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Heartbeat followup post / handspun shout out « »
(See end for explanation as to why this photo goes with this post!)
That’s “Booya Kasha” from Spincycle!
SO. Along with hearing the baby’s heartbeat came the news that I am considered ‘elderly’ to be having a baby. The midwife told me that she herself was elderly, and it was fine. And my nurse practitioner was 36 when she had her baby. I knew going into this that we’d be considered somewhat ‘high risk’ because of my age…but it’s hard to hear anyway. And really, really strange…because I don’t feel like an elderly 35-er.
I like this Dr. Sears book
Before the next appointment (July 30) we need to have decided which if any tests we want to go through. We need to do some more research before we decide anything. I came home with a handful of pamphlets on all of the various things.
It’s this kind of thing that makes it hard to concentrate for the rest of the day after these appointments. My brain just starts working overtime and I have this inconsolable need to figure it all out NOW. And because that’s just impossible, I then wander on to the “what should I make for the baby next?” question.
After seeing a few Baby Surprise Jackets (1, 2, 3, 4) , I’m completely moved to make one. And I *must* find some handspun yarn to use!
Does anyone have soft, pretty Aran weight handspun yarn to sell me? (I have paypal, and I’m not afraid to use it!) I’m excited enough about this to also make booties and hat to go with, so I’d need probably 500 yds total. I’ve been looking through the websites of the usual suspects and lots of people are all sold out! Reds, magenta, oranges, yellows, blues, greens, purple, brown…any color is good. Just not “baby” pink or “baby” blue! 
See, just the thought of starting this project has completely cheered me up!
ETA: AHA! I found the perfect stuff!! (See photo at top!) (But of course am always in the market!!)
This entry was posted on Monday, July 2nd, 2007 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Patterns, baby. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
11 Responses to “Heartbeat followup post / handspun shout out”
I, too, was considered “elderly” when I had my second at 38. It is VERY hard trying to sort through all the info they give in regards to further testing. Being the worry wart that I am, I did opt for the amnio, and I must say that the test itself isn’t bad…..it’s the decision-making process and waiting that is the stressful part. Sometimes I think that we are given too much information and our minds just run with it. The docs prepare you for the worst, and automatically we assume the worst will happen to us. You have made a great point, stressing the use of the 99.7% likelihood that your baby will be just fine.
My kiddo turned out JUST fine. He’ll be starting Kindergarten this fall.
But…I will say…if I HAD to do it all over again, I don’t think I’d put myself through it again. You yourself can look at your and hubby’s family history and pretty much tell how things will probably go.
Thought I’d de-lurk to give you a show of support for what you are feeling right now. Being pregnant is the most wonderful and stressful time of your life, but what you get at the end of it…..that beautiful baby….is oh so worth it! Congrats to you!!
My partner and I had to go through all that too. I’m 36 and there are so many tests they offer you it can be overwhelming. We opted for the least invasive, so no amnio, no cvs, and given the high number of false positives, we also opted out of the AFP. Ultimately if the tests give you peace of mind (they did for my sister) then go for it. Whatever you decide just do it because it’s what you need/want not because of the pressure from your provider or family. Best of luck.
Don’t worry.
My mom had me when she was 36 and I turned out mostly normal. ;D
Hi Steph!
You don’t know me, but I have been with you since you were living on the east coast! I am so happy to hear that you are expecting (sounds so old fashioned, doesn’t it?). I too was considered OLD and high risk for having my babies - my first at 35, my second at 37. I too had a CNM (midwife) and that in itself i think is one of the best things you can do. I switched to our CNM program half way through my first pregnancy because I was tired of being made feel like I had done something wrong by being “old” not taking all of the tests. He would always look at me like I had done something wrong! My CNM was so supportive with everything. The doctor i had before her was constantly trying to turn my otherwise healthy, normal pregnancy into something scary, and “possibly dangerous”. We opted out of all tests except for the HIV test (it was mandatory). The best thing my CNM told me when it came to deciding about the tests was this…will the answer the tests give you make you change your mind about having the baby - (it was a Termination question) basically if you are willing to keep the baby even if there is something wrong, then don’t worry about taking the tests. I may not have written that well, but I am afraid that someone will read this post and get all preachy -pro-lifey or whatever on me…KWIM? So, in lieu of the cromosome tests, we just had a Level 2 ultrasound (very indepth ultrasound). This way, if there was a catastrophic physical abnormality to be SEEN, then we would see it and decide where to go from there. The ultrasound was, like, an HOUR, so I got to spend all that wonderful bonding time watching him move, and hearing his little heartbeat!
Pregnant mommies have enough stuff to worry about, why add more? Have you looked into having a Doula? They are a wonderful, WAY VALUABLE, addition to your “birth support team”.
as a side note…I had both of my babies naturally (no meds etc.) and as strange as it may sound, both births were WONDERFUL experiences! We did not go into natural labor like “we are gonna do this naturally come hell or high water” … I just wanted to see if I could do it. I did and it was WONDERFUL.
Just know that we are all here for you, cheering you on! Pregnancy is SO wonderful, and SO very stressful, and SO VERY empowering - but amazingly enough, there are no words to describe beauty of that baby when it is born. wow. it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about my boys
they are 2 and 4 months 
.
i could talk about this forever. I better stop now! I am a gabber - sorry! If you ever come up with more questions (natural birth, medicated birth, Doulas) whatever, just shout out. I am sure that you will get a lot of useful positive information.
yey! Congrats to you both!
ok… if you’re elderly… i’m ancient (38 altho i tell people i’m 28) and my girlfriend just had a beautiful baby girl & she’s older than I AM (not that she’d admit it)…. we dont even use our walkers
and may i ask… how did you not CLOCK whoever said “elderly”…
they’da been spittin teeth had they said the same to me while examining my ancient @ss
hmmppfffff
we did chooose to do the amnio… thankfully the results were wonderful… however, in retrospect, my doc was right… it’s not “necessary”, and i dont think i’d do it for the next one (if we get there someday… could you imagine what category i’d be in THEN… the near dead… hmmppfff elderly)
anyway hope the sciatic’s doing better! & have a wonderful 4th of July
That yarn is gorgeous! And it’ll go with your hair!
I’ve had friends have babies in their 40s and they didn’t have problems, doctors always tell you the worst, so you’ll be prepared, but sometimes that’s not the best thing in my opinion…
I love Dr. Sears’ books. They were a huge help to me when I was a new mom and my daughter was having a tough time gaining weight. He is very reassuring and informative, and I found it tremendously helpful to have an “expert” who validated my own innate maternal instincts. I loved making the BSJ when I was first pregnant with my son. The yarn you picked looks beautiful. Also, using aran weight yarn means you should get more wear out of yours than I got out of mine (I used koigu on 3.25mm needles). It fit him for about a month. Oh well, it’s a lovely thing for the keepsake box. It reminds me of how small he was and how excited I was to have him.
You can never go wrong with EZ! If you enjoy that one, take a look at the Tomtem jacket too. I’m a fan.
hi,
re the yarn, its worth having a look at theknittery.com, (an australiansite) it has some georgeous clours and some merinoalcapca yarn in aran weight at an awsome price.
Also I just got my fitted knits form my local dymocks there it was just sitting on the shelf in small town country australia.
YAY
I’m a manic knitter, but my comment is about statistics - (which is how I afford yarn.) When i was 35 and expecting my second, I also had the term ‘elderly multipara’ slapped on me. But, what was worse was that as a result of a test, a nurse called me to tell me that my level on this test was associated with Down’s Syndrome. I interpreted this as one in 2 or 1 in 3 and spent the night, wide awake, pondering how my life was going to change. I went in the next day and insisted on seeing the lab report because no one there understood that an exact number would make me feel more in control of planning my life. They finally handed the report over and I saw a little number scrawled on it - ‘1/287′. ‘Are these my INCREASED odds?” I asked. Indeed they were. I reformulated these odds in this way and went back to sleeping at nights. If I were to have a baby a day for the next 287 days, one of them would have Down’s Syndrome. I was willing to bet that it would not be the first one.
My lovely daughter, born on the 2nd of July, the day you heard your baby’s heartbeat, turned 20 a few days ago.
The numbers we get from our doctors apply to groups, not to individuals.
Do what makes you feel safe and happy.
PS. The knitting is lovely!
I called myself the geriatric obstetric patient - I was 41 when I had Grace. I’m probably a better parent now than I was to my now 16 year old. Old moms rock!