40+ and pregnant? Come and join the fun!

[cloudjumper]

I am 43 and currently pg with DC2, due early January. I thought it would be nice to have a thread for the pregnant ladies of 'older vintage', similar to the 40+ ttc thread, for advice, support and the occasional moan.

I'm currently 30 weeks. I find that after a scan I feel reassured for about two days and then I go back to worrying and counting down the days till my next scan so that I can be reassured again! I had my last scan at 28 weeks and the next is at 34+4. I can't wait for it.

As you say Lolababy, I don't think you ever stop worrying.

Congratulations warrior. I had fertility treatment and I felt great coming of the meds after having taken them for so long. I'm currently taking some non fertility related ones and I can't wait to stop taking them too.

You never stop worrying... then the baby arrives and a whole new level of worrying starts!

Poor lady losing her baby at 27 weeks. That's so incredibly sad.

I'm taking daily Clexane injections and have to take them right up until 6 weeks after the birth. I am so fed up of sticking needles in me so can only imagine what those of you who have been through fertility treatments must feel.

Sad day in our house - we had to have our dog put down this morning because her liver was failing and she was so poorly. She was only 6 years old. DS is 3.4 so he probably won't even remember her :(

Thank you, cloud and siesta. I hope you can find some good distractions for the next three weeks, cloudjumper. Hang in there. Hope you feel loads better soon, Siesta.

GoooRooo

So sorry to hear about your dog. (((Hug))) I know MN doesn't do hugs but sometimes you just need one.

Please can I join you ladies? Am 41, currently 7+4 with #1!! DP is 43 and we were TTC for 18 months with not so much as a sniff of a BFP and one drunken night later....well here we are!

Looking forward to getting to know you

Thanks paperblank. In many ways it will be easier not to have a dog with two small children but I feel quite guilty for saying that! She will be missed.

Welcome to the thread and congratulations on your drunken night

Late to the party but can I join please? I'm 42 and 30 weeks with no.2. DS2 is 4 so a bit of an age gap but I've had a couple of MCs between. But at least DS1 will be at school by the time DS2 arrives early October. Waves to cineraria also on October bus but ner ner I'm older then you .

Sorry about your dog GoooRooo, that's very sad

Cross post with Goo - I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. That must have been hard.

Hello paper and taranta. Hooray for the miracle random shag!

It's amazing how many random shags lead the participants into parenthood.

A friend of mine cannot remember the night she conceived but her husband remembers her starting to snore halfway through the momentous event!

Sorry about the dog Gooorooo but I agree it will make life a little easier x

Welcome newbies ... And good on the drunken conception

Hello ladies, many congrats to you all! Just wondered if any of you conceived while bf? I'm 42 and want to start trying for dc3 soon, am currently still bf my 1 yo.

I know lots of people conceive while still bf but wondering if there are stories out there amongst us 40s ladies?

Thank you

Welcome newbies, it's great that so many are joining us! Really should get a stats list going.

goo So sorry about your dog, that is so sad, especially as she was so young. Hope you're OK. I am dreading the day I will have to make that decision for my beloved cats - they are completely fine now, but both are getting on (13 and 14 years, respectively), so I reckon it will happen at some point in the not so distant future...

I'm also on heparin all the way through my pregnancy and after. Currently doing OK, but was sporting some spectacular bruises for a while!

clara Can't help you with your question, but you might want to go and check out the 40+ TTC thread in the conception forums, those ladies are very knowledgeable.

Woohoo! Loads of activity again, I like it!

Welcome paper and taranta! TTC is a funny old game isn't it? We had a long road TTC no. 1. I already had my IUI drugs delivered and we were waiting for period to arrive to start treatment but it never arrived!

goooo I'm so sorry about your dog. We had to have our cat put down not long ago and it was horrible.

Oh and I'm also on Clexane - same as last pregnancy. Those horrible spear-like needles just don't get any easier, do they?

Thanks folks. I'm going through waves of being okay and then bursting into tears! Luckily I'm working from home.

cloud I had some SHOCKING bruises when I first started doing the injections but I must be getting better at them as I don't seem to bruise so easily.

I had the whooping cough vaccine today. I think injecting myself daily has cured me of any needle phobias because it didn't bother me at all.

How are you all getting on with preparing for the baby to arrive? I think we have pretty much everything now and I'm itching to buy stuff we don't actually need 2nd baby buying is not as exciting as the first time!

crumble If anything, those needles seem to get blunter! Really have to put some force behind those stabs sometimes... I'm using fragmin, which is cheaper than clexane, and those syringes don't come with that handy click-and-self-inject system that the clexane needles have - I have to push them in myself, sooo lovely NOT

goo I am not planning on buying anything, we have kept everything from DS, and our loft is completely full with all his stuff! And if it's a girl - tough luck, she will have to wear all his clothes

cloud we kept everything too and as we didn't know what we were having when we had DS all the smaller clothes are unisex so this one will be wearing them again! Had to replace the playmat gym thing as it had gone mouldy but everything else is useable. I want to BUY STUFF

None of my clexane injections have a self inject system - I've had to push them all in myself.

We've got most things too, I did do a hospital bag shop yesterday, also bought a new changing mat and bottles as I had to top up DD as my milk took a while to come in . The only main thing we are buying is a double pushchair.
After having DD I had seven days of injections which my OH did.... I take my hat off to you ladies who have had continuous injections to deal with ... Well done to you all x

So impressed by those of you who are giving yourself daily injections. I am rubbish at injections. I spent all day after my whooping cough vaccination telling my husband that I thought she'd left the needle inside and had several nightmares about it that night. I had needle phobia therapy before getting pregnant or I'd never have managed to have it done at all.

We need to do shopping too. I had a big list of things to buy online and thought I'd do that while I'm at home this week for deliveries but our internet is down and it's not as easy on the phone.

Hi to you too, Taranta. Now, you may well be two years older than me but my baby's a week older than yours! .

Tomorrow I have a midwife appointment and have to ask her to make a special application to the MLU to see if they'll let such an old lady as me in there.

This is my first so I didn't have anything. Luckily though I've been given a pram, a cot, a crib, a baby bath and loads of clothes. So far the only thing I've bought is a new mattress. I have spent hours and hours online browsing though .

I'm on a tight budget so I'm going to try and get things in advance to get the best price. It's quite difficult here in Spain. They just don't seem to have the range of stuff that there is in The UK.

My Clexane injections don't self-inject either but they at least self-retract!

I'm also planning on reusing most of DS's clothes on DD when she's born apart from some obvious outfits that just shout BOY. Definitely not into baby pink but I didn't like baby blue either, I love bright reds, greens and yellows on babies!

As my youngest DS is 7, and this one was a bit of a surprise, we have got rid of all our baby stuff so have got to start all over again. But I'm so superstitious I won't be buying anything until I'm 30 weeks. If this baby comes early it will be sleeping in a box!

Hello! Can I join? I'll be 40 by the time this baby arrives. It's our 5th and if I hear one more person ask if I am mad, I shall hit them. (Dd1 is 9.5, dd2 is 8, ds1 is 5.5 and ds2 is 4). I have found this pregnancy much harder than previously and have resorted to antisickness meds to get through. I think I am about 26w. We have just got back from a church camp at which I didn't even have to throw a bumpzilla style strop for DH to realise that booking me into the nearest hotel was the only reasonable option. He's a good egg.

vik I have been to the chiropractor for the past 8 weeks and I have been amazed at how much less pain I am in from PGP. If you're anywhere near Reading I'll give you the details.

I have a reasonable selection of maternity clothes but was gutted to wear a hole in the knee of my favourite maternity jeans - I had only worn them (constantly) for 2 and a bit pregnancies.

Hi daft welcome! I don't think you're mad for having a 5th, I think it's amazing! Hats off to you! I always wanted 3, but I think I need to be realistic and accept the fact that I'm lucky to be able to have 2 (if this one makes it, I'm still not 100% convinced that something bad isn't going to happen!).
I think that every pregnancy is different. This time, I am struggling much more with tiredness than with DS - probably also to do with the fact that I didn't work during the first trimester when pg last time (had been made redundant), so I could just go and lie down whenever I wanted to! Working full time now, and it's been really tough. I'm ready for that 2nd-trimester-glow now, please!

crumble I agree on the whole boy-girl-clothes thing! My favourite brand is Polarn O Pyret, they do lovely clothes in bright bold colours, unfortunately, they are prohibitively expensive - I only ever buy there when there's a sale going on.

siesta I hadn't realised you are in Spain! How is the antenatal care over there? It always fascinates me now it's different between countries. For example, the care in the UK is much more hands-off in the UK than in Germany, where you are not looked after by a midwife, but a gynaecologist/obstetrician (who usually has an ultrasound scanner in their practice, so no need for trips to the hospital!). Then on the other hand, they don't do the whole no-soft-cheese/raw meat etc thing in France, but you get tested for toxoplasmosis all the way through pregnancy. Let alone all the differences in maternity leave and pay!

Cloud From what I read on forums there do seem to be some differences between the Spanish and UK systems. I go to a clinic to see the midwife who has a scanner but these visits are very brief. Usually blood pressure, weight, and a quick look on the scanner (which she never shows me) and a listen to the heart beat. I've been to a gynecologist once, for the 12 week scan, which was more thorough and I'll go again at 34 weeks. I'm hoping to see my little one and maybe get a picture because I haven't seen him since 12 weeks. I also went to the hospital once for the 20 week measurements. Again, she never showed me the screen.

I'm generally happy with the antenatal care here but they don't give out much advice, so I feel I would be under informed if I didn't look on the Internet all the time.

Things that have not been mentioned at all, which I see people talking about on forums include.

Birth plan
Whooping cough vaccine
Antenatal groups/classes
A scan at 24 weeks (never had that).
Predicted birth weight.
People seem to know the measurements of their babies at every stage. Mine has only been measured once and the results weren't given as a percentile.

P.s The food advice my IVF doctor gave me after I got the positive result was that I can eat anything I want from a supermarket but be careful if I go to a farm!