40+ Yummy Mummies :-)

[mrsboogie]

mornin' ladies

and the conversation continues...

I usually love cake above almost anything else on earth!, but right now still feeling too sick to like anything food-wise, am having to force myself to eat anything at all.

jeanjeanie why put them in the bath (no water) and go and sit on the sofa eating mince pies and drinking coffee returning periodically to hose them down?!

welcome redtabby and congratulations. Lots of us have been through similar so we know how you feel. As you probably know once you get past 12 weeks safely the chances of things going wrong are significantly reduced. I am 40 oh my god no I'm not I'm 41 eeek - well, anyway I have a fourteen week old boy and my OH is ahem28cough.

I have not had any cake for ages - not even on my birthday! But I think I am getting fatter rather than thinner!

Awww - redtabby still feeling sick eh? Well, you should almost be at the end of that....so we'll bake you some in preparation! Plus it is keeping you trim....unless you're mrsB! No, dear - you must think yourself thinner

BTW: FAB idea - bath, mince pies and then hose them down. I'm contemplating a bath hour - where we get all the water toys out and go nuts with bubbles!!

Hello.... this seems to be the best place for me, just had a peek at the Aug ante-natal club and most seem to be on their first pregnancy.

Am 6 weeks pregnant with my 4th, not planned at all and am actually finding it hard to come to terms with as felt my family was complete. However been very lax about contraception so got no real cause for complaints!

I am 43, (baby due day before I turn 44) and dh is 63 (bet he's the oldest dad here!). I have ds1 9, dd 6 and ds2 3. ds1 has SN and they are all quite hard work and it was just beginning to get a wee bit easier... ds2 has come out of nappies at night and that means for the first time in 9 1/2 years we are a nappy free house... and what do I do - get pregnant!

I know its going to take me awhile to catch up with everyone, particularly at this time of year but wanted to say hello

Hello to redtabby and Eulalia. Most welcome to you ladies. Welcome to our mad house oasis of tranquility.

My HV who has been AWOL for many weeks now has just rung me to ask my if the scriver had been done...and I told her it had...days ago. She said she might pop in sometime in the new year. So thoughtful of her. I think because we fall into the category of 'family that doesn't need help' she never appears. I've asked her to come in the new year as she's the one who will now be weighing K as my MW's visits have ceased.

I am already starting to fill January of the Dodopad

Have returned from a lovely lunch with DD#1 and DS#1 and found a f**king parking ticket on my windscreen AND I'd paid and displayed! As I banged car door shut the ticket must have flipped over and .........GAHHHHHHHHHH!

Ahem. Composure JW. I have just got home after buying most of Tesco's with DS#1. And filled up his car. He is now officially off my list of things to do. He's a happy boy now he has a full fridge and some ale for xmas.

mrsb I'd be hopping mad (more so than I already am) about the nursery place. What will you do? Doesn't it cost the same per week for a nursery place as the gross national debt of Zimbabwe?

Home alone tonight as DH is meeting his friend who is over from Japan visiting her family. Fab! Crap tv and mince pies for me

Welcome Eulalia and congratulations on your immense fecundity, and the sterling work of your old man! Lots of the ladies here are cradle-snatchers so it's nice to have some balance! I hope you start feeling cheerier about expecting again despite it being a bit of a shock. I'm on the June thread but (don't tell them) feel much more at home on this one - there are a few of us who 'cross over' from time to time. I keep getting into nearly-arguments with one person in particular, whose views on testing, intervention, technology and medical control of birth are completely opposed to mine. Whereas on this thread everyone is laid-back, mellow, cake-obsessed and into enjoying life with their children and other halves. The wisdom that comes with age I guess!

ermintrude I know who you are talking about on June thread. And I just think she arrogant. And annoying. And, I think, very very young!

So I come over here for sanity!!

oooh you've made me come over all curious now ladies

jw I don't know what we are going to do really - see if we can find a private nursery - find out how much it costs and go from there. It's a good job I am a highly paid civil servant with a gold plated pension or else I would be quite worried about how we are going to manage it

mrsb you can always sell your body on the streets. Or to medical science But as you're rolling in it...why bother?

Sounds like you could have a fight on your hands if you pop into 'June thread' mrsb. Go on. I dares ya I'll hold your coat.

I think on the whole most of us can't be bothered arguing against someones ardent views. We've all pretty much 'been there, done that, got the t-shirt'.

Tee, glad it's not just me! Most people are sensitive to the fact that we're all here to support, inform, and if possible entertain one another, not score points or try to make everyone agree with our point of view - but not everyone. Much more relaxing over here, talking about poo and parking tickets and codes for bargain chocolate purchases

She's actually making me a bit nuts ermintrude. She's so arrogant and sure she knows everything.

Get over yourself!

So glad I found this group to keep me sane!

BOOBIES!!!!!

Good evening and welcome to the newbies! 63 , if I had stayed with my b***d ex, he would be nearing 60. From one extreme to the other - dh is 35 next week

I have put some new pictures on - dd about to go out on her 20th birthday and my hairy ds1!!

Sorry one of them is sideways - I think I have peaked on the technology stakes.

Just checked the photo - you can't tell on it that he is an extremely hairy boy

I was just going to say lilibet am I missing something? I can't see any hair apart from where it should be on his head!

Your DD is lovely. Hope she had a great b'day night out

DSS and DH are off soon to hospital for toothypeg op. I'm hoping that they'll send him straight back to us as he has a cough and he's asthmatic. I've already rung them in advance and the anaesthetist is going to check him over.....I know it's only delaying the inevitable but can't bear the thought of him having this op ...and it's not even anything major!

I see J Lo's marriage is teetering? Blimey, if her hubby has a roving eye what hope do us lesser mortals have with ours? Just goes to prove what I've always thought; men are never happy with what they have and they'll always look around for something better (sometimes do more than look as well )

The poor love JW, it's nerve wracking isn't it? I hope he goes on ok.

I could never warm to J-Lo, she seems a stranage woman, all that Jenny from the block really dosn't wash, does it?

Hi all and welcome to redtabby and eulalia.

Woke up at 5 this morning needing the loo so that gave me a chance to catch up on all the news from the last few days.

All okay here and am catching up after my bug last week. DD1 came and babysat on tuesday eve so that DH and I could hit Brent Cross to try and finish our Christmas shopping. Had to split up so that we could buy things for eachother. I've got him really boring stuff which is his own fault as he had boring stuff on his list - belt, gloves, books etc. Still hoping I might get inspired and buy him something brilliant he hadn't even thought of but it will need to be something I can buy locally now.

Played truant from my work xmas do last night. Just couldn't face being the only sober one at a party again. Had a glass of fizz at my mum and dad's instead to celebrate my brother's birthday

eulalia I know what you mean about the ante-natal threads. I've not bothered with the April one. I'm pregnant with baby no 5 and am 45. Have 3 big ones - 24, 20 and 12 - with my ex-h who was 20 years older than me. After a horrid time I met and married dh who is 12 years younger and we have Elizabeth who is 20 months and moderate to severely deaf. This is a planned pregnancy, thought it would be nice for her to have a little friend, though they'll probably fight like cat and dog and send me grey.

redtabby I had a CVS too but am keeping shtumm on the sex. Only DH and I know. Sorry to hear about your mcs, but how wonderful that your little chap is a sticky one. It's hard to relax and enjoy it I know but you are always welcome to come on here and fret. By the way, can I just say that I hate the Daily Mail but am partial to it's website where I can catch up in 2 mins on any Hello-type news without having to pay for the thing

Hello again ladies. I popped in earlier, but haven't been around for a while. Now I'd like the collective wisdom of the oldies.

I'm 43 (just!), and am 13 weeks pregnant. This is my fourth pregnancy in three years, but I lost all the others to miscarriage at between 10 and 13 weeks.

A couple of days ago I had my 12-week scan, and saw 'Cromwell' (as (s)he has bizarrely been nicknamed) grooving about. It was wonderful, as I've never got this far in a pregnancy before. It made me feel so protective of him.

But it hasn't put an end to my worry. The nuchal translucency measurement was 2.6mm, which while within normal range is on the high side. I'm awaiting the blood test results to give me an overall risk factor. But I can't stop worrying about it. I just can't bear the thought of having CVS and losing him, or conversely finding out that something's the matter as I don't think I could let him go now.

Can anyone give me any positive NT/CVS stories to cling to?

PS I too have a toy boy - 10 years younger!

Hi there herbaceous, your story sounds similar to mine. although I am a tad older and my toyboy not quite as young as yours (there's a lot of them about around here!). I also had a lot of worries after the initial scan last week: although the scan was fine the blood tests gave me, together with my age, a 1:14 chance of Edwards or Patau syndrome. I was at the Fetal Medicine Centre and the prof advised me strongly to have a CVS, which I did. The two day wait for the result was just awful, but the result was normal. The CVS itself was not so bad, in fact by the time I went OW the prof said "what are you saying that for, I have finished!". My poor hubby however saw the needle (I did not see it) and went a bit green. He told me as we were leaving "if you had seen what I have just seen you would have sh** yourself!". He claims the prof threw the needle in like a dart and said if he ever needs a darts partner he knows who to call!

herbaceous welcome back - good to hear all is still going well. Nothing to offer personally re your dilemna but I think that jeanjeanie was saying just the other day that she had a pretty bad risk assessment with one of hers and all was ok in the end. She'll probably be along later and may be able to offer words of wisdom.

Hello all!

Welcome Eulalia welcome to our happy (nappy) house. FAB news on pregnancy - albeit unplanned but commiserations on the nappies!! I'm a late starter (DD1@41) but went bonkers and had another 18mnths later. Don't talk to me about poo....I'm at that weaning stage where I look in the nappy and shout..."OOOo, there's yesterday's carrot!" Sad, I know

JW hope all goes ok at the hospital. Bless him. Sounds border-line as if it'll go ahead.

ladymac hello - glad you're better and feeling up to Brent Cross I am sooo hitting the new Westfields centre soon! What is your DS (in Vladivostock) doing for Xmas?

lilibet Wow - your DD is really beautiful hope she had a lovely birthday. I'm looking for your DS's hair (that's not on his head) and I'm not seeing it!!

Herbaceous Welcome again - I do remember you popping by. I can possibly give you some insight/positive story on a CVS.

Had DD1 at 42 and my odds were roughly 1 in 3,000 ! so pretty good. BUT with DD2 the nuchal fold was bigger than your measurement AND the bloods gave me odds of 1:2 of Downs AND Edwards Went to Fetal Med centre and the man who invented the process (prof nikolidies)said it looked "as bad as it can get" BUT - all was fine/clear/no probs at all and now Verity is 6mths and sitting next to me as i type So - odds are just that....a guess! Plus - the way they are given to you ie: 1:320 sounds much worse than the percentage version!

I know soooo many people who've had a CVS and don't know one who has had any problems - but there is always going to be someone. If you go down that route just ensure it's someone you trust. If you're near London I would suggest paying for Fetal Med Centre - simply as the guy is a genius and his success rate is unmatched. If out of the question then go to your biggest/best hospital.

Then again - you don't have to have any testing at all!! I think so many people forget that it's their perogative....all totally up to you - and any decision is fine

Oh - and you won't stop worrying until you meet your little bundle. And then - you'll worry about development...or eating...or schools....gosh, the list goes on! I know, cos I'm doing all that now

Let us know what you decide to do. In the meantime - have some cake and lovely to see you! Loving the name 'Cromwell' are you thinking of keeping that name if it's a boy??!

Hi herb, I posted something about this recently on a thread I think you popped in on too. My consultant told me that actually the miscarriage risks after CVS no higher than they would be at that stage of pregnancy anyway.

I didn't bother having the NT as at the age of 45 I didn't think it was worth getting what would probably have been a rather skewed result. So I went straight for CVS at just over 11 weeks. Consultant looked at the nuchal fold whilst she was scanning me before the procedure and said the measurement was really good which was reassuring. I had a bit of pain afterwards but no bleeding and got the results in about 2-3 days.

Hi herbaceous and congratulations on this pregnancy. As other comments suggest, whether or not to go for amnio/CVS is all down to how you and DP feel about it, and why you want the info. Some of us, once given a reasonable nuchal measurement, stop it there. Some women want to take it further, whether to prepare themselves for the possibility of having a child with a chromosomal disorder, or to abort. I think the main thing is to have what tests you want and not feel like you're on a conveyor belt where you have to have every test going just because they're available.

I do know one person who miscarried (what turned out to be a healthy baby) after amnio but that was over 10 years ago and I've not heard of that happening since. Let's face it, lots of women think a 1% chance of miscarriage via testing is good odds, whereas they see having a 1:250 ie a 99.6% chance of having a baby who DOESN'T have Down's or Edwards etc. as worrying. So much depends on your personal attitude and finding your own way through it. Good luck with the thinking, and try not get too anxious - as jeanjeannie says, all mums have got decades of worry ahead of them...

Aww, thank you for all your responses ladies. My hospital is Homerton, which I think has quite a good reputation for CVS etc, but as I may have to have it over the Christmas hol, I might look into the FMC anyway. But will await the combiined test result. I think I'll only go ahead with testing if the odds are really bad. My current thinking is that Cromwell's here to stay, whatever. He's likely to be our only child, and to abort him, never to have another, would probably kill me off.

Not sure whether 'Cromwell' will stay as a name - it just stuck after watching a programme on what Rolf Harris's great uncle Cromwell got up to in World War One... He seemed a jolly decent chap.

herbaceaous you need the wisdom of JJ as she's been exactly where you are. I cancelled my nuchal so I have no experience of it....but I cancelled for exactly the reason you are now worrying!

Hopefully Jeanjeannie will be along soon and give you some good advice.

Like the name Cromwell...excellent

I would never buy the Daily Mail but again, website is bite size pieces of goss for free.

OOOPs. I wrote that post about 45 minutes ago then went off to see to K...and since then it's become defunkt.

DSS returned home without op as the anaesthetist found his chest to be too bad. Knew he would! He's in school today and it's toy day. Yippee for him