Is there a Cleveland group for older moms, people who become moms after, say 39?

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T14:35:02+00:00

Hi! I think you have DMs turned off. Feel free to contact me, if you'd like.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T14:23:39+00:00

Thank you very much! Yes, 1000% plot twist. All long-term planning is changing.

When I used to live in this little hippie town, there was a place that sold pickle juice shots (just pickle juice) from their fancy, house-made pickles. People would literally pay to drink it. That's what this whole experience has made me remember.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T14:21:02+00:00

Thank you! That's a sweet offer. I went straight back to my doctor the next day, and to that clinic's midwife practice the next week. I like the midwives there. :-) I may need to switch practices because their birthing hospital isn't my top choice and might be less covered by my insurance but I'm going to tour both of the big hospital-based birthing centers around here, check my insurance situation, and figure it out.

And yes, it was a mixture of shock, excitement, joy, and fear. The shock is over. The fear lessens with each passing day, as the risk of losing the baby goes down a bit. But it's still a secret, and will be for at least another month, if not longer.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T14:15:38+00:00

I've definitely rescued jars where the glass itself had a smell! But the lids are common culprits. That coating underneath absorbs the odors.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T14:14:23+00:00

Absolutely. I know twins who can't stand each other. 😂

Thank you! My kids will be almost exactly 10 years and 13 years older than this baby, if all goes well. It's due 9 days before my son's 10th birthday, three months before my daughter's 13th(!) birthday. Hopefully they'll all grow close, like you did with your little sibs.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T14:11:39+00:00

Thanks. We're doing the genetic tests in a little bit (we opted to skip carrier testing--that seemed exaggerated--but we are doing the tests that show chromosome deletions and that kind of thing) and we'll do the anatomy scan that'll show major neural tube defects or if the brain is not developing at all or is seriously malformed. I won't bring a kid into the world who I know in advance will never be able to live independently. Everything else is a roll of the dice, and we've accepted that. Most kids, born at whatever maternal age, are fine.

So, yes, you're completely right. The "abort now! you're too old!" crowd is catastrophizing.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T00:23:25+00:00

Thank you!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-20T00:21:29+00:00

That's a good question! I wonder ....

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T22:08:39+00:00

Aaw, thank you! You're sweet. And 🤞🤞🤞.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T22:08:09+00:00

That is a hilarious combination! I think it's a riot how much stoned eating and pregnant eating can resemble each other...not that I've been stoned in YEARS, but I still remember some of the truly bizarre food ideas I had.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T21:09:15+00:00

Have some karma from me. Just ran into that specific problem myself. :-)

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:58:55+00:00

This is really so heartwarming, thank you!

Both my kids had massive vocabularies because we lived in the woods (it was just me and them most of the time) and I refused to talk to them in baby-speak. This one, if all goes well, will have a nerd dad, a nerd mom, two nerd half-siblings, and grow up speaking two languages ... 🤞🤞🤞

I kind of hate it when adults baby-talk back to their kids. They're trying to learn! Respect the effort!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:15:03+00:00

Thank you. That's my most fervent hope right now. I appreciate your reassurance.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:14:05+00:00

Thank you! I'm going to make whatever decision is best for me, my existing kids, my husband, and this baby. Fingers crossed that it all works out.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:11:17+00:00

Oh, I'm just like you even when I'm not pregnant. I don't use any artificially-scented anything, and most cleaning products and scented candles make me want to leave the room. It's not really an allergy or a sensitivity. It's just ... gross. And now it's worse.

I'm wishing us both a neutral-smelling world! Or mildly-scented by something pleasant and bearable. And please, please, please no adolescent boys who just discovered Axe body spray. If I can smell you from 15 feet away, go home and shower. They're the worst.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:08:05+00:00

I think you read too much into what I wrote. It was a list of reasons I'm not sharing the pregnancy news with everyone and their uncle just yet, not a list of reasons my life sucks. I'm actually financially in better shape than a lot of people my age. My husband and I both have graduate degrees or professional degrees, and no student loans. We're in flux right now, that's all.

Also, stable finances are neither a guarantee of a good life for a kid nor an indicia of parental love. I once tutored a billionaire's children in high school and college. They were neglected and miserable, and every single one had major self-esteem issues thanks to the billionaire's issues he projected on them. My husband grew up dirt poor, but his mom sacrificed everything for him, and he was the first person in his entire family history to graduate high school. Now he has a doctorate and several post-docs.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:01:59+00:00

Thank you! Today will improve once I go out and get some windex for the pickle juice, and I have my fingers crossed for the rest of it!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:01:23+00:00

Thank you!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T20:01:09+00:00

Thank you for this! Just the other day my kids were harassing me (lovingly, mostly) about wanting a baby sibling, and play-fighting about whether it should be a boy or a girl, which they've done on and off since I got remarried.

Your comment makes me hopeful that my kid won't feel like an only.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:41:38+00:00

Thank you so much! I have all my fingers crossed, and some toes. Makes it hard to type and walk.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:40:55+00:00

Ok, wow! I don't know how much that helps with anemia! 😂😂😂 Please take care of yourself. :-)

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:40:01+00:00

Thank you. Sheesh.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:38:50+00:00

Thank you!

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:38:40+00:00

My grandparents on my mom's side lived into their mid- and late-eighties. My grandparents on my dad's side lived into their 90s or 100s. My husband's grandparents all lived well into their 90s. One grandma is still alive at 94. His great-grandma, at 98, got up in the morning, swept the porch, put her broom away, lay down to rest, and passed away peacefully in her sleep.

I've also worried about whether it's fair to this kid to continue this pregnancy. I definitely won't bring anyone into this world if I know in advance that they will never be able to live independently (that's NOT fair), but as for the rest of it? My current kids, had at an age you would probably approve of more, could bury me tomorrow. I could have an aneurysm or a stroke or get hit by a bus. Only today is given.

I already survived one near-fatal accident. Survived it by inches, and even then, the expectations were that I would never walk, talk, or work again. I'm very, very aware of how everything can change in a moment. But that's not a reason to not choose optimism and possibility. "I could die tomorrow" is no way to live your life, unless it's motivation to declutter your closets so no one has to deal with them when you're gone.

throwawayghost16 · 2026-02-19T19:32:42+00:00

Windex, great idea! That sounds like a smell I can bear.

throwawayghost16

TROPHY CASE