Any "older" moms out there?

[DeluxePrincess]

Just found out I was pregnant with my second child. I'm 37 and will be 38 when the baby is born. How many moms had the genetic tests done that were recommended for moms over 35? I know I have some time to think about it, but I need to hear experiences. I had my DD when I was 28 so it wasn't an issue. Thanks!

 

[lisajl]

Well, my DD was born when I was 23, then 8 years later we had a son, so I was then 31. When I was 34 I had our surprise baby. The doctor want to do an amniocyntesis (sp)? but I declined. It really did not matter to me if my child had Downs syndrome...he would still be my child no matter what.
The only problem I had was in delivery, my placenta abrupted. Had a c-section and everything turned out fine.
I guess 34 wasn't really old, but to me at the time it was. I guess to the doctor is was, too, since she wanted testing done.

I hope you hear from other moms that were older than I was with my last.
I wish you the best for you and your baby.
BTW, family friends of ours just had their first, they are in their late 20's.
He is a preemie, weighs in at 2 lbs, 4 oz. We are going to see the little guy tomorrow!

Lisa

 

[Barb D]

Congratulations!

I had DD7 at 38. I had non-invasive genetic tests done (including a level 3 ultrasound) but I refused an amnio because of the risk of miscarriage. I wouldn't have done anything except mentally prepare even if tests had indicated a genetic problem.

She had a few medical issues at birth, but they were soon resolved and now she's a happy, healthy 1st grader!

 

[Earstou]

I was 35 with ds, but declined testing.
SIL did testing because they scared her into it with 1st baby. Her doctor's reasoning was that if the baby was a Downs baby, they would have to airlift to a larger city if it had heart problems. If they knew ahead of time, they would schedule delivery in the larger city. They did the test, waited to tell her the results, then she needed to do the amnio. Told her the pros of having the test but not the cons (she found out later and was very upset). Everything turned out okay, but it put her through a lot of unnecessary stress.

She declined with 2nd!

 

[Feralpeg]

Congratulations! I was 36 when I had DD. I had an amnio.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I had DD1 at 33, and DD2 at 36. At the time I freaked when the OB's office paperwork had me classified as Advanced Maternal Age. But anyone over 35 is considered that. I have always felt younger than my age, so I was almost insulted by that. Anyway, my Dr. suggested it, but they are required to suggest it, but my Dr. is a friend and he told us to have the AFP (I think that is what the blood test is called) done at 13 weeks to test for spinal defects and downs syndrom, instead of waiting until 16 weeks. That is the earliest they can test for it, then we had a 2nd level ultrasound to check for any defects. We chose not to have the amnioscentethis, based on good blood tests, great ultrasound, and a healthy previous birth. But that is an individual choice, and I don't expect anyone to do what I did, just because I said so. I would never have done anything to my baby, but as the Dr. said, it gives us time to prepare and get our ducks in a row, in the event that there was any problems. Good Luck!!! Follow your heart and do what feels right for you and your baby, don't let anyone push you into doing anything you are not ready to do.
And as you can see below, I have 2 beautiful, healthy daughters, who are the light of my life.

 

[4greatboys]

Congrats!

I was 35 when I had my 3rd and 37 when I had my 4th son. I did have an amnio both times because it was important to me to know if something was wrong. I just need time to prepare myself. Both times tests came back just fine.

 

[Val]

Had my oldest DD at 28, my next DD at 32, my DS at 36 and my youngest DD at 38. Worst pregnancy (sick whole 9 months; complications) was my second DD and then DS....easiest pregnancy and delivery was with youngest DD at 38. Taught the morning she was born- at 7:59 PM that night! At almost 47 I sure hope I am done......

I had level 3 ultra sound and the blood work done with the youngest- no amnio, as the ultrasound looked good. She has mild/moderate hearing loss, but that is due to an inherited condition that could have affected ANY of the four kids. She is the easiest to raise of the four, and the most easy going-wish I could take responsiblity for that, but it is her temperment.

Only drawback of being so old-I am slower and MUCH older than many of the moms of kids in her class. With the 10 year age span I did driver's ed and kindergarten in the same year! On the other hand, with any luck I should have grandbabies by the time the youngest leaves the house!!!!!!

Good luck- you will be fine. Older than dirt (or so MY kids tell me), but fine. And congratulations!!!!!!

 

[mjkacmom]

I was 34 with my twins. My OB had me do a Nuchal Translucency scan, a level 2 u/s that targets the nuchal folds on the baby's neck, sometimes done in conjunction with a blood test. It's much more reliable than the AFP. It has to be done between the 10th and 12th weeks, I believe. It's becoming much more common. I didn't want to risk amnio with 2.

 

[4greatboys]

Had my oldest DD at 28, my next DD at 32, my DS at 36 and my youngest DD at 38. Worst pregnancy (sick whole 9 months; complications) was my second DD and then DS....easiest pregnancy and delivery was with youngest DD at 38. Taught the morning she was born- at 7:59 PM that night! At almost 47 I sure hope I am done......

I had level 3 ultra sound and the blood work done with the youngest- no amnio, as the ultrasound looked good. She has mild/moderate hearing loss, but that is due to an inherited condition that could have affected ANY of the four kids. She is the easiest to raise of the four, and the most easy going-wish I could take responsiblity for that, but it is her temperment.

Only drawback of being so old-I am slower and MUCH older than many of the moms of kids in her class. With the 10 year age span I did driver's ed and kindergarten in the same year! On the other hand, with any luck I should have grandbabies by the time the youngest leaves the house!!!!!!

Good luck- you will be fine. Older than dirt (or so MY kids tell me), but fine. And congratulations!!!!!!

My kids are 19, 16, 6 and 4 so I understand the age gap. Though Im not the oldest my mom in the class for my son in K, Im certainly not one of the youngest
This year my oldest started college and my 3rd ds started K. When ds #2 starts college my last one will start K.

 

[Disneymaddness]

I was 38 when I had my 3rd baby. That was 14 years ago. I had 3 ultrasounds but declined amnio, I would have had him no matter what. I also had him naturally, no drugs, he came very fast. Labor started at 6pm and he was born at 8:45pm. I was only in the hopspital for 45 min before he was born. It was great! Good luck to you and enjoy being an "older" mom!

 

[PattnFmly]

I had DS #1 at 38 and DS #2 at 40. Declined the AFP tests as well as the amnio. Did have the lengthy ultrasound though. DH and I had just decided that the info gained from the tests would have no impact on our decisions so to avoid the risks we declined. I didn't particularly feel the need to prepare as we were doing so much preparing as it was and with any pregnancy you "prepare for the worst" along with "praying for the best" anyways. But that's just us, and believe me, we discussed it at great lengths! My best and good wishes to you!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Well I am currently pregnant with my third child - DS due in May - and I am 37 years old. I couldn't believe I was considered an "older mother" but my OB sent me to a Geneticist for testing. I had the AFP blood tests done but refused the amnio (much to the dismay of my geneticist). I am high risk anyway because of a clotting disorder and have a history of miscarriages so I wasn't about to risk an amnio unless my doctors could give me a reason WHY I needed one other than the fact that I was 37 years old.

The AFP tests came back fine and I have had several ultrasounds and everything looks fine.

My Mom had me at age 44 and I turned out just fine!

Good luck with your new arrival.

 

[Pugrpooh]

Congratulations! I was 42 when I got pregnant and exactly one month after I turned 43, DD was born. My doctors didn't push any tests and I didn't want to have amnio due to the slight risk of miscarriage. I did miscarry twice during my early 20's and didn't want to take the risk with this one. I did not have the AFP but did have an ultrasound, don't know if it was level 2 or 3. It turned out good and that's when I found out it was a girl!

She was due April 15th and on March 27th I ended up overnight in the hospital hooked up to an IV because of low amniotic fluid. They told me she would weigh around 5 1/2 lbs. based on the ultrasound, but I was induced on April 2nd and she weighed 6 lbs. 5 ozs. and she was perfect!

This month I have to decide on a kindergarten for her and I have to visit my second school tomorrow morning. I do feel a lot older than the other moms and I may consider dying my hair. I have a white streak just up front which I've had for probably more than 15 years, but now the white hair is spreading throughout my whole head! People tell me that they think I've highlighted my hair and seem surprised when I tell them it's all natural. They also tell me I don't look like I'm 47 (now almost 48). I think they're just being nice.

But we've enjoyed her so much and know from our first two that they do grow up so fast, so we try to do a lot with her. She's not yet 5 and she's been to WDW 4 times, a Disney cruise once and DL once. And we're going back in Sept.

Good luck with yours!

Lynn

 

[ctinct]

Congratulations! I was 38 when I had my last child. My doctor tried to convince me on several occasions to have the testing done, but I declined. In the end, it really is a personal decision. Some women need time to prepare themselves if something is not right, some women decide to terminate; in my case, I did not want to test because it would not have changed my decision to have my child, and I would rather have enjoyed my pregnancy than spend all those months "preparing", kwim? I figured I would find out in less than nine months in any case. But, like I said, that really depends on what YOU want to do. One thing that helped me make my decision is I talked to the midwife who practiced with my dr. She explained that yes, the risks are higher for older mothers, but when she gave me the actual numbers, it still seemed like a low risk to me. You might want to ask your doctor what are the risks per hundred of something happening for your age group. (Sorry-it was thirteen years ago---I forget!)

 

[crazyme5kids]

I was 36 with my 4th child and 41 with my 5th. I had an amnio done with both. I spoke with a genetic counselor and asked many, many questions before having them done. I also had to ask myself many questions and really think about what I would do if the results came back showing there was something wrong.

It really is a personal choice and there really is no right or wrong answer to that choice.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I was 33 with DD and 35 with DS. I did have amnio with DS because I had miscarried twice before him. Not sure what I would have done if there had been a problem but I did want to know. They are in my siggie and everything was fine.

 

[Kaybee]

I had my "surprise" child when I was 40. My other two sons were 10 and 12 at the time. I sort of insisted on having an aminocentesis because of xray exposure prior to me knowing I was pregnant. My doc really didn't feel it was necessary but went ahead and did one for my peace of mind. The procedure itself wasn't bad at all. It is a rather quick procedure. It does carry a risk of miscarriage though. Everyone's case is individual, so listen to what your doc says and go with what you feel is right. My DS is now 13 and very healthy. He grew up fast though with having older brothers around.

 

[Hannathy]

I was 40 with mine and had CVS done because it can be done earlier than an amnio and if a decision had to be made it would still be in the first trimester.

 

[Reflection]

Congratulations to you and your family! I was 35 when my daughter (now 13) was born. I took the AFP, and since that was negative declined CVS or amnio. I had no problems during my pregnancy, and my daughter is healthy and doing fine.