pregnant and over 35 tribe - Page 3

[AnimalCrackers]

Hello everybody! Can I join in>

I am 38 years old. Currently 8 weeks and 2 days pregnant with our first! DH will be 41 in September. It's early days yet and I am terrified of something going wrong but I am trying to be positive. I am so happy to have found this forum!

Since I got pregnant I have been hearing so many negative stories about my 'advanced maternal age' and miscarriages, etc. I suppose it is normal to worry isn't it?

It's nice to meet you all!

[Qbear'smama]

Originally Posted by myk

great news! the preliminary test results are in, and she's chromosomally NORMAL! woo hoo!

yup, that's SHE. i'm gonna have to buy some majorly cute outfits for this girlie.

Awesome!! Awww, a girl!!!Girl clothes are adorable! So far the highlight of shopping for the boy is the fact that most of the offerings look like things DH owns, it's hilarious to think newborn baby boys and grown men wear the same chinos, jeans and button-down shirts!!

[gradstudentmommy]

Originally Posted by AnimalCrackers

Hello everybody! Can I join in>

I am 38 years old. Currently 8 weeks and 2 days pregnant with our first! DH will be 41 in September. It's early days yet and I am terrified of something going wrong but I am trying to be positive. I am so happy to have found this forum!

Since I got pregnant I have been hearing so many negative stories about my 'advanced maternal age' and miscarriages, etc. I suppose it is normal to worry isn't it?

It's nice to meet you all!

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Sure, it's normal to worry. And it's good practice for parenting because the worry never stops.

[snguyen]

snguyen 36, DH will be 40, due April 2011

This will be #2 after a miscarriage last December-- wish us luck!

[samstress]

Originally Posted by teeg1973

Samstress - The front page/top post looks great! I only wish I could be even half as organized as you appear to be

thanks!

Originally Posted by gradstudentmommy

Samstress-I'm really uncomfortable. This has been an extremely difficult pregnancy (both physically and emotionally). I'm really, REALLY ready to pop this baby out, but intuitively I feel like I have at least 2 more weeks to go. My DD was born at 41 weeks 1 day. Time seems to be standing still these last few weeks and I'm too tired/uncomfortable to get out and do anything to take my mind off of it.

sorry it's been difficult. i remember the last couple weeks of pregnancy with my daughter just wanting it to be over (and then missing being pregnant as soon as it was over). go figure.

hope you're feeling better soon (or that your little guy decides to arrive early).

Originally Posted by AnimalCrackers

Hello everybody! Can I join in>

I am 38 years old. Currently 8 weeks and 2 days pregnant with our first! DH will be 41 in September. It's early days yet and I am terrified of something going wrong but I am trying to be positive. I am so happy to have found this forum!

Since I got pregnant I have been hearing so many negative stories about my 'advanced maternal age' and miscarriages, etc. I suppose it is normal to worry isn't it?

It's nice to meet you all!

welcome!

ignore the negative stories and focus on the ones from all the mamas of "advanced maternal age" who have had uneventful pregnancies and beautiful, healthy babies.

it is normal to worry (i'm doing a bit of it myself), but try to enjoy it as well.

so, when's your due date? sometime in april?

Originally Posted by Qbear'smama

So far the highlight of shopping for the boy is the fact that most of the offerings look like things DH owns, it's hilarious to think newborn baby boys and grown men wear the same chinos, jeans and button-down shirts!!

oh, how cute. it's true.

Originally Posted by snguyen

snguyen 36, DH will be 40, due April 2010

This will be #2 after after a miscarriage last December-- wish us luck!

welcome (wishing you luck)!

[tinynyota]

I'd love to join you all!

I'm 37 and due with #1 on 12/3. Girl! DH is 41.
After 3 miscarriages in the past couple years, I am so thrilled to be having a pretty uneventful pregnancy so far!

No amnio, but we did do the 12 week NT scan/blood test, and then the AFP test. My baseline risk was quite high since we had a known trisomy from one of the miscarriages, but after the tests my risk was brought back up to better-than-normal for my age, and I felt comfortable with that. The 20-week u/s looked great, so I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for a very healthy babe.
My OB has never uttered a peep about AMA and this pregnancy. I'm hoping it stays that way.

myk - Such great news!!!

[myk]

"advanced maternal age" may increase your risk of a few things, but my first m/c was when i was 19 and the second i was 21. my daughter was born when i was 30, she's healthy as can be, and now that we've scratched down syndrome off the worry list, i'm calling this kid healthy too. measuring a bit big but she's probably just like her big sister, who was big for the first few years of her life. i say ignore the naysayers, your pregnancy is unique. nobody has ever had THIS pregnancy before, so everybody else's stories don't apply

tinynyota: glad your risk was below average for age! that's definitely good news.

welcome and good luck to all newcomers! it's nice to have a "tribe"

[roslyn]

I have my first doctor appointment today and I'm scared to death. Dh can't go with me. He's got a huge project going on at work. It's in midtown Atlanta and I'm not a particularly good driver under the best circumstances. I'm pretty sure she's going to do ultrasound today and I'm really scared of what will happen. I want to know for sure and see the heartbeat, but...well I'm not even going to think about it. Anyway, I need all the good luck I can get.

[samstress]

Originally Posted by roslyn

I have my first doctor appointment today and I'm scared to death. Dh can't go with me. He's got a huge project going on at work. It's in midtown Atlanta and I'm not a particularly good driver under the best circumstances. I'm pretty sure she's going to do ultrasound today and I'm really scared of what will happen. I want to know for sure and see the heartbeat, but...well I'm not even going to think about it. Anyway, I need all the good luck I can get.

thinking of you. let us know how it goes.

[roslyn]

Had my ultrasound today and saw the baby's heartbeat! I started sobbing and the ultrasound tech was patting me on the back. I know she thought I was insane. Interestingly enough my doctor said she had a woman who was FORTY-SEVEN who had all sorts of health complications and she delivered a full-term healthy baby. She said she thinks that God does that sometimes just to remind the doctors that they don't know everything.

[justduckyangie]

Originally Posted by roslyn

Had my ultrasound today and saw the baby's heartbeat! I started sobbing and the ultrasound tech was patting me on the back. I know she thought I was insane. Interestingly enough my doctor said she had a woman who was FORTY-SEVEN who had all sorts of health complications and she delivered a full-term healthy baby. She said she thinks that God does that sometimes just to remind the doctors that they don't know everything.

YaY! Congrats on seeing the HB, such a GREAT moment!

[samstress]

oh, how wonderful! so happy for you.

[snguyen]

So ladies-- I have a question. Our firstborn was an OB-delivered hospital birth, but this time we want to do a waterbirth at home with a midwife. We also had a miscarriage last December if that has any bearing here. I am coming up on 8 weeks along and have to start thinking about interviewing midwives.

Honestly though, I hardly have any idea what kinds of things are really the important things to be sure to ask. Help me get a question list put together, please!

[samstress]

Originally Posted by snguyen

So ladies-- I have a question. Our firstborn was an OB-delivered hospital birth, but this time we want to do a waterbirth at home with a midwife. We also had a miscarriage last December if that has any bearing here. I am coming up on 8 weeks along and have to start thinking about interviewing midwives.

Honestly though, I hardly have any idea what kinds of things are really the important things to be sure to ask. Help me get a question list put together, please!

great idea! i'll be needing those too.

i found this thread in the homebirth helpful resources sticky in the homebirth forum.

[pregnant@40]

pregnant@40, 40, dh 41, est 2/2/11, boy

[pregnant@40]

Originally Posted by Kim

Hi all,

I am 36 (and will be at baby's birth), dh will be 34. We are very excited to meet our newest little one next year.

This time around has been different. Nausea, fatigue and cramping hit very early this time around. And some new symptoms too...dizziness and near-fainting. Woo-hoo!

We missed the cut-off for the Quad-Screen + Nuchal Translucency test at 12 weeks. Not sure how I feel about that.

Last pregnancy we had an ultrasound and Level 2 us at 19-20 weeks that showed multiple problems -- ultimately ended up with an amniocentesis. Baby was perfect. That was a scary couple of weeks and now I'm both hesitant to be led down that road again and wanting to know (because of increased risk/age) so that I could potentially be prepared.

Anyone else doing testing? I really need to go back to the research on those tests -- risks vs. reward vs. false positive.

I had an amnio. Risk of miscarriage was 1:1000 at my particular center. Each center has its own level of risk. It tested for down syndrome/trisomies and neural tube defects (ie. the AFP can be measured in the amniotic fluid, and is a more accurate test than the screenings that you missed). Almost impossible to have a false positive or negative, for it would only occur if there is lab error; however, lab error is fairly easy for them to detect.

I now have peace of mind that my son has no chromosomal abnormalities! Additionally, a detailed ultrasound is performed prior to the amnio, ruling out lots of anatomical abnormalities that cannot be picked up by amnio.

Since screening tests have very high false pos/neg rates, I didn't even bother. The amnio is more accurate & is a true diagnostic test (not just a "screening" test, which possibly would need to be followed up w/ a diagnostic test anyway simply b/c of my age; many older women falsely screen "positive" on a nuchal translucency scan + quad screen simply b/c our age places us in a higher risk category).

Just my choice, but I definitely understand why most choose not to do it. I debated for quite a while & read all the internet horror stories.

[pregnant@40]

Originally Posted by snguyen

So ladies-- I have a question. Our firstborn was an OB-delivered hospital birth, but this time we want to do a waterbirth at home with a midwife. We also had a miscarriage last December if that has any bearing here. I am coming up on 8 weeks along and have to start thinking about interviewing midwives.

Honestly though, I hardly have any idea what kinds of things are really the important things to be sure to ask. Help me get a question list put together, please!

This may not be important to you, but "nurse midwives" have Master's degrees in addition to their nursing license and training, while non-nurse midwives learn traditional practices & typically have very little medical knowledge. Many nurse midwives have the medical training, and do rotations w/ physicians and other nurse midwives, but also embrace alternative approaches to birth. I would rather have a practitioner that can recognize a true emergency, just in case something goes wrong. But above that, I respect the woman's choice to choose her own practitioner that is in accord w/ her own belief system (as long as her choice does not endanger the child).

[pregnant@40]

Originally Posted by m0xxie

My husband and I will both be 43 when our first baby (a girl) is due (1/23/2011). After 2 years of trying, and a miscarriage, we are both ecstatic about achieving a natural, unassisted pregnancy.

We did both the first and second trimester screening blood tests, and attempted the nuchal translucency scan at 13.5 weeks, but the baby was measuring a week ahead of schedule at the scan, so the measurement could not be used. The results from the blood tests alone gave us "phenomenal" results, 1:7300 for downs syndrome, and a level 2 ultrasound found nothing of concern so we opted to skip the amnio. We're going back for another ultrasound at week 20, and keeping fingers crossed that all will be well.

Aside from severe morning sickness and exhaustion through the first trimester, the pregnancy has been going well for me, and I don't feel my age has been any impediment. In fact, I forget that we are somewhat exceptional, except for some strange comments from medical personnel like, "Is this your own egg?" or "Did you wake up one day and just decide to have a child?".

Is it so strange that I would want to wait until conditions in my life were optimal before trying to conceive? That I would want to be sure I had a great partner, a solid relationship, and a measure of financial and emotional stability before attempting to bring a new life into the world?

Funny. No, it's not strange & your reasons sound terrific. It's just that the odds of a woman having a baby w/ her own eggs at age 43 are very slim (ie. something like 96% of woman cannot achieve this -- so you are very blessed!)

[hoping42]

I'd like to join too!

Please Add me to the list I would love to join - I am 45 and due with baby #3 10/23/10 waiting to be surprised. The odds are really low that this would happen and the beginning was the toughest - much more difficult than my others. I was in the midst of pre-menopause when this happy news arrived - this is my 6th pregnancy (3 miscarriages in all) and hoping and praying baby #3 will arrive safe and sound. I had a CVS done early and all was OK. I have a 10 year old daughter and a 5 year old son. I am so excited for this little one to arrive!

[pregnant@40]

Originally Posted by hoping42

Please Add me to the list I would love to join - I am 45 and due with baby #3 10/23/10 waiting to be surprised. The odds are really low that this would happen and the beginning was the toughest - much more difficult than my others. I was in the midst of pre-menopause when this happy news arrived - this is my 6th pregnancy (3 miscarriages in all) and hoping and praying baby #3 will arrive safe and sound. I had a CVS done early and all was OK. I have a 10 year old daughter and a 5 year old son. I am so excited for this little one to arrive!

Congratulations! That's awesome. Wishing the very best for you.