Any older expectant mum's out there?

[45andfine]

I'm 45 and rather unexpectedly having a 5th child. It all seems more scary this time around, familiar, but with other worries.

Hi ladies and welcome to the newcomers.
No exciting news from me about recent scans etc but started feeling regular movements now (22 weeks tomorrow) after waiting what seemed to be forever! Feeling absolutely massive this week- had the week off to decorate with my husband so not much exercise a plenty of nice food so I guess that hasn't helped. Kind of looking forward to being back at work and in a normal routine next week so I can feel more energetic and less sluggish- good word because I literally feel like a slug 🐌😊

@mystie I'm so sorry, take time to grieve, it may only have been a tiny bean, but it holds all of your hopes and dreams. It hurts❤️.

@EN73 Congratulations!! It's all such a rollercoaster isn't it? Don't let anyone get you down, your body is doing AMAZING regardless of size. It must've been pretty healthy to have conceived for starters!! I've been having some pretty bleak thoughts and worries, but my partner pointed out that it's actually all about OUR journey through this pregnancy, we are incredibly lucky to be experiencing it at our age, and it's not something that I will repeat, so I need to really enjoy every aspect and not listen to the negativity that some people give out. It is painful and uncomfortable, but every kick and flutter is something to cherish. Xx

@Helbelle17 how did the scan go? I didn't believe I was pregnant until my early scan at 10 weeks. Then I went into shock... Hope you're ok xx

@catconfusion great news on scan! It's so lovely when you can see that they've actually grown since the last scan! When is your due date?

@45andfine thank you for this, you and your OH are so right. It's personal to me and so far we are both fine thank you I'll remember this!!

@45andfine the scan went really well thank you. We saw our baby measuring spot on and with a good strong heartbeat. So happy!
Unfortunately in hospital at the moment with our dd, so knackered and a bit anxious about her.

Hey ladies, I thought I'd just update you on my combined test results. At 40 years old I got 1 in 28,681 of downs and 1 in 100,000 of the other two syndromes. We're so relieved. I burst into tears when I opened the letter. Was convinced it would be high due to age. Hopefully I can relax a bit now! Xx

@45andfine thank you, it was such a lovely experience. I'm due 12th April! Xx

Great news @Helbelle17 I hope your daughter is ok! Xx

Been reading this thread. Good luck older ladies.

I had DD at 43 and DS at 47. All was fine.

Ask me anything if you want!

Hey @venezia222 thanks for your input. I was wondering, did you have a natural delivery or c section? Also at how many weeks did you give birth?

I'll be getting growth scans and have been told they are checking for the placenta function as this can deteriorate later in pregnancy for older mums leading to stillbirth. They've said they won't let me go over my due date. I have arthritis in my hips so not sure whether to just go for a c section. I am however worried about recovery time and if we want another baby concerned it might be too late after I've healed from the surgery. X

Late both times. Induced for first and had epidural but vaginal delivery. Second child only a week late. Fast labour with G and A.

They didn’t seem overly concerned with placenta issue but wouldn’t leave me more than 2 weeks. Think that’s normal anyway.

Good luck. With any luck your baby will turn up right on time.

Thanks @venezia222 that's really helpful. I'm not sure if it's recent research but the doctor said after 39 years old placenta failure is more common so they're more cautious around the due date. I'm sure we'll get him/her out some how. Congratulations on your lovely family! Xx

Lovely to read all your good news about scans and BT results. Thought I would update to let you know I had a D&C yesterday after a very emotional few days. Feel relieved to be able to try and put it behind us now and look forward to planning the next one which will hopefully happen soon.

Have any of you lovely ladies had any experience of TTC after a MMC or D&C. I want to start trying in 2 weeks but worried that will be too soon and I should leave my body time to recover. It's just so hard when I'm 43 and the months are flying by!

@Catconfusion my consultant recently told me that due to recent research they don't recommend mature mum's go over the due date as there is a slight increase in stillbirth. So they will be inducing me around my due date. So I think this is what they've said for you too

@mystie hope you're feeling OK. Be kind to yourself.
I had a mmc in 2016, miscarried naturally at 10.5 weeks, but baby's heart had stopped at 8.5. We started trying again as soon as I got a negative test afterwards, and our dd was conceived 2 months later.i was 41.
I thinks start trying when you feel ready. Everything crossed for you.

@Helbelle17 thank you so much for sharing your experience, fingers crossed our story will be as positive as yours!

Hi @Mystie sorry you're going through this. I've had 7 miscarriages in total and have tried to conceive as soon as possible afterwards and often been successful and also been successful after waiting a while. I think it's up to you and how you feel really. I understand the sense of urgency and the feeling that time is running short for you but, from my own experience, I think it's good to give yourself a break for a month at least to just not think about any of it and look after yourself. All the ovulation tests, pregnancy tests, prenatal vitamins, urgent sex, eating right, nogg tv drinking, exercising etc. Can really stress you out and add pressure without you even realising it because you feel you just have to get on with it. I think a month isn't going to make much difference to the time but it's a nice chunk of time you can give yourself permission to have to take care of yourself and have a break to regroup before you get back on the treadmill.
It's so hard to go through, look after yourself xx

@Mystie I'm really sorry. I had a mmc at 12 weeks and baby only got to 6 weeks. We tried straight away and I got pregnant only to have a chemical pregnancy. I know of several other people this happened to. Sometimes the lining can take a while to recover from a d&c. I'd wait for a natural period to let your body recover a bit. I got pregnant with our current baby four months after our second loss. In hindsight I needed this time to prepare for being pregnant again. Good luck! Xx

Hey @EN73 yes exactly what they've said. I'm not sure what I want at the moment. I have arthritis in my hips so it might be a c section anyway. We're waiting to hear from my orthopaedic consultant. I have quite a few friends who had babies later in life and ended up with emergency c sections. Really want to try and avoid this. Would rather elect for one. Still researching and trying to understand the risk factors but not sure what I want to do yet. Xx

@Catconfusion @Ginny1234 thank you both 💐

@Catconfusion yes I understand where your coming from. It's hard to know which decision is for the best. C-section sounds ok but it takes a while to recover from. Guess at the time it depends what will happen during labour and how we all feel during it unless we elect for a c-section

@EN73 @Catconfusion I want an elective - and hospital haven't put up any fuss.
This is my first (and probably only) baby and I've always been very anxious about giving birth. My own birth was horrific for my mum and I want to avoid all the panic that comes with an EMCS and / or other types of intervention.
I was pretty decided until a colleague made me feel stupid and small about it yesterday - but she can fuck off I guess!

Afternoon all. Sorry I’ve been so quiet.
This little lady arrived by C Section on Monday. They tried hard to induce me, but turns out my uterus was facing backwards, so no way out.
Isobel Grace at 3.07pm 7/10/19