OT- Babies Over 35?

[emma'smom]

I know this is OT, but I don't frequent a lot of other sites for families...anyone have a baby after 35? Was the baby healthy? Were you healthy? I keep thinking I want one more...but worry about the risks. We have two beautiful dd's....part of me says to just be happy with the beautiful family I already have!

 

[autumnsmommy]

I was 35 when I had my only child, DD5, she was perfectly healthy, but I had 5 months morning sickness, 2 months bedrest due to pre-eclampsia. The only thing I worry about is being an "old mommy" since I'm that much older than her.

 

[DawnM]

My bio kids were born when I was 31 and 33 (almost 34). They were both perfectly healthy.

We adopted our 3rd. I turned 41 this month so if I had given birth to him I would have been 38 when he was born.

I know that isn't the question, but sometimes I think I am too old to have a toddler! Some of my friends have teens and college age kids!

But it has been great and helps keep me young.

Dawn

 

[momsully]

I am 37 and trying for a third. I have friends that have had their first at 40 and love it.

 

[Janet Hill]

I had my last two at 40 and 42. I'm healthy and they're healthy. The one at age 40 was my easiest and the one at 42 the worst (emergency c-section). But the problems had nothing to do with my age, she got twisted high in the birth canal with the cord wrapped around her neck. She's still my problem child lol.

 

[NU2WDW]

I had my three (healthy girls) at 33, 35 & 37. Your risks do go up after 35, but all other factors being normal/healthy, the probability of problems is really still extremely low. In fact, after 35 the bigger problem is GETTING pregnant in the first place! Talk to a good genetic counselor. Ours was wonderful.

I'm a firm believer that women "know" when their families are complete. I always thought I only wanted two children, but afterwards, I just knew I was "supposed" to have a third child. If you feel like there's a baby out there waiting for you, go for it!

 

[DisneyPhD]

I had my DD's at 30 and 33. I am 36 right now and I don't know if we will have any more (still on the fence, not this year but maybe next if God is willing.) Dh is happy stopping now, I have this nagging feeling I was ment to have 3 kids. Still I will be very happy if we stop at 2 also.

My mother turned 41 the week after I was born, so I am a product of a 40 year old egg myself. I don't see having children after age 35 as that big of a deal anymore as long as the mother is in good health. I have been working very hard to get my body in good shape. I figure if we ever do have another child I am going to need to be healthy for it, if not I got my body back and am healthy to be active with my kids. Win/ win either way. I am in better physical health now then I was at 30 when my 1st was born.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Dup post, ignore.

 

[DawnaJean]

I had my first two DDs at 27 and 28, and my DH and I were very content with 2. We revisited the idea of having one more after I was 35, and I had my DS at 36. He was healthy and by far the easiest labor!

I too was concerned about having him at a post-35 age, especially when the nurse at the OBGYN said "oh Honey you're AMA"....advanced maternal age...nice. They really just follow you a bit more closely. Good luck to you!!!
Dawna

 

[TishaB]

Well, I wasn't 35 but 33 when I had my 2nd and last child. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with my first and we were looking for it and found it in my 2nd pregnancy. Other than that I was healthy (mowing grass until the end of July with a push mower and gave birth at the end of August...neighbors were waiting for me to give birth right there in the yard! lol) My first was a c-section and my 2nd was a regular delivery. She was born healthy and I wouldn't give her up for anything...well...hmmm...these teenage years are ummm...eventful. (reminder to self...dye hair) Good luck on your decision.

Tisha

 

[lovethattink]

I was 37 when I had my second child. Because of my age, I was sent to a High risk OB/GYN. I had no problems with the pregnancy and my son is healthy. I now have a 13 year old son and a 3 year old son. The age difference poses some challenges at times.

 

[kiddisney]

we didn't plan on having our third - but fifteen years after the first - i had our third baby at 45 - a complete surprise - i actually didn't even know that I was pregnant because i didn't have any morning sickness - and i was so busy taking the other kids to their various activities - my only problem was a little placenta previa - but thta probably would have happened with any additional pregnance because I had c-sections with the first two - sometimes it's a little tiring but it's a lot more fun because we're so relaxed with the third - he goes everywhere - so don't doubt doing it if you think that another will complete your family

 

[SandrainNC]

Hi! I had my son when I was 31 and he has Down syndrome (pregnant at 30 though). It is actually more common around that age group because there are statistically more women having babies in that age group. I know a lot of women who were in their late teens and 20s who have children with Down syndrome (because I am a member of a Down syndrome board of course). I think every single pregnancy comes with risk, however most of the time, everything is just fine. If you absolutely want more children then I don't think being over 35 should stop you. It is so common these days.

Oh, and his cord was wrapped around his neck too (I think somebody else said they had that happen) and he was born at almost 32 weeks because of it by emergency c-section. It wasn't related to the Down syndrome at all. The cord was short and thin so that was the problem. But it definitely scared me to death! Much more than his diagnosis did.

Good luck on your decision!!!

Sandra

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Had my third baby at 37 ,also. My others were 11 and 7 at the time of her birth. She was born healthy and no complications with my pregnancy...I'd say go for it !!! Now they are 22,18 and 11 years old !!! My dd 11 keeps me young!!!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I was 35 1/2 when DD4 was born. I also had placenta previa, and the only risk factor I had for placenta previa was being over 35 at time of delivery. I was in the hospital on bed rest for two weeks (would have been longer, but DD was born 6 weeks early - I had to stay on bed rest until delivery, and we tried to delay that as long as possible). She spent three weeks in the NICU and had a heart monitor for two months after she came home. She's fine now, thank God! The hardest part, besides having to come home while DD stayed in the hospital, was being away from DD7 for all that time and making sure she was cared for (thank goodness for my wonderful in-laws who stayed with DH and DD while I was in the hospital).

Lots of women have healthy babies over age 35! You will probably just be monitored very closely and might have some additional challenges. I am so glad DD is in our family and would do it all over again for her! She was definitely meant to be in our lives!

 

[tinaluis]

I'm currently pregnant with Baby #4 and I'm 38. I'll turn 39 just after the baby is born. I had an amnio done with this pregnancy (that I didn't have with the other three) and everything looks to be fine. This pregnancy has been a little harder on me physically because I'm a little older and a lot of my pregnancy symptoms are different because I already have 3 girls and this one is a boy. Before I got pregnant I was in relatively good health and my previous three pregnancies were pretty easy, other than scheduled c-sections because my babies refuse to go into blast-off position. Funny thing, though, DH and I thought we were done having babies a long time ago -- our youngest will be 6 this year and our oldest will be 11, but I turned 38 this past October and just wanted to try for one more. We've had fertility issues in the past and 2 m/c so we weren't even sure we'd be able to conceive, but I really wanted to try. If we weren't successful, at least I'd feel like we'd tried. Two months later the pregnancy test was positive !

I really don't think that having babies over the age of 35 is as big a deal as it used to be. If you're generally in good health and have had no problems with prior pregnancies, you should feel confident that everything will be okay. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Benducci]

I had my twins a couple of months shy of my 36th birthday & had my little one when I was 38. We thought about one more but too many yeas have passed now. My mother had my youngest brother at 39 - I was 18! My grandmother didn't start having kids until whe was in her mid 30's & had her last at 47. She had 8 children.
Good lcuk! For every hard luck story you will find a silver lining story so you really need to go with your gut.

 

[lil mermaid]

Both of my children were born after 35. My DD was born a month after I turned 36, and my new DS was born when I was 38. Both are healthy, and I didn't have any real complications during either pregnancy (except for the fact that my BP was high at the very end of my pregnancy with DS.)

I should point out, however, that I have had three miscarriages - one before DD (I was 34) and two after (one at age 37 and one at age 38.)

 

[Nanu57v]

I know this is OT, but I don't frequent a lot of other sites for families...anyone have a baby after 35? Was the baby healthy? Were you healthy? I keep thinking I want one more...but worry about the risks. We have two beautiful dd's....part of me says to just be happy with the beautiful family I already have!

At first I thought you were referring to your DH! Then I thought you meant poundage, like a heavy baby...now I get it!

I haven't (still under 35), but DD has a friend who was born the same day as her perfectly healthy with a mom over 35. I have many friends on another board who've had kids over 35. I think that maybe they'll change the "Advanced maternal age" thing to 40 sometime soon...with SO MANY people waiting until over 30 to start their families. I think the biggest risk is Downs, but Downs kids are still blessings.

ETA: There is an employee who used to work for me who has older children (youngest in 5th grade) and just had a baby. She calls him her "no regrets baby." I'm not sure how old she really is, but I agreed with her thinking.

 

[Disney Ron]

We have a beautiful 5 month old DS. He is my first child and is a healthy baby. I had him, when I was 37. My pregnancy was extremely ordinary, just morning sickness the first 4-5 months (but it was worth it!)

Mrs. Disney Ron a/k/a Luke's Mom