Melissa’s IVF Pregnancy at 43 After 8 Egg Retrievals and 5 Transfers

103. For years, Karen was dedicated to her career and travel, waiting for the right moment and the right person. When she finally met Jason in her early 40s, they assumed their path to parenthood would require clinical intervention or adoption. But just as they were planning their future, a "Crohn’s flare-up" turned out to be a life-changing surprise: a spontaneous pregnancy at age 46.In this episode, Karen shares the shock of her "die stealer" pregnancy test and why she was firm about not being a pregnant bride, choosing to separate her wedding from her journey to motherhood. We dive into her experience navigating a teaching hospital, the "peanut gallery" of residents, and how she learned to advocate for her own rest during a grueling three-day induction. Karen also discusses her "mindful minutes" in the classroom and the bittersweet transition of surrendering the life she knew for the "miracle" daughter she waited so long to meet.Get the resources, transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode103/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

102. For years, Jude grappled with a single, heavy question: Do I actually want to be a mother? Feeling stuck in ambivalence, her quest for an answer took her from the high-stakes environment of the ER to the depths of the Amazon jungle. After a profound experience with a Shaman in Peru, the "indecision" finally cleared.In this episode, Jude shares her journey of meeting her partner at 39 and navigating the delicate balance of relationship-building with a "ticking clock." We dive into her spontaneous pregnancy at 41, the heartbreak of "twin demise," and her incredibly easeful pregnancy. Jude also tells the hilarious and harrowing story of her 10-centimeter-diluted dash to the hospital in a tiny Toyota Yaris. Tune in to hear how this medical professional learned to surrender her clinical mind to the mystery of motherhood.Get the resources, transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode102/FREE registration to Fertility Over Forty Summit:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/Fertilityover40SummitShop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

101. We have Fallon on to share her spontaneous pregnancy at 40. Fallon was never the girl who dreamed of being a mother. A full-time yoga teacher with a life she loved, she was content being a “dog mom” until the loss of her dog and a new marriage changed her perspective. On the night of her 40th birthday, she and her husband decided to go for it. One month later, she was staring at a positive pregnancy test.In this episode, Fallon talks about the shock of conceiving so quickly, the challenge of navigating a pregnancy with hardware in her pelvis from a previous accident, and what it was like to hear her daughter’s heartbeat for the first time without her husband. From a scheduled C-section on the summer solstice to the ego-stripping challenges of breastfeeding and low milk supply. She reflects on the “sisterhood” of mothers that finally let her in and why she’s choosing to be one-and-done at 40.Get the resources, transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode101/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

100. Jamie is joined by four incredible women from around the world: Sarah (44), Johanne (44), Bidi (43), and returning guest Katie (46). All four are currently pregnant, and they are openly discussing their experience of pregnancy over 40. The goal of this show to hear about pregnancy over 40 straight from pregnant women themselves instead of hearing it after the birth. In this roundtable discussion, we dive deep into four very different journeys: Johanne shares her 15-year journey of faith, which included 6 embryo transfers and a life-changing myomectomy to remove fibroids before finally reaching 6 months pregnant. Sarah and Katie discuss the decision to use donor eggs after 40. Sarah shares her "dream" pregnancy in Scotland despite a grapefruit-sized fibroid, while Katie talks about the reality of a VBAC after a previous C-section. Last, Bidi, a former digital nomad, shares her shock at conceiving just two months after moving in with her partner at age 43. From delayed cord clamping and C-section birth plans to the "mental scramble" of losing your identity during pregnancy, no topic is off-limits. Whether you are dealing with unexplained infertility, navigating advanced maternal age protocols, or just need to hear that you aren't alone in the "miscarriage club," this episode is a testament to the power of persistence. Find out how these four women moved past the "geriatric" labels to embrace the beauty (and the heartburn!) of pregnancy in their 40s. Get the transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode100/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

099. Stephanie is on share her spontaneous pregnancy at 43. Stephanie has been with her husband since she was 27 and married him at 39. She always wanted kids, at least one or two, but no more than three. Her husband is eleven years older than her with kids from a previous relationship and was open to having more. Once they decided to try to have a baby, she wasn't pregnant and thought something was wrong. Her husband had kids, so she went to the doctor a year and a half into trying to conceive to get herself checked out. All tests were normal. Eventually she just let it be. At 32 they found a fibroid, so they put her on birth control to shrink it. Luckily it worked and at 34, after getting off of birth control, she was pregnant with her son. When her son turned two, she was ready to try for another baby. At about the same time they were deciding, her husband got custody of his three kids. She instantly became a mama of four boys, a toddler and three preteens. Her blood pressure was high and she thought her family was complete. Find out how her blood pressure medication may have played a role in the surprise of her daughter of 43. Get the transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode99/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

098. Amanda is sharing her IVF journey at 45. Amanda met her husband at 25 and married at 30. As a couple they thought about not have children at all. That is, until she was in her early 30's when her husband suggest they have children after he questioned what are they doing this for. She is the oldest of four kids and was a nanny all through college. She was flexible and had her son, spontaneously at 34 after a heartbreaking pregnancy loss. She had a great pregnancy with her first baby. Amanda's husband was ready for a second right away but Amanda wasn't sure. She started a business and time went on. In her early 40's she wondered if she waited too long to have a baby. At 44, she had an epiphany that if she wanted another baby, she better make the decision now. Not wanting to wait, she assumed her only option was IVF, and made consultation appointments with a few clinics in North Texas. Find out how her IVF journey went, her pregnancy, a surprising birth and recovery. Get the transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode98/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

097. Jessica is on to share her spontaneous pregnancy story at 41. She is sharing her story 14 months postpartum. Jessica met her future husband at 33 and married him when she was 37. They discussed having kids briefly, but her priority was finishing school to become an occupational therapist. She knew she wanted a family. Before getting married she wanted to prepare her body for pregnancy by weening off birth control and getting her hormones tested. She took B vitamins, probiotics, and a mushroom extract vitamin for weakness in one of her ovaries. Six months before her wedding, she got the call where she was told her AMH is low. She was told she could get pregnant, but it would be challenging. Find out her journey to seeing a fertility specialist to manifesting her spontaneous pregnancy. Get the transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode97/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

096.  On episode 96, we have Allison on to share her pregnancy journey at 43. Growing up, Allison was always babysitting and spent summers being a camp counselor. She spent lots of time around children, but being a mom wasn’t an obvious choice for her. She had friends that either couldn’t wait to be a mom or never wanted to be a mom, but she didn’t feel like she fit on either side. She’s been with her husband for 15 years who has two children who she is very close with. She loves to travel and wasn’t sure motherhood was for her. When she turned 40, she married the same year and starting really thinking about having a baby. Find out why she went straight to IVF to gender select a girl, her five egg retrievals that led to her journey to motherhood. Get the transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode96/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

095. We have single mother by choice, Melissa on to share her IVF journey at 43. At 40, she thought she was probably running out of time to have a baby but always wanted to be a mother. Her friends suggested she should get a dog instead. She got a golden retriever she named Marvin. After having Marvin for a year, Melissa decided she still wanted to conceive. She says she hasn’t met the person she wants to have a child with yet, so find out how she did this journey on her own.Get the transcript and more information about this episode:https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/episode95/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/

BE04: We are discussing 10 ways to prepare for a transfer. I created this list based off of research, my experience of two transfers and ways that guests have shared from their stories.  If you are like me, you are searching the internet on how to make this transfer successful. You might feel like the more you do, the higher the chances are of it being successful. I suggest doing what feels good to you from this list. Because you can do all of them and it work, and you can do none of them and it work.DISCLAIMER: This is NOT medical advice. I am not a doctor, so talk with your doctor about doing any of things. Episode: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/bonusepisode4/Connect on IG: https://www.instagram.com/over40fabulousandpregnant/20 Journal Prompts during TTC: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/20-journal-prompts-while-ttc/5 Better Questions to Ask during TTC: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/5-questions-to-ask-yourself-while-ttc/Shop the Show 🛍️ To browse every product recommended by our host and guests, visit: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/shop/ (Note: We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you—it helps keep the episodes coming!) Support the Pod ❤️ If you enjoy our content and want to help us stay independent, you can donate to the show here: https://over40fabulousandpregnant.com/donate/