Anyone Pregnant at 38 with their first?

[Stenokat]

I'm still here. I've been busy at work and exhausted at home. Glad to see everyone progressing nicely! I had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago and they said that LO has an echogenic focus in one of her heart chambers which is a soft market for Down's. I declined the amnio, though, since my Verifi results were negative and everything else on anatomy scan was normal.

Have a great week, ladies!

 

[StaceyM]

Blingy it's so nice to find an ultimate friend on here! It's sooo fun right?! I am also getting the summer e-mails and it's sad. It's worse because we haven't told anyone yet so I can't even explain to my teams why I'm suddenly not playing after being with them for 6 years. We usually play 2-3 times a week, and my husband captains one of the teams so I'm sure I'll get out to watch a lot. Thanks for the aquafit advice. That sounds like something I should look into early since classes don't start all the time.

Jessie I also do the 3/4 water, 1/4 juice thing. For some reason water has started to taste minerally, even though I didn't have an issue with it before so the juice helps in so many ways. Lately I've been adding lemonade to it. I've read a ton about lemons on this forum. What is it with pregnant ladies and lemons? I don't know but I'm addicted.

I met my ObGyn today. He is nice, but I didn't get to see the baby. Booo. Apparently in Canada you only get a 20 week scan, and one optional nuchal translucency ultrasound at 12 weeks if you are concerned with genetic issues. Sigh. I love Canada and free healthcare, but it would be nice to have more scans. My doctor says that for normal risk patients it is not medically necessary, and that before 20 weeks he can't see anything important anyway. I know he's right, but I am disappointed. I guess having free public healthcare means we have to be efficient. Sigh again. I guess being 39 doesn't make me higher risk. I guess I should be thankful that I am considered normal risk and move on. Well I have my Nuchal on Tuesday so I get to see the baby then anyway, and then I have to wait until 20 weeks.

One piece of good news is that my due date is October 14, so that means that most of the late part of my pregnancy will happen in the summer when I will be on summer break from teaching. I guess I'll have to drag myself back to work in September for a week or two before I can get a doctor's note to take sick leave, but all in all it seems like I timed that pretty well....accidentally. Also the baby is due 3 days before my 40th birthday which is cool I think.

Steno stay in touch. You seem like such a calm person, and I'm sure your baby is fine, but you sound like you've had to deal with some tough scares during your pregnancy, and I'm pretty sure you don't deserve another one. Stay well. You're handling it with more grace than I would.

 

[Jenny Bean]

I went to the doctors today and he surprised me by telling me they found an abnormal antibody in my blood. I assume it has something to do with me being o-negative because I was suppose to get the RhoGAM shot today but my doctor said he needs to see further testing on my blood first to see what we are dealing with.

He also scheduled me for an urgent ultrasound today which seemed to be good, good flow of blood to the placenta, the baby measured exactly what my dates are suppose to be, the baby is moving well, good heart rate. She did mention something about the heart but said it could be the position the baby was in, the "image was fuzzy". So I don't know what she meant by that or if I should worry.

I hopefully will know more on thursday.

I am just wondering if anyone has experience with this and what the outcome was because I am quite freaked out right now.

Thanks in advance.

 

[StaceyM]

'Abnormal antibodies' could mean anything. Whenever your body undergoes an 'attack' on itself it produces antibodies. Those help your immune system protect against future attacks. For example, if you have chicken pox your body develops antibodies to chicken pox which help create an immunity. Sometimes your body makes a mistake and thinks there is an attack so it attacks itself and creates antibodies. For example, I have a condition called thyroiditis. My thyroid (a gland in your neck that secretes a hormone throxin) was exposed to something environmental and my immune system started to attack not only the environmental toxin, but also my own body, causing damage to my own thyroid. Now I take synthetic hormone substitute because my thyroid doesn't work 100% properly. Your baby is like a foreign object to your body. That is why your body lowers its immune response during pregnancy so it doesn't attack the 'foreign body' (aka your baby). You could have antibodies for any number of reasons, some serious, some not so bad. No one here can answer your question because only your doctor will have the blood test results that explain what KIND of antibodies you have, which tells you what your body reacted to. Your doctor knows to look out for this in pregnancy so he/she will be vigilant - don't worry. You can't do anything about this until you hear from your doctor. It *might* be an RH+/- incompatibility, but who knows.

 

[Jenny Bean]

Thanks for your response.
So it could be potentially very serious
I think I have more questions then answers right now.
But your response was helpful.

 

[StaceyM]

Ok. It's official. I actually hate being pregnant. How many more weeks of being sick and tired, and tired and sick again? Sigh. Someone mercy kill me by smothering me with a stuffed animal. I know, I know, is there a drama queen icon?

 

[Heidipie77]

Hi Ladies! hope everyone is ok, things have been quiet on here lately (me included, just reading not posting).

Jenny - did you find out about the antibody yet? What about the fuzzy area on the scan?

Steno- good to hear from you. I'm sure everything is fine with your little girl, surely the blood test is more accurate than an interpretation of a scan.

Stacy - sorry to hear you are having it so rough still, hope oh is looking after you.

How is everyone else? come on ladies you are the only ones I have to compare and commiserate with! (only one person I kind of know, she works in my office but not my team is pregnant and is 5 weeks ahead but I hardly get to talk to her)

Kiley - saw your recent scan on the over 38 thread, how amazingly clear! most of the 3D scans I see are all ripply and melty looking.

afm - not much going on here, saw my midwife this week and she is leaving to work in the nhs next week! That's the second one now. I chose to go with one2one midwives as you are supposed to have continuity of care with one mw and her buddy. Still better than the nhs I think though as they visit you at home and give you plenty of time where you only get a 15 min appt. with nhs mw. All was well with baby boy, hb and fundus all on track. Also my bp is fine which I was worried about because of the swelling in my feet and ankles (thought pre-eclampsia).

Am totally making the most of a 4 day weekend, getting lots of rest and my feet have been hurting a lot less for it. Only around 5 more weeks in work and I can put my feet up for 6 weeks lol!

 

[blm1975]

I totally understand. I turned 40 a week before I conceived. I'm almost 6 weeks and so afraid to allow myself to get excited out of fear I'll miscarry and be more miserable because I allowed it to be "real." I'm dying for the ultrasound and the doctor to tell me things look normal so I can start to enjoy this. Congratulations to you, and know you're not alone. It feels good to have this group already (I just joined 10 minutes ago), because I don't have friends my age experiencing first pregnancy. I can use the support. Becky

 

[RaquelDee]

Welcome Becky. I am a little younger (37) and expecting my first in July. 24 weeks today, so v-day! Anyhow, despite the many horror stories that link 'advanced maternal age' to complications, I've had a pretty uncomplicated time so far (fingers crossed this continues). It's probably a good idea to remember that increased odds (of miscarriage, trisomies, etc) are just that, odds - it doesn't mean that anything will go wrong or that your pregnancy is necessarily going to be any worse than someone who is younger. I certainly know people older than me who have had zero problems and, sadly, younger friends who have had a rough time, so your age is not a guarantee of a good or bad experience either way.

I would however recommend getting the cell-free DNA test (harmony, panorama, or whatever they call it where you are) at 10-12 weeks, as this certainly reduced stress for me in terms of knowing we were clear of the more common genetic issues.

I didn't see my obstetrician until 10 weeks. She deals with a lot of patients who are older than me (I think because she's quite expensive - lol!) and has been utterly unconcerned about my age, which has also been quite comforting, too.

The other thing I would say is that if something does go wrong, this is a great place for support - there are lots of lovely people on these forums who are very kind and sympathetic, and probably someone who will know exactly how you are feeling.

All the best with it - first trimester is so uncertain but hopefully you can relax and start to enjoy your pregnancy soon.

 

[StaceyM]

Hi Becky. I'm Stacey. I'm 39 and probably only 10ish months younger than you....my 40th is in October. If it makes you feel any better I haven't had any issues at all so far, and this is also my first pregnancy. My ObGyn and my GP both wave their hand in my face when I say that I am old. They aren't worried at all. I am considered normal risk by everyone who has seen me. It's only me that worries With that being said, I think it's normal to stay somewhat emotionally detached in the beginning. Or at least I feel exactly the same way, so it must be at least somewhat common. I'm 12.5 weeks now, and even though I haven't had any problems that would even hint at miscarriage, and even though I just had a completely normal nuchal (genetics) scan, I still have a hard time allowing myself to get attached. I'm getting there - but slowly. I wonder sometimes if having a difficult pregnancy tends to depend on a variety of factors. My husband and I got pregnant really quickly and without issue. I read your other post and it seems like that's the same situation for you. I think fertility matters as much as age does. I agree with Raquel about the verifi/panorama/harmony test. Even though it is not available in my area, I just ordered it from a private clinic in Toronto. I think that when I get the results it will be easier to be more relaxed, and just enjoy. I finally told the in-laws/parents. They were supportive but very surprised. Stay in touch. I'm new here also, but this is a great group.

 

[babypapoose]

Don't worry too much about it. My sister and some friends went through pregnancy over 35 just fine. Take good care of yourself Good luck!

 

[Jenny Bean]

Hi again everyone,

Heidi,

I had more blood work last week because I definately have the Anti-d antibody in my body, however, they didn't check the levels of this antibody which is important to know and see if it has a potential to harm the baby. So I may be getting my blood checked weekly to see if the levels are increasing or not. I get the next set of results on Thursday.

As for the "fuzzy" heart on the scan, my doctor said the ultrasound tech did an anatomy scan and didn't really need to because the baby is getting bigger so it is hard sometimes to get accurate information, or something to that effect, lol. That being said she is measuring right on target and the blood flow to the brain is good (this is I think the first symptom of anemia, which they closely monitor now that I have that antibody identified). So I am hoping all is well on Thursday and I will report back.

Hope everyone is doing well xo.

 

[BlingyGal]

Hello ladies!

A warm welcome to the new joiners!

I haven't written here in awhile because I would just moan and complain! And here it comes...I'm so tired! I'm getting very little sleep. I had five days off this weekend, wanted to catch up on sleep but, if anything, sleep has become more elusive. WAAAAH. I'm not even sure what the problem is, many trips to the bathroom, baby moving like crazy in the middle of the night, swollen hands/feet, oh, and RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME. Sigh. I've been awake since 3am, so I came into work two hours early, lol.

I turned 38 this past week! Eeep. Can't believe it. I don't feel 38...maybe 28? Okay, more like 30 years old but that's it.

I did read everyone's updates, twice. But I can't remember enough of anything to reply individually, sorry. Except for Jenny, keep us updated on the antibody situation.

Sorry for the lame post.

 

[StaceyM]

Please complain. It makes me feel better about complaining

I'm 13 weeks today. Does that count as 2nd trimester?

 

[KileyJean]

Hello ladies! Hope everyone is doing well! Heidi reminded me that I forgot to share my scan pictures from my 9 week appointment! Doc said everything still looked perfect and did not need to see me back for another 4 weeks. He did 3D since my hubby could not come to this appointment and I wanted some good pictures for him. I am amazed as how they turned out. Looks like a little baby and not just a blob!

Jenny- Keep us posted on the Antibody situation. Sending positive thoughts your way!

Everyone else- I love hearing about your journey. I am learning a lot from you! Benefit to not being as far along as most of you!

 

[Jenny Bean]

Hello all,

I am happy to report that the results of my most recent blood work shows that I am clear of the antibodies. It looks like the positive result came from the rhogam shot I had at 15 weeks when I spotted.

I am clear to go ahead and get the next rhogam shot to further protect my baby for any blood mixing

I am so happy and I found out that my baby at the most recent ultrasound weighed 2.5 pounds, so she is right on track.

Thanks everyone for their concern.

 

[Heidipie77]

Great news Jenny! 😃

 

[StaceyM]

I'm having a girl! The Verifi test was negative for chromosomal abnormalities

 

[jessiecat]

Great news stacey and jenny!!!!!

 

[Heidipie77]

Fab news Stacey! Are you feeling any better now you are in 2nd tri?