Geriatric Pregancy

I can still remember the day I knew I was pregnant.  It was Mother's day, May 2016 and my first sign was my sense of smell.  I was able to smell everything good and bad from a mile away.  I recall pressing my face against the window trying not to gag on the cheddar/sour cream chips he shoved into his mouth 😂. I felt it in my heart but still needed my doctor to confirm which was about a week later.  I had one of the biggest, ugliest silent cries that you would see on movies right before the big wail came flooding the TV speakers.  YES! YES! YES! YES! I was jumping for joy until that moment I was told, "because of your age alone, you will be considered HIGH RISK in your pregnancy.

I instantly had old emotions flood me all over again and questioned myself as to being too old to conceive, carry and deliver a healthy child.  Was 37 really considered a Geriatric Pregnancy?  Just saying it out loud sounded like I was super old.  My doctor did discuss all of the risks that could be associated with a geriatric pregnancy and although I we experienced some of the risks (1) premature birth and (2) high blood pressure (near the end of pregnancy) we delivered a healthy baby girl.👶

What are the risks of a geriatric pregnancy? <-Click link for more information

Because a woman has the same eggs that she is born with her entire life, there is a higher risk of abnormalities during pregnancies that happen later in life. According to BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, some of the risks of advanced maternal age during pregnancy include:

• premature birth
• low birth weight in the baby
• stillbirth
• chromosomal defects in the baby
• labor complications
• cesarean section
• high blood pressure in the mother, which can lead to a serious condition called preeclampsia, and an early birth for the baby
• gestational diabetes, which also increases the risk of diabetes later in life

Life without baby

In my younger days, I would look to the left and someone was pregnant or look to the right and there was another pregnant woman but what no one talks about is the many women that suffer with infertility.  It is not as easy for many women to conceive and it wasn't until I got older and talked to more women and learned their struggles and stories while trying to conceive.  Of course many were successful but there is still a hand full that are not.

I consider myself to be a realist and realistically not all women will become natural mothers.  At one point in my life this was a harsh reality that I was coming to terms with.  At my age and having gone through this journey for 20 years, I was simply at the point in my life of asking God to please grant me peace within myself during this chapter of my life.

Yes, I have conceived a child but that does not take away from the pain of the journey or the many thoughts over the years of living a life without a baby.  Lisa Manterfield shares her story here of surviving and thriving when motherhood doesn't happen.  We are still women and life can still be truly amazing!

Many Blessings!!

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FASTING for my Child

If you are a church-goer, then you are familiar with the term "fasting".  Fasting is giving up food or other things for a period of time in order to focus your thoughts on God.  During fasting, people will spend time reading the Bible, praying and/or worshiping.  As a member of Prayer and Deliverance Ministries for a number of years, fasting became a reoccurring event in my life.  Church members were asked to participate in the Daniel Fast twice a year.  I was able to truly learn and experience the benefits that fasting had on my life.  It helped me to hear from God.  I was able to strengthen my relationship with God and I was able to build my faith.  

Somethings in life you can get to that point where you have tried things your way and they did not work and now you are left with no other options but to try things GOD's way.  That is were I was and I had no other tricks in my hat, no more doctors to see, no more surgeries to have performed and no one that could help me or truly understand.

I made the decision to go on a fast and prepare for my child.  Now every year I repeat the Daniel Fast starting January 1 and end January 31 but this time my fasting was different.  Once I made the decision in the middle of December I started that next day.
1. I removed Beef and Pork from my diet (doctors orders) along with soda.
2. I gave up alcohol, as you should anyway when trying to conceive.
3. I removed myself from social media to allow the time spent there to reflect on my goal, choices and reconnect with my husband, family and God.
4. I began to seek internal peace and I started meditating daily (nothing major I downloaded a meditation app on my phone and let it do what it was designed to do)
5. I read daily scriptures listed below every night while fasting
6. Prayer.  Many nights I was not even sure what to pray so I just started talking to God from my heart. (You can also download bible or prayer apps to your phone)

Now my husband has never been one to really fast but after sitting and talking with him about my decision he choose to stop smoking and join me in reading the scriptures daily (He was not giving up beef or pork 😆).

Now those who are not believers I am sure will have much to say and that is fine.  This is my story, my journey and the things that I did that not only allowed me to become more sensitive to the voice of God but truly saw through dreams as he revealed to me his plans for my husband and I (surpassing our dreams of becoming parents).  I began my fast December 2015 and received a positive pregnancy test in May 2016.  Even during my fasting my faith was tested and it was not an easy journey for us but what was our other options.  We had none and all we had left was GOD.  And no I am not saying we made God our last option but just as everyone else we had to learn to get out of our own way and lean on him and give God his time and allow him to do his works and prepare us for his miracle.  When I made the decision to fast, I already had my mind set that I was going to give my all, trust God and not come out of this fast until we were pregnant or God had given me peace to accept that natural motherhood was not for me.  I am not hear to tell you to fast just sharing my story for other women that have lost faith and hope during this emotional journey.

Below are the list of Bible scriptures my husband and I read every night for 6 months while trying to conceive.  Just in case you are ready to get out of your own way and hear from God.

Isaiah 55:11King James Version (KJV)

¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Romans 3:4King James Version (KJV)

⁴ God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Deuteronomy 7:14King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

Deuteronomy 28:4King James Version (KJV)

⁴ Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

Mark 10:27King James Version (KJV)

²⁷ And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Galatians 3:13King James Version (KJV)

¹³ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Luke 1:37King James Version (KJV)

³⁷ For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Psalm 46:5King James Version (KJV)

⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

Mark 11:23-26King James Version (KJV)

²³ For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
²⁴ Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
²⁵ And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
²⁶ But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 18:19King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Jeremiah 32:27King James Version (KJV)

²⁷ Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

Psalm 77:14King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

John 14:27King James Version (KJV)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Isaiah 11:03King James Version (KJV)

³ And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

Judges 13:3King James Version (KJV)

³ And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

Psalm 113:9King James Version (KJV)

⁹ He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.

2 Peter 1:8King James Version (KJV)

⁸ For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 3:5-6King James Version (KJV)

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

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