That’s what I keep telling myself.
I’ve had six pregnangies and one healthy child. All of them after I turned 40.
In my defence, I’ve always been a bit of a late bloomer. Didn’t get my period until I was at least 14 (I want to say eyeballing 15 but to be honest I really can’t remember – another good indicator of age, clearly!). I didn’t start the career I’m in now and expect to finish my working days in until I was 30. I never cooked a turkey or a roast until I was in my late 20s and I’ve still never cooked veal or liver (never will). I still don’t own a Tajine, though I’ve coveted some.
I digress.
Why am I here? The Life-Partner (LP) and I are trying to have another healthy baby. We’ve been at it a while. We’ve lost three so far this year and we’re pretty broken-hearted about that. But we are about to embark on a new adventure: IVF for the over-40. Such adventures are not for the feint of heart, at least not if you are not up for donated eggs (and the LP isn’t).
The LP and I stared with hope and fear down this path once before, right before we found out I was preggers with healthy child #1 (product of pregnancy #3). That was a few years ago, when I was freshly 40. Until a few short weeks ago, we thought we’d be in the “third time’s the charm” camp again, after we saw our little cherub’s heart ticking away on my recent 40-something birthday. Not so. I wouldn’t be here if the third time (really, the 6th but who’s counting) were the charm. One surgery and countless tears, sleeping pills, supplements, treatments and sleepless nights (despite the pills) later, we are once again staring down the IVF barrell.
I’m a big proponent of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for fertility-related stuffs and things. I’ve also done hypnosis to help with baby-making anxiety (a product of batting 1 for 6, no doubt) and some training in emotional freedom technique (EFT), a tapping therapy you can do yourself once you learn how, though they (the EFTers who make a living selling their EFT wares) say ongoing coaching or group work is recommended. I’ve ingested some horrible-smelling and tasting herbs, LP and I have had an astonishing amount of blood let and tests run (all normal save for some slow and slightly tweaky swimmers) and I’ve peed on a million sticks.
IVF is new.
And better late than never. We hope.
Wish us luck. Please.
spiritbabycomehome 