Anyone want to be a buddy to a 40 year NTNP?

[Macwooly]

Hi, my name is Alex and I'm 40 years old.

Hubby and I did TTC in 2009 but health issues meant we had to stop trying. This time round we're NTNP as we found I got really moody when actively trying and doing loads of ovulation kits, etc.

We have no children and have been married since 2007.

It would be lovely to have a buddy in a similar position and even though I'm older I don't mind what age the buddy is

 

[lottie_2007]

Hi :wave:
Welcome to ntnp!
I'm Jo, 25 with two amazing babies, well a very nearly 4 year old and a fast growing 14 month old! I love being a mummy and we have decided to ntnp for our 3rd and probably final baby!
x

 

[lottie_2007]

Hi :wave:
Welcome to ntnp!
I'm Jo, 25 with two amazing babies, well a very nearly 4 year old and a fast growing 14 month old! I love being a mummy and we have decided to ntnp for our 3rd and probably final baby!
x

 

[Macwooly]

Hello Jo and thank you for replying.

Your children look absolutely darling.

I do have a lot of respect for you being a mum at 25. I could hardly care for myself at 25 Which is probably why I'm trying for my first at 40

 

[polaris]

Hi there!
I am 36 next week with a 17 month old toddler and we are currently NTNP for number 2. With very little chance of success currently as I am still breastfeeding and haven't yet got AF back. We were lucky to conceive quickly last time round but I'm very aware that it might take longer this time. Looking forward to chatting to you in NTNP!

 

[Macwooly]

Hello Polaris

I worked with a lady who managed to conceive whilst breast feeding so who knows

My maternal grandparents are Irish, my grandfather was from Wicklow town but not entirely sure what side my grandmother's family is from x

 

[lottie_2007]

Well Lottie was a happy accident and completely changed our lives, we were pretty carefree students until she came along! Although my husband is 8 years older than me so we fell in to family life really easily! Having Harry seemed like a natural progression! We both love it so much x

 

[Macwooly]

It's nice to hear family life came easily.

I do worry if parenthood happens that I won't find it easy and will be a useless mum. But I do tend to worry too much about everything anyway

I do like your children's names by the way

 

[polaris]

I think it's natural to worry about how you would cope with the adjustment to being a mum. I was worried before I had Thomas because I was very used to the childless life style and wasn't sure how well I would adjust. I was also very naive in thinking that I would largely be able to keep up my pre-baby lifestyle with regard to nights out, holidays, weekends away, etc. I really thought I would be happy to leave Thomas with extended family for a weekend every so often and head off on a city break! Things didn't really work out that way in reality though and I struggle to leave him overnight. But I don't find that I miss my old lifestyle at all and the adjustment has been much more natural than I expected. I'm sure that you would make a great mum.

 

[Macwooly]

Thank you Polaris

I have Thomas as one of the names I would like to use for a boy

I have 3 cats and 4 young, large dogs (and one of the dogs eats the house if we go out for more than 2 hours) so nights out are few and far between and carefully planned.

Holidays what are they then? Not many places will allow 4 dogs, kennelling fees are a nightmare and none of the family will look after them. Our last proper holiday was 2007.

So thankfully it looks like that side of life will be totally unaltered if we're lucky enough to have children

I do know I will have to give up my craft room as it will become the baby's room but small price to pay for a complete family

I have a really small family (my mum, 2 brothers and 2 nephews who are 16 & 18 years old). My dad died when I was 16 and both parents were only children so no aunts or uncles or cousins. I'm not particularly close to my brothers and nephews and much as I love them I wouldn't trust them with my garbage let alone a baby as none of them are particularly responsible including the brother who's the dad to my nephews My mum will hopefully be involved but she's very much a "you don't want to do it that way you want to do it my way" person and she's an hour away so not as close as I would like.

My DH has a large family who are all within 15 minutes of us but I really want to keep their involvement to a minimum (if that doesn't sound too awful). They are lovely people but they have a set way of doing things and make me feel awful for doing things differently.

Plus some of DH's family feel I should get rid of my pets before having babies which is such a hurtful suggestion to me. Apparently if I had smaller dogs I would be ok to keep them

I find it really hurtful that they think I would leave ANY children alone with ANY dog. I'm very aware I have 4 large, powerful dogs including a Rottweiler who have had really bad press but we've already started the work to get them used to the smells and sounds of a baby if we're blessed with one. But regardless I will never leave a baby or child under 16 alone with my dogs.

DH keeps telling me I'm a great mum to the dogs and cats so I'll be a great mum if nature and the big guy upstairs decide to bless.

I'm going to take it as a good sign that I'm worrying whether I'll be a good mum or not

 

[gardenofedens]

Macwooly - you're my new BFF! lol

We'll make this journey work, believe me! I've wanted to be a mom since I was a teenager and I'm positively terrified about how all my furkids are going to react to having a baby in the house. OH has been super supportive about taking my furkids under his wing which is no small feat. I have five dogs and four cats. My dogs have all been through training but they can still be crazy, especially when they're together with the pack mentality. I have one Rottweiler, one Golden Retriever, two small scruffy terrier mixes, and a hyper-crazy Rottweiler/Great Dane/Lab mix.

https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/emmiesanimalrescue/My%20Pictures/Puppadogs/Mellissas5Dogs.jpg

My family is very against the idea of having more than one or two pets and even moreso against keeping them inside. They're my kids, they live inside. Three are currently asleep on the couch with me! Some things will, inevitably, have to change to ensure the safety of our baby but we will not be rehoming them and they will not become outside pets.

We have lots of friends with kids so the dogs have been great with them when the parents have allowed their kids to be around them. The one dog I'm truly worried about is Cubby, the rott/lab/dane, simply because he's huge and has no idea he's a big dog. Despite years of training, he still jumps up on visitors - he just gets so excited he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Like you, our kids will never be allowed to be with the dogs without supervision until they're much, much older. Our dogs are seven except the golden, she'll be nine this summer.

Anyway, I hope we can be TTC-buddies and hopefully soon bump-buddies!!

 

[Macwooly]

Thank you for the support. I so hope I get a human to add to the family

I LOVE your furbabies I don't have photos of mine all together but below are photos of them all

First is our rottweiler, Tiny who is 3.5 years old and bless her she has bad elbows and knees but it doesn't seem to slow her much
https://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac147/Macwooly/Tiny.jpg
Next came Baldrick, he's a 2 year old Greyhound X Bedlington Terrier:
https://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac147/Macwooly/Baldrick.jpg
Then Paddy joined the family. He is a 2 year old German Shepherd:
https://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac147/Macwooly/P201019.jpg
And finally Teddy, who is our 1 year old Greyhound cross German Shepherd (but could be Great Dane instead of German Shepherd):
https://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac147/Macwooly/Teddy.jpg

We did have a blue merle Great Dane but he passed away in October 2010.

I can understand how you feel with Cubby as we have the same concerns with Teddy. He was a tiny little thing when he arrived in June 2010 weighing about 20lb and now he's 30 inches high and weighs 88lb

All 4 dogs came to us from rescue centres and we know Baldrick, Paddy & Teddy are used to children although all 3 want to wash every child they meet But Tiny tucks her tail under herself and runs in the opposite direction when she sees a child This does make me worry a little but she was so maternal with Baldrick and Teddy when they both came aged 4-5 months old that we hope she'll be ok.

Finally this this is my and my DH on our wedding day in 2007:
https://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac147/Macwooly/AlexDave.jpg

I have lost some weight since the wedding (about 21lb) but would like to lose a little more so I'm following a healthy, sensible eating plan and as well as 2 hours of dog walking each day try to do 30-60 minutes of exercise on my Wii Fit

I am so pleased to be you NTNP buddy and hope we do become TTC and bump buddies together

 

[gardenofedens]

All of mine are from shelters/rescues too. I run a no-kill, nonprofit animal rescue and these guys were too special to give up for adoption. I got Cubby when he was 6 days old, he was turned in as a stray at the local animal shelter with no littermates and an extremely aggressive purebred Rott momma who was euthanized for aggression. I couldn't let Cubby fall to the same fate so I brought him home and bottle fed him.

https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/emmiesanimalrescue/My%20Pictures/Puppadogs/Cubby/cubby01.jpg

Then a few weeks later I brought home Huggle who had been diagnosed with parvo. She actually had a bacterial infection cause coccidiosis which she overcame pretty quickly.

https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/emmiesanimalrescue/My%20Pictures/Puppadogs/Huggle/Huggle01.jpg

About six months later, a little Rottie came into the shelter as a stray and was going to be put to sleep because she had kennel cough so I brought her home to help her get well. She suffered from scary dreams for months after I rescued her and has a permanent scar on the side of her face where it looks like someone held a cigarette lighter to her.

https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/emmiesanimalrescue/My%20Pictures/Puppadogs/Jaidah/Jaidah04.jpg

Sunshine came the following spring. She was turned in by an owner and had obviously been severely abused/neglected. She cowered in the back of the kennel and tried to bite everyone that came near her. I threw a towel over her, wrapped her up like a baby, and carried her around for a few hours. She's been a velcro-dog ever since. She's SO much better than she was - she used to pee in fear any time a man came near her but now she's great as long as either Huggle or I is around to "protect" her.

https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/emmiesanimalrescue/My%20Pictures/Puppadogs/Sunshine/Sunshine03.jpg

And Sadie was my last permanent addition to the family. I'd wanted a golden retriever since I was a little girl and Sadie was found running down the freeway in Los Angeles, CA pregnant. It seems she got out around the 4th of July and made a run for it trying to get away from the scary fireworks. Her owners never came forward to claim her though she was perfectly trained and had obviously been well loved. She delivered 9 healthy pups the day I got her (which have since been adopted out of course) and is my heart-dog.

https://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q28/emmiesanimalrescue/My%20Pictures/Puppadogs/Sadie/Sadie91.jpg

Sadie and Jaidah are Therapy Dogs and visit local hospitals and nursing homes to provide comfort to their patients/residents. All of them except for Cubby have passed their Good Citizen Test. Cubby can't pass even the first step which is to quietly greet a stranger while sitting....he cries in anticipation and then tries to jump on them. He can pass most of the rest of the 9 steps though so maybe someday he'll pass!

Anyway, I think we've gone a little OT now but it's great to meet you and your furkids!! :-D

 

[Macwooly]

My DH does say I can bore people to death taking about the dogs and showing photos so he hates to think what I'll be like if I get a baby or 2

 

[polaris]

Oh wow look at all the gorgeous doggies! Thomas would be in heaven, he loves dogs so much. We don't have a dog but he will literally run over to any dog that he sees and wants to pet it and give it kisses. Obviously I have to rein in his enthusiasm a bit until I've checked out the temperament of the dog with the owner! He also loves all of the semi-stray cats who live in the back gardens, although they obviously won't let him anywhere near them. He would be so happy to have a houseful of pets. I keep thinking about getting a dog but because I work four days a week, OH would have to look after it most of the time and he's not 100% convinced yet. But I'll keep working on him. I really think it's important for children to grow up around animals. Although I agree about NEVER leaving any dog alone with a baby, regardless of breed or temperament.

Macwooly - I love your wedding photo. Also well done losing 21 pounds, that is amazing. It sounds like you have a really healthy lifestyle now which should really help with your fertility.

 

[gardenofedens]

My DH does say I can bore people to death taking about the dogs and showing photos so he hates to think what I'll be like if I get a baby or 2

Mine too! He says my eyes light up like no other when I'm talking about dogs! lol

We're taking a break from rescuing right now since it's so expensive and we want to start our family but I'm hoping that when we have a few kids who are older and want to help out, we can pick it up again on a smaller scale.

I grew up out in the country with horses, dogs, and cats and would love to give the same childhood to our kids!

 

[Macwooly]

Polaris maybe things will change so Thomas can have a dog From what I was told I was the same as Thomas when I was a child

Gardenofedens I am sooooo jealous of you growing up in the country with horses as that's all I wanted when growing up.

DH and I are hoping we can get a place more in the country and have a few more animals in the future but we are fortunate to live where we do as we're 6 miles from Birmingham (England's 2nd city) which is great for the theatre but we're also a few miles from some stunning countryside which is great for dog walking and just getting out and enjoying nature.

Thank you for the compliment on the weight loss Polaris. Since 2004 I have lost a total of 56lb. It's been a slow & steady journey but I did it the right way with changes to my eating habits and increases in daily exercise and the weight has stayed off I do want to keep losing as I'm not yet at a weight the doctors say is healthy but I know I can do it

 

[gardenofedens]

Wow, that's awesome on the weight loss!! Great job!

I want to lose some weight before our wedding and honeymoon but have only lost a couple pounds so far. I joined the gym and haven't had time to go even one time so I'm canceling the membership. I bought a workout dvd series online which should be here within a few days plus when the rain clears up there's a great hiking trail on our property - hopefully I can find time for that more than I did for the gym since it's about 30 minutes each way to the gym. We live way out in the country now, we rent a cottage on a property that is also home to horses, mules, miniature donkeys, cows, camels, and ostriches (plus dogs and cats!). Anyway, I'm hoping to get back down to the weight I was in that pic of me with my dogs (about 20 pounds) but I don't think I'll make it before the wedding in 3 months! Fingers crossed though!

 

[Macwooly]

I had everyone telling me to lose weight for my wedding but I just couldn't motivate myself as I was having so much stress from families over the wedding

Then I honeymooned in Canada and Alaska (including a cruise) which really didn't help the weight at all but was such a lovely time

My weight lose had slowed but after our honeymoon we found out DH has type 2 diabetes so dietary changes were made along with increased activity to prevent him needing medication.

The weight loss had slowed again over Christmas and bad choices had crept into our diets so when I came off BC we also moved back to our healthy eating and increased our exercise levels again

I know I have no regrets when I look at my wedding photos that I wasn't thinner.

I do hope you have a fabulous wedding day. Enjoy every minute because it is over so quickly x

 

[pdmcd17]

hello ladies
I would love to join you all.
I am 39 (40) in aug, I have 2 children ds is 15 and dd is almost 17. My SO has no children. I have 2 dogs both larger one is border collie/hound and the other is german sheppard/golden retriever, i also have 2 cats and my SO has a miniture goldendoodle (he rules the roost all 19lbs ha ha)

We started TTC in dec but my cycles didn't return till the begining of march and now SO is scared, so we decided to NTNP (mind you Im still trying lol).

Were in the middle of renovations so he is stressed about getting them done and we are doing most of the work. So NTNP has been better for us.

Thanks and loved all the pics of the puppies i will try to find some