New to TTC over 35 - Hello!

mcodea88

Hi everyone!  My name is Meghan.  I spent nearly my entire life thinking I did not want children.  I love other peoples' children, just never wanted my own.  Literally everyone who knows me will tell you that they know this about me.  Even my husband.

And then, I changed.  I guess I was 36 when I slowly and unexpectedly started thinking about things differently.  I won't bore you with all of the details of my epiphany, but needless to say, after much counseling from my dear friend, I spoke with my husband and told him the scary news.  I want to have a baby.  He, too, never wanted children so this was several conversations over a long period of time.  In the end, we're on the same page and are now trying. (as of June 30).

So - here's the thing.  I'm 37, my husband is 37 too.  There's that.  There's also the fact that I had been taking Loestrin 24 FE for many years, and have not had my period in a LONG time... like, years.  So I stopped taking the pill around June 9th.  I think that was my last pill.  I haven't gotten my period yet.  I'm waiting and hoping it will come.  But in the meantime, I have an appt with my OB/GYN on 8/4.  I'll have my list of questions for her then.  

I'm very new to TTC, so I'm not complaining, whining or anything.  Just scared.  Trying not to get totally wrapped up in dates, and missing periods, and all the info out there that up until maybe 6 months ago, i NEVER READ.  I am literally just learning things like what to do after you have sex... do you stick around a while before you get up, do you hang upside down from a chandelier... ya know, things like that. So - it's been an interesting process.  

I am probably going to test my fertility sooner rather than later just because I think it will help my mind rest a bit.  My husband is also going to... although he doesn't have any appts yet.  I'll wait to talk to my OBGYN first to see if he should right away or not.

So I guess, if any of you have gotten to the bottom of this without falling asleep, I'm happy to be here.  I read the rules of this forum and I can respect all the sensitivity that comes with it.  I wish all of you the best of luck.  I've been reading through some of the discussions and I feel like you're all such a great, supportive group of people.  So I'm happy to join! 

Thanks and I promise next post will be filled with more more of the forum lingo.  It's a lot to learn

Meghan

Carebear7777

Hi! Welcome! I'm also 37. It also took me a while to decide to have kids. I had my first at 36 and am starting to try for a second now

Regarding getting your period, I'm not an expert on this but I think there are things your doc can suggest to trigger a period. In the mean time, excerise & drinking lots of water can help!

marijaa333

Hello and welcome! It can take a couple of months for your cycle to normalize. 

Here's a question for you (and the others!): if a woman is on BCP for a long time and doesn't ovulate, does that positively affect her egg inventory? 

C_Girlie

Hi & welcome. Good luck with ur dr apt. @marijaa333‌ that's a very good question

mcodea88

Thats a really good question and I'd love to know that. I should be filled to the brim with eggs, shouldn't i? in theory, I suppose, but I'm sure that's not how it works.

marijaa333

mcodea88 said:

 I should be filled to the brim with eggs, shouldn't i?

That's what I'm thinking!

maybebaby3

Hi and welcome! I had an IUD removed in January and my OBGYN started me on Evening Primrose Oil to trigger my cycles to start. Worked like a charm! Maybe ask yours about that if you still haven't gotten a period by your doctor's appointment. Good luck and look forward to getting to know you!

supersarah77

Welcome! You're right, this is a great board. I was similar to you... Didn't want kids and then a major life event happened in my early 30s that changed everything. I had DD at age 36 and am TTC#2 now. On this board for both, the ladies are really helpful both with information and with support.

Anyway, exciting time for you, it is a little scary, thank goodness there are 40 weeks of a pregnancy to get your head wrapped around it. Best of luck and I hope your stay here is short in a good way.

Davie813

Welcome!

Sadly, I don't think it's true about the BCP. I was on them for about a zillion years before I started TTC at 38, so I googled it a lot. The good news is that some people think women are extra fertile for a few months right after stopping them.

I was, FWIW!

meredithcarole

Welcome. I was on Loestrin for about 5 years and before that I was on OrthoTricyclen for about 10years. I went off the pill last September. My periods did regulate pretty quickly, I believe. Good luck with your chandelier dangling

URMySunshine77

Greetings and welcome! I turn 37 this week.

I hope that @Davie813 is right and you are super fertile after stopping BC. 

hooligans4

Welcome and good luck. You will get all the support and knowledge you need from this wonderful group of ladies.

lgsdesigner

Hello Meghan, and welcome!
I was going to stop at two children, (that is all I ever wanted). Lo and behold…here I am trying for baby #3. Never say never!

GL to you!

kelley72

Welcome and best wishes! 

Lesliem0901

Welcome and GL on your TTC journey!

Radiantly

Welcome and thanks for the thoughtful intro. Congrats on making this decision!!  I'm so glad to hear that your husband is on board.  Myself, I started trying a year ago upon our honeymoon.  I was married for 7 years to someone who I was never ready to have children with... we weren't always 100% safe, but I never got pregnant.  After I left him, he met someone and she was pregnant on their first date!  They stayed together and now have 2 kids.  It's finally my time though.  I feel ready.  

The first 5 or 6 months I was trying to stay calm, not even taking my temperature, although I did track it for a few months prior to the wedding to get a baseline of my cycle.  We had sex on days here & there but weren't very methodical about it.  Around January, we bumped it up a notch and got more careful about making sure we had sex on days leading up to ovulation.  I am a sciency person and I love the graph that the Kindara App gives me over time.  I also like knowing that the temp rise means I ovulated.  

I went to an RE last week and his initial ultrasound showed I had plenty of eggs and I'm almost 37 in 2 months, so that was great to hear.  on the flipside, my friend who is 37 was told she has "really old eggs" and she got pregnant after about a year of trying.  So, you really don't know.  I think the best advice I got was from my friend who is a massage therapist & a doula, and she told me about Arvigo Maya abdominal massage.  It's something I do on myself every night before I go to sleep, and I use it also as a time to meditate/envision that my uterus is full of light and health.  After a couple months my periods got much better (bright blood, no clumps, no spotting) which she said is HUGE.  

Arvigo maya abdominal massage can also help bring in periods over a long time absent. It also can help position the uterus if it's out of place (very common!) and it stimulates the area by bringing bloodflow there.  

Besides that, I've really gotten tight on diet.  I love Weston A Price and incorporate healthy fats especially from animals - good butter, bone broth with gelatin from chicken feet, etc.  I drink mostly herbal tea now and cut out coffee.  I've been feeling good and my skin is glowing.  I am feeling ready.  They say the 100 days before you get pregnant is crucial to the development and health of the baby, so relax and work on your health (and your husband's) first and start taking your temperature when you wake up, record it in an app (I like Kindara), and track your cervical mucus.  

Much luck and keep us updated!!

kindershlitz

Good luck to you!

Fredifer1115

Welcome, and good luck.

Re: lengthy stays on BCP reserving eggs...I wish that was the case.  I had thought the same.  Sadly, it's not true.  I was on 2 very low dose pills for about 11 years, collectively.  Was diagnosed with DOR 2 months ago.  I am 38

TAT2MAMI

Welcome! I am also 37 and TTC #2 after waiting for almost 9 years!
It's great that you and your DH are on the same page. I wish you the best of luck!

mcodea88

Thank you everyone for all the comments and warm welcome!  I'm so eager to get to the Dr... 8/4 can't come soon enough.  I'm just trying to be relaxed about things until then.  I take care of myself, eat relatively healthy, exercise (I mean, not often but not NOO exercise) so I'm hopeful I'm doing all I can.  I'm also taking FertilAid and Ovaboost.  Any thoughts on them?  I've read loads and loads of fantastic reviews on them... and as they are natural supplements and don't seem to have anything fishy in them, I feel like they're ok to take.  I take them as recommended, and started that... I guess maybe a month ago.  The FertilAid is a prenatal too, I believe.  So I'm taking good vitamins.  It may do nothing at all, but I feel like it's a bunch of vitamins so there shouldn't be any harm.  I have read, too, some reviews where some ppl think the Ovaboost screws up ovulation, or delays it or something... I don't know.  I mean, I haven't ovulated in an eternity so I would never notice if that were the case for me.  

Anyway - thanks again to everyone.  I'll be sure to send through an update after my DR appointment!