Any over 35 (or 40 would be even better) first time moms?

[Gina]

I'd love to hear about your experience. I have no kids and I'm thinking of trying soon. I'm 40 and a huge procrastinator!

[Millelunes]

Don't just "start trying". Go to a fertility specialist right now. I am 36 and had not a care in the world about my ability to get pregnant, but my husband is very proactive and we had friends who said it is better to be informed. My gynecologist had said what probably everybody's gyno says, try for at least 6 months and then you can start using an ovulation kit! Anyway, I went to the specialist and found out I have a high FSH level, which means my eggs are not maturing quite the way they should. At first I was upset, because everywhere I read on the internet it was nearly impossible to conceive with this problem, but, lucky for me I kept looking, and have decided to take an alternative approach to this and use acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese Medicine to help the situation. There are books that I recommend, one called "The Infertility Cure" by Dr. Randine Lewis and one called "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" by Dr. Christiane Northrup and also the Berkley Center in NYC http://www.newyorkfertilityacupuncture.com/. (Randine Lewis also has a retreat, her website is: http://www.thefertilesoul.com/). I am still in the treatment phase, but I am also going forward with the adoption process. I feel I will be happy with either or both outcomes, but I do know that donor eggs are not something I want to do. You will at least know what you are dealing with, instead of disappointment at every menstrual cycle. But, hey that's my experience, and my personality. If you want to just see what happens, sometimes that works too, because some say that the stress of "trying" can be counterproductive.

[Nichole G]

Hi Gina! I'm 37 and have a 13 month old daughter. She is amazing. My husband and I are so thankful to have a wonderful little person to spend our lives with. She makes us laugh and smile all day long. We did have a tough time staying pregnant ( 2 miscarriages) so now that we finally have our little cutie, we treasure every day. I also have a few friends that are 38 and 39 that have recently had children, so you are not alone. I think we all had fun in our 20-30s and then settling down in our late 30s once we are more economically stable. So go for it and I wish you all the luck in the world!

[twocatsandababy]

I'm two weeks from my due date as I write this with (knock on wood) a healthy baby boy, and I'm midway through my 41st year. I don't yet know what parenting is like so I'll give you my advanced-age fertility story instead. We tried on our own for 2 years to get pregnant then got the workup at the fertility clinic which revealed I had fibroids in my uterine lining that needed to be removed so I had the laproscopic surgery for that. Then we did 3 artificial inseminations that did not work, then 1 IVF treatment that did work first time out. We almost didn't do it because I hated the fertility drugs, they made me feel awful, and my FSH levels had started getting high which made pregnancy such a long shot. We actually attended a workshop on adoption at a local agency and were really planning on that, then thought what the heck we'll try one IVF. And it worked. We were so surprised! I still believe it helped that I was so relaxed and already feeling like a mom because we'd started the adoption process. My advice is this: because of your age go ahead and get your fertility workup now because there's no time to waste if you need to be treated for something before trying to get pregnant. Good luck!

[Jenniferhwalsh]

Hi Gina !

Im a 37 yr old first time Mom, had baby after yerars of trying finally got her via IVF and a great Dr.
My only advice for you is to get to an OB asap and get checked out, at our age the chances of conception are not super. ( to say the very least)
Being an older Mom is WONDERFUL and I wish you the very best !! Happy to be a shoulder for you if you want one! ( Ive been through pretty much every procedure there is regarding conception )
good luck!!
warm regards, Jennifer

[Lisa]

Hi Gina - I am currently 46 and have a 4.5 year old and 2 year old - both healthy and robust little fellows. It took us a long time to conceive our first (we pulled the goalie when I was 37 and I didn't get pregnant until 41 - no fertility methods were utilized but we had standard tests done that said there was no problem, we just weren't hitting the mark). I bought a good fertility book and used the charts, thermometers and ovulation tests so I got a pretty good handle on my ovulation cycle, but it still took a while. It was when my husband and I made a plan B - start in vitro if we weren't pregnant by the end of the year - 2 weeks later I was pregnant. When baby 1 was 18 months old, we decided to try for 1 year for a sibling and if it didn't happen in that time, we were going to be content with one healthy boy. I was pregnant within 3 months and we had baby 2 on Christmas Eve of that year (I was 44 - I had him in less than an hour without any drugs of any kind and went home the next day in time to put the turkey dinner on the table for our guests). A couple of things I will say - with our first, I opted for no fetal testing at all because I was going to have the baby regardless. The second time, my doctor suggested I do the blood test, because if it came back negative, I could heave a huge sigh of relief - well, it came back positive and caused us some unwarranted grief. I know this is a personal choice for folks, but I operated on faith - and sometimes less information is better, in my opinion. All I want to say is, there are lots of people out there like me - folks who give birth to perfectly healthy children past the 40 mark so don't let anyone scare you or put you off the idea. We are also very financially secure (even in these economic times) and our children have the benefit of that. I will also say that I am very healthy and I believe that we take good care of ourselves because we have young children that need us around for the next 20 years. Good luck to you.

[Angela Brandeen]

Dont lose hope, you will have your own... Just pray! But if ever two to three years from now, something might not happen, just be thankful of the healthful life you deserve and at least spread it to unlucky one. You can adopt, and give your love and attention to him/her.

Angela's Electrolux

[desia]

I had my daughter @ 36 and it was worth the wait. Although, u lose your freedom, the baby is worth it.

[Ottawa Marketing]

at 40, i gave birth for my 3rd child. age 35 and above are moms that are high risk in pregnancy. If you're a first time mom, it is very dangerous for you and for the baby because your uterus might not be as healthy as what you think. I suggest that you have to visit your OBGYN first before you decide to conceive