Older mom

@Anne,

Yes, there are more older moms here, including myself.
I'm 39 and will turn 40 at the end of this year.
My youngest will be 12 in October and my oldest just turned 16.

I'm becoming a mother for the third time and that will happen in November..
Are you already pregnant or are you trying to conceive..

I'm experiencing it all more consciously.
That's a fact.
Otherwise, I feel great and optimal, we're having a healthy son. Everything has been checked..
Do you already know what you're having or do you prefer not to know.

Well, feel free to share, I always respond, it might take a little while but I'll get back to you.

Love, Ju

Hi Anne,

Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

Here's another "oldie" from 40.
Not planned, but so welcome this little one!!
I couldn't be happier, and I'm definitely experiencing it much more consciously than 16 years ago when I was the singer of my daughter's life.

I only did a combined screening test (the result wasn't so great for Down syndrome) but no further tests.
Generally, I assume it's just probability calculations, and our age doesn't help either. I've read so many stories about people spending the whole pregnancy in tension and not being able to enjoy it, yet still having a healthy baby (and vice versa), so for me, it's largely guesswork unfortunately. And maybe I'm unconsciously keeping myself in denial, but I can enjoy my belly and its contents now!!
Tomorrow is the 20-week ultrasound, and I'm quite curious.

I do notice on my body that I'm older now. My mind wants to, but I just get tired faster than 16 years ago. But now that I'm wiser, I take rest and take good care of myself and the little one.

We also have a stepson, so it really doesn't matter to me what it turns out to be, as long as it's healthy!!

Best, Dani

@Anne,

Oh wow, April 3rd? That’s wild to think about—our boy will be 4 months old by then! I can totally understand wanting a girl, but as long as the baby is healthy, right? That’s the motto.

I had a nuchal translucency scan done, and it was completely fine. I was pretty nervous too, but I didn’t do any other tests.

I did have the 20-week ultrasound, though. Oh wow, I actually did an HBO (higher professional education) course—I wasn’t happy with only ever doing call center work. I finished an HBO coaching course, worked as a temp agency employee, and got my VCA certification, so I’ve done quite a bit of other stuff too.

Well, girl, I really hope you get what you want!

Love, Ju

@Dani,
You're just as old as you feel, right? ;-) Hihi..
And, um, how many hours left is it now? :-) Hahaha I hope you have a super ultrasound, girl, with some really nice photos. Let me know how it went.

xoxoxoxo

Love, Ju

Hi Anne, congratulations on your pregnancy.
I also belong to this group, you know. I'm 38 years old and pregnant with my fourth child. I have a son of 16, a daughter of 14, and another daughter of 8.
And now I'm 21 weeks pregnant with a little boy.
I did have an amniocentesis done. The test was good, but the waiting time for the results is quite stressful. It was my second time doing this, since 8 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter, the blood test results weren't good. So I knew what to expect with this test.
@Dani
I agree with Dani, it's definitely heavier than 8 years ago. I try to rest when I can, and next year I also need knee replacement surgery because I've been operated on three times in one year. So that's adding to the knee trouble, but we're taking it in stride, hihi.

But to all of us, let's enjoy it
Greetings, Tammi

@Anne,
Some are really nice and others are really ugly, but we don't really care about that anyway..

Have a nice weekend..

Love, Ju

Hey Anne,

Another "oldie" here. I'm 37 (turning 38 in October), have a 10-year-old daughter, a son who just turned 8, and now I'm expecting a girl (due date is December 3rd, but since my daughter and son were both born at 38 weeks, I'm secretly calculating and hoping for the same ).

The nuchal translucency scan and the 20-week ultrasound were great, so we have full confidence.

We had also expected a somewhat less positive reaction (my parents always had the motto: "2 is enough", but everyone in the family is reacting with great enthusiasm. Our little girl is more than welcome and has already brought a lot of happiness to many people.

For us, this is also a very conscious choice. We've experienced quite a bit over the past few years (family business bankruptcy, burnout, etc., etc.), and that's what prompted us to turn things around. My partner now has a fantastic job as an orthopedic instrument maker, and I started VONDST at the PABO in Meppel last year (a flexible program for people who already have an HBO degree), and we've given in to my long-dormant wish to have another child.

Well, have fun on this forum and have a nice weekend in advance.

Best, Gerda

and here's another one from the old guard.
I'm 37 and pregnant with our second. Our daughter is 7.5 years old and after 5 miscarriages we had both given up hope.
I feel no fear about miscarriage at all, except for that. Stronger still it feels so good!!!
We've already raised a disabled child so we can handle this too.
I'm enjoying it fully and just tell people already even though I'm only 5 weeks. I'm just so super surprised!!!
And I already feel really pregnant. Never thought I'd get to experience this again.

Hi Selina,

Congratulations! I can imagine you didn't expect it anymore, and I wish you a wonderful pregnancy!
May I ask what disability your daughter has?

The reactions here were absolutely wonderful; no one ever expected me to become a mother again, so there were only positive responses.

Hi Dani,

Thanks for your kind words. Our daughter has severe brain damage on the right side, which has resulted in left-sided spasticity, epilepsy, sensory integration disorder, and low vision (she can't see anything with her left eye). The expectations were that she would only be able to sit but not walk. With a lot of trust and perseverance, she's attending regular school and doing super!!!!

Hi, I'm also an "older" mom. I'm 36 and 8 weeks pregnant with my second child. I already have a daughter who's 8.5 years old. On Thursday we're having the first ultrasound at the hospital and an appointment for possible prenatal testing due to my age. We're going for the nuchal translucency scan and the blood test, and if anything comes up, we'll look into it further then. After the ultrasound, we're going to tell our daughter; I'm sure she'll be super happy to become a big sister... she talks about wanting to be a big sister all the time! Our parents, brother, and sister were also super excited about us having another child.
Wishing you all a lovely big-belly time

Hi ladies,
I also belong to the almost-40s club, I'm 38 and 8 weeks pregnant with my third. It's indeed heavier than 18 and 14 years ago, much more tired and stuff. Just like with my other kids, we only had to try for 2 months to get pregnant! So that will all be fine. I would recommend everyone to enjoy it as much as possible!
Love

Hi there,

I'm also a bit of an older mom ;-), 41 and pregnant with a third little one. My other boys are 13 and 10.5 years old, and now another little boy is on the way. I'm 23 weeks pregnant, had all the tests done including an amniocentesis, and everything is fine. Just feeling really, really tired :-)

Hi Anne,
I'm not an older mom myself, I'm only 22
But I did experience it all consciously at home with my mom. She was 40 when she gave birth to a sister and 41 when she gave birth to my little brother.
So I'm 11 and 12 years apart from my brother and sister. (half-sister and brother) We are also a new blended family on dad's side, I'm the only child there. I know that our mom experienced everything much more consciously but also with more nerves about the results. She had amniocentesis done for both because she was too unsure and this all went perfectly. I now have a cool future aunt of 11 years and a cool future uncle of 9 years old around our mom and haven't had a single day of regret that I'm so far apart from my brother and sister.

And you know, as an older daughter/son, we unconsciously help out in raising our little brothers or sisters and believe me, we all find that super!! It's just that there's a time when we have less to do with each other, but once the youngest starts to start puberty, you just know that your youngest will turn to the oldest for questions that they might not dare ask mom and dad! And that's just as super about being an older brother or sister I'm experiencing this myself right now with my sister who is fully in puberty and doesn't always want to ask mom for explanations, so she calls her big sister to ask for explanations or to come pick her up.

So ladies, you're not standing with 2 but unconsciously with 3 for the upbringing of your little sprouts and enjoy it all to the fullest! I wish you all a very nice and healthy pregnancy!!!

Hi there,
I’m also 40 and 26 weeks pregnant with my first baby, after waiting 20 years.
Since I’ve never been pregnant before, I’m anxious about even the smallest things.
But I’m trying to enjoy it when she moves a lot.
I’m also getting very tired quickly and already experiencing all the usual discomforts, but I’m happy to put up with it.
Love,

You Maya, congratulations!!!
20 years of waiting, that's quite a while, huh... can now say that patience is rewarded?
Indeed, enjoy it girl, even the discomforts!

Kind regards, Dani

A bit of a late response, but that's not bad at all...
How nice and good to hear that she's doing well!