Left In Right Field - An Older Woman's Pregnancy Tale

AFP4 or Quad Marker Test Results

leftinrightfield — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:21:08 +0000

I got back my AFP4 or Quad marker test results. This screening test uses blood from the mother to help identify women who may be carrying a baby with certain types of birth defects (such as neural tube defects, Down syndrome and trisomy 18 syndrome). The screening is available to pregnant women between 15 and 21 weeks of pregnancy.

The tests were normal which my doctor proclaimed is “great” – Though a normal result does not guarantee a healthy baby.

There is another diagnostic test called amniocentesis. I can take it at 20 weeks but I think I am going to pass. It involves taking fluid that surrounds the baby in the uterus. I guess there is a small chance of miscarriage. I don’t think I am going to risk miscarriage at this point. I will just hope for the best.

Over the weekend I saw my sister and her new little guy. She was completely blown away when I told her I was pregnant. She said it explained my weight gain which she had noticed but did not mention before. It will be fun to have the little cousins so close in age.

Spreading the Word of my Pregnancy

leftinrightfield — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:03:34 +0000

Here I am at almost 17 weeks and still no one knows of my pregnancy. I am starting to show a little and I am sure my friends are wondering why I no longer drink beer when we go out to dinner. I have been telling them I am having sinus headaches and the alcohol makes it worse.

We hadn’t told anyone of my pregnancy for several reasons.

First, I wanted to wait until after the first trimester. It seems there is a high risk of miscarriage during this period of time. I wanted to successfully get through the first trimester before letting everyone know.

Second, my sister started the process of adopting a baby boy a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t want to steal her thunder. She is very excited about her new little one. Wait until she finds out he has a new cousin on the way.

I had an appointment with my OB/GYN on Thursday. The baby’s heartbeat was at 150 bpm – so the baby is going strong.

On Saturday, I stopped by my parent’s house. It was time to let them know of their newest grandchild. I was very nervous when I told them. I wasn’t sure how they would take it. I figured they would say ‘what the heck were you thinking. You have this free wheeling life and now you are going to strap yourself down’. Of course, that isn’t what they said. They were completely in shock but also very happy for me.

This week I will receive the results to some genetic tests taken from a blood sample last Thursday. Then I will start the process of telling the rest of my family and my friends.

The First Trimester of Pregnancy

leftinrightfield — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:24:29 +0000

The first month I felt like they had lied to me. I didn’t feel pregnant. Everything seemed the same. The only difference seemed to be the changes I had made in my life. I had stopped drinking alcohol, my hot tub was drained and I avoided taking Sudafed, pain relievers and drinking anything with caffeine. They told me these things could cause a miscarriage, especially at my advanced age.

Around 8 weeks it hit me. Every time I had a hunger pain, nausea accompanied it. I had to eat something immediately or risk feeling icky. I was also extremely sleepy. Lucky for me I work from home. I would crawl into bed several times a day and take short naps. When I awoke, I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed. It made for a long work day.

Somewhere around the 12th week everything changed. My energy was back and the nausea was gone. What a strange period.

Bleeding at 7 Weeks

leftinrightfield — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:00:21 +0000

A scary occurrence happened at 7 weeks. I had been moving some heavy boxes around our basement for about an hour that evening. When I finished I noticed I had a small but sharp pain on my right side.

I paid little notice to it and went upstairs and fixed myself dinner. About an hour later, I was lying on the couch watching a movie when I realized I was bleeding. I ran to the bathroom. I was bleeding like it was my period. I was scared. After several hours the bleeding stopped.

Thank God for the internet. I didn’t know what to do so I decided to google “bleeding during pregnancy”. I found several sites that gave me reassuring advice that other women had bleed during their pregnancies and delivered healthy babies.

The next morning I called my OB/GYN and they got me in right away. The doctor did an ultra sound and the baby was fine. The doctor told me no lifting or exercise.

At my age, this is probably my last shot at having a baby. I took his advice and have had no more bleeding episodes since.

How It Happened

leftinrightfield — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:24:35 +0000

When I was in my late 30’s and started thinking about children, I realized nothing was going to happen unless we got help. My partner has problems. We worked with a specialist and started the In Vitro Fertilization process.

We tried one time and it did not work. We froze the extra fertilized eggs. The years flew by and we did nothing. I am not sure why we waited. Always something to do, some place to go.

Last year, I went in for surgery to make my uterus more hospitable. Then we waited some more. Finally this March we decided to proceed. The insemination took place on April 3. I was reluctant to go in for my scheduled pregnancy test on April 15 but decided to get it over with and take the test.

A couple of hours later they called me with the results. I hesitated in answering the phone. When the nurse told me I was pregnant, I was speechless. Fifteen weeks later I still find it hard to believe.

My child will need to figure out how to pay for college because we have spent the child’s college fund.

Why Now?

leftinrightfield — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:16:43 +0000

I am in my forties and pregnant with my first child. I just passed the 14 week mark. I am still in disbelief that if all goes well, I will be having a child around Christmas.

Why didn’t I have children when I was younger?

It wasn’t until my late 30’s that I started seriously thinking about having a child. I know I am a little behind but I have always moved at my own slow pace. I never felt I was ready to have a child. There was always something else I needed to do.

At this point in my life, my drinking and partying days are over. I am financially stable. I never will wonder what I missed out on in my 20’s and 30’s. My younger years were all about me and having fun.

I know things are going to dramatically change but I am more prepared now than I would have been at a younger age. I believe I will make a great Mom.