I already have 3 children, two teenagers and a ten year old. Obviously babies were totally out of the equation for us and we were enjoying life with the kids becoming more independent. I had the shock of my life when I found out I was pregnant in December . I'd had a period in November as regular as ever so had no reason to think I could be pregnant!!
We both felt initially felt an abortion was the right thing to do because as well as my age I've had 3 previous c sections and have a minor heart condition that needs to be monitored, so seriously thought it was a no go even if we wanted to. My husband particularly, felt we were too old and that the risks of something being wrong with it were so high that he didn't think we could cope with a disabled child at our age.
Due to my heart condition I had to be referred to the teaching hospital where I had my previous births, rather than have a termination locally so with Christmas break I didn't get an appointment for a consultation for a surgical abortion until 8th Jan (3 weeks after I'd found out). A scan showed I was 11 weeks by this point. It was a nightmare time. I felt so awful about going through a termination. It was heartbreaking. The consultant could see I was very torn about my decision and booked me in for a termination two weeks later. In the meantime I met with my cardiologist who sent me for a scan. She believed if I wanted to I could tolerate this pregnancy. To cut a very long story short this gave me the time to weigh up the pro's and cons. I also had a Panorama screening test privately in this time and it came through very low risk. My husband very slowly came round to the idea and felt very reassured by the Panorama result.
So at 14 weeks I am having my first booking appointment on Wednesday. They have also booked me in for a CVS on Friday which will give me a definite answer regards chromsome problems though I'm not sure I need it now. I still feel very frightened. Only told a couple of close friends. We are going to try and keep it under wraps for literally as long as possible. Still feel a bit embarrassed at my age and don't feel I can totally relax until its born. I've thought of how old we'll be when this child is a teenager and all that and if I'll be alive long enough for it to get through its childhood and the embarrassment of my teenagers when we tell them. But despite all this I'm having this baby. Just wondered if anyone else has been in this situation and how have you coped?