredmonkey]

Hi
I am 43 and expecting my first and these next several months are going to be a challenge so hoping to meet others in the same situation.
I can believe I have a baby growing in my dusty cobweb ridden womb. It has taken me 3 weeks to get my head around the whole thing and it is still worried about the future and being able to cope. My partner is fab and great helping me with the ups and downs of baby hormones. Nothing beats hot sweats, night panics and freeze in the middle of tescos wondering our we doing the right thing. I feel better this week and got my head around things .
Any ladies who also need support or just to have a good moan every now and again. xx
Ps thinking about having a toilet built next to my bed to save time going to the loo quite a bit in the evenings!!

well, finally managed to get a booking in appt, May 28th, so that's exciting. I went up a hill on sunday, and was thinking 'this is baby's first hill...' - ! so daft. Still swithering between happy and totally terrified. Plus, I now have be subject to DH's daft name suggestions... really, he comes up with some corkers. he suggested (seriously) for ds1 Frodo. he really did.
hope everyone else is doing well and not as terrified as me!

Good luck to all of you... x

Welcome clickingtock. Congratulations. Is it your first?

Hello Valium - I have a DS who has just turned 2. Congrats on your third!

welcome clickingtock! I'm in the same boat - not quite feeling real either! Am about 5 1/2 weeks I think - pregnancy symptoms are coming & going, which I know is fairly normal but it's increasing my paranoia - had m/c last year.

Got consultant appointment next Wednesday - wasn't expecting it so soon (will be only 6.5weeks) - but in view of my history I suppose it's earlier than usual.

Also have 8 & 12 week scan appointments & midwife appointment too - feels too early in so many ways & am terrified of another m/c (which was a molar pregnancy) and PE (had in 1st pregnancy)

Think I'm going to be a nervous wreck throughout........

Welcome clickingtock :)
I think I was in 'shock' until at least week 11 and didn't feel really real, despite symptoms, until I had seen the little one practising karate on the scan!

LRM - if it makes you feel any better, I'm barely managing to do more than walk from the sofa to the kitchen or to the car outside the front door. You make me feel like a slattern just for the effort of going to the gym at all!

KMR281 - that's sweet (the 'baby's first hill' :)) :) I get scared every day at my (Norwegian) DP's name suggestions - 'Frode' is a common boys name here! (so is 'Odd') Luckily since he already has 2 kids I think he's more or less leaving the deciding up to me, as long as he likes the names !

Hoping no news from Banana means that she's in labour and that baby Banana's arrival is imminent :)

Hi lovely ladies

super big welcome to clickingtock

Ladies I have discovered marmite in a cheese form. It is a tad moreish and I have to control myself and not eat all the little packets in one go.

Fjordmor - Not gone to the gym today could not be bothered. Working full time is a exhausting enough . The shop floor is huge where i work
and lord knows how many miles I must clock up a day so the tread mill can go rot in hell today.

Lotsofcheese - Glad you have all your appointments set to go. I can imagine it is very stressful for you at the moment so sending you hugs for all your appointments .

Hoping baby bananas is on the way!!!!

KMR282 - Names are a nightmare, girl we have decided on Alice but boys are causing me a headache. Partner has started on all computor game names and cartoon characters !!!!

Whats everyone doing for the bank holiday. I am looking forward to three sleeps in and breakfast in bed which will be lovely. Off to see the Avengers film with some friends. Decorating the kitchen. Going to the gym ( would rather be eating cheese ) !!!

LRM I bloody love marmite and marmite cheese and all things cheeesy and marmitey.

Welcome Clickingtock

Lotsofcheese Glad they are seeing you early - so they should.

Have rats in our garden. Pulled up a plant by by where they are and now convinced myself I will get weils disease and lose the baby. I know this is crazy - someone please tell me I am crazy. I washed my hands straight after but can't stop feeling paranoid about it. Why I didn't put any gloves on I do not know.

Anyways best go as battery just about to die and need to worry myself stupid. x

Midget - you are crazy. I should know as I am too.

thanks VQ x

Hi wide awake at nearly 3 am! Frustrated baby is due 7 th may no signs as yet and I'm booked for induction on 8 th, any one been induced any advice?

Welcome Clicking! Glad you found us!!

Midget - rats? Ugh. Am sure you are fine though!!

Shortbut if I reach 39 weeks then docs want to induce me bang on week 40. Niiiiiice!! What sort of advice do you want? Whether to go for it or avoid? Have they explained why they do it in over 40s? Monitoring can show whether placenta is starting to fail. Have they looked at yours yet? I'm going to insist on a scan to investigate that first before agreeing to induction. However, I will also, from week 37 be drinking lots of raspberry leaf tea and taking Evening Primrose oil. Not sure on dose of latter, but the reason it works is down to Prostaglandins. This is substance is found in semen and is thought to soften the cervix. I believe some women take the EPO as a pessary, but don't quote me on it - maybe see what you can google on that? Finally, acupuncture can also help. If I have the cash for that I will be trying a couple of appointments a week. I think bouncing gently on an exercise ball may help. Don't touch castor oil with a barge pole though. Can make you really poorly. Hope this helps? Sorry for the sleepless night. Hope you're not too bleary eyed today.

Wonder how Bananna is doing? She was booked for induction today.

Waves to all. Have a good day! FF

Midget, I agree with VQ, you are crazy, but aren't we all when it comes to the little bean growing inside us ? I had a small bite of not so well cooked beef and I wanted to be tested against for toxoplasmosis the day after as I am not immuned... Wanted to go private to test... of course I was turned down because it was far too early and beside 1 bite would not harm, anyway I had it done 45 days later and it was negative, but I still feel very paranoid about washing salad, well cooked meat.
SoSweet, hope you will be able to get some rest today

Regarding induction, I don't really understand how doctors can say at 40 weeks sharp, cycles vary from one month to another so how can they be sure of the due date ? I will see the consultant on this matter only mid June so I keep wondering.

Thinking of Banana1 & hello to every one

Hi ladies
I was advised not to go overdue by work colleagues handy working in hospital. The registrar where I'm having baby gave me pros and cons.
I don't mind the idea of being induced i just want baby out safely, I would e interested to here anyone has had an induction and any advice for me

Shortbutsweet I was induced with DD at 37 weeks. People filled me with horror stories but I would not be put off if I have to be induced again. My labour was quick but required no intervention (despite them waving the forceps at me in a threatening manner). It did come on very quickly so I was 'Oh it's starting to whoa neddy in a very short space of time but I don' think that is everyone's experience though. In the end I needed an epidural at 8cm's as also back to back and other issues but I would choose hard and fast over slow and knackering any day. As long as DD came out safe, I didn't really care how. It was far from my home birth plan though but as I said, I would do it again if I had too. Hope that helps.

Oh and be prepared to wait - I went in at 7am or something like that, induction did not even start till about 2pm and it was a little like waiting for the firing squad, but had a baby in my arms by 1.30am. Take books and things to do, snacks anything to make you comfy. A good walk helps bring it on so I wandered round the hospital looking like a hefalump. x

Hi all and welcome clickingtock!

Midgetm you are only as crazy as the rest of us - or me anyway! (and hpbp I've been exactly the same about undercooked meat and fish, although didn't get as far as asking for a test!) You've made me feel much less crazy by sharing your worries. Honestly, though, I doubt you could get weils disease by 'absorbing' it through the skin - I think you would need to ingest it, or have a cut or something AND be very unlucky. I think having a teeny baby inside makes us like tigresses about protecting it from any potential dangers - the downside is that it makes us worry. Boo - bad rats!

littleredmonkey I'm hoping for good bank holiday weather - I want an old-style 'day out', ideally with a picnic, as I've felt so cooped up with all this rain.

Well I've got off my bottom and gone to pregnancy yoga - although I don't think it really counts as exercise. So relaxing, though!

Thanks for welcomes. Trying to get a sense of who you all are and where you're all at - though waving at a few familiars...

Welcome Clickingtock Its a very exciting time though the disbelief is common. I think I'm still in disbelief and will be til the baby is here! I just keep thinking something is going to go wrong.

Midgetm another crazy here - I had some casserole/hot pot kind of thing at a friends. As i was eating it I realised it had liver in it. I'd had a good couple of mouthfuls and I suddenly remembered 'You can't eat liver!!' (my friend didn't know I was pregnant let alone I'm not a fan of liver!) I was paranoid for days thinking I'd done something terrible.

Yes - ex I guess it must be quite normal to disbelieve. I think in my case this pg took so long (male fertility issues) I didn't believe we'd ever crack it. For DC1 I conceived (aged 37) in 2 months of moving in with DP (his SA issues unknown or non-existant then) - so all a bit bonkers.

Let's stay positive and believe everything is going to go right! It's the best way to be if we can manage it.

Btw - I think you'd have to eat a lot of liver for it to be a real risk (even though I would be unnerved too). It's the vit A content in liver that's a prob but you only ate a small amount. Sorry - you probably knew all that I now realise!!

clickingtock - I agree having difficulties getting to this point, combined with our age, can make it really hard to believe things are going to turn out OK - but I try to hold on to the fact that I feel this way because of my journey getting here - not because anything will go wrong (mantra: everything's going to be OK...)

Hi ladies

I have started to panic a little during the day and quite a lot at night when you dont have any distractions about giving birth. It was one of my biggest fears about this whole process. It's hard to say what I am most frightened about and will follow the direction of all the hospital staff, but crapping myself more over the last 2 weeks. Am I being a worry wart ? I keep saying to myself its natural to worry about something you have not done before especially on this scale but fear is an ugly thing that raises its head when every it takes its fancy.
I like the idea of the A team when BA didnt like flying they use to knock him out till it was over and done with ( Christ I am old A Team reference is a tad random but the only thing I could think of.

I had baby bananna yesterday!

Had a baby boy, born 1st May at 7.37pm, weighing in at 6lb 14oz. Labour was about 4 hours, straightforward with gas and air.
He doesn't have a name - about to join my DH and 3DD for a family 'name the baby' game!! But he is very cute and cuddly :)

Littleredmonkey its normal to worry. I used to comfort myself by reminding myself that billions and billions of women have done it all around the world.
You're right to follow the directions of the hospital staff. We're so lucky that we get some of the best care in the world.
Don't forget also that some of us are willingly choosing to go through it a second and third time! It can't be all that bad :)
Besides it's just a day or so out of your life and you'll get through it fine.