Pregnancy at 40 Has Some Benefits

Today's guest post about pregnancy at 40 is from Amy Lee, an executive turned stay-at-home-mom of five kids. Please read to the bottom to learn more about today's guest blogger.

Pregnancy after 35 isn't as hard as what I expected but in some ways it's harder. I was 39 when I discovered that I was pregnant (quite unexpectedly) with my fourth child. I thought I was finished with this aspect of parenting as my oldest was 15 and my husband's youngest was seven.

What I have discovered, though, is that while I am certainly feeling my age in regards to being pregnant and 40 (I turned 40 when I was 23 weeks into my pregnancy), I am also enjoying being pregnant more than I did with my first three.

With babies number two and three, I was too busy chasing toddlers to think about the pregnancies or the babies I was expecting. This time, my three birth children and two step-children are older and I have found that I am able to think more about the child I am carrying.

I have been paying closer attention to what I eat, how I feel, how active I am able to be and the physical limitations I have due to my age and pregnancy. This time, I am able to give myself permission to go slower, to rest more, to just enjoy what is happening within my body. I think about the baby I am carrying and wonder about her and her future. I didn't have the luxury of thinking much about my last two babies until they actually arrived because life was too busy and hectic and there were other babies to feed, change and love.

This time around, I am seeing some of the joys of pregnancy through the eyes of my kids—all five of them. They talk about their baby sister and ask questions about her. They delight in seeing my belly shift as their sister squirms. They talk about how they will learn to help take care of her and who will teach her to ride a bicycle or talk or do her schoolwork.

Many people might have the idea that finding out I am pregnant at this age was a shock and a horror. It was definitely a shock, and yes, I have worried about the possibility of complications due to my advanced maternal age. All in all, though, I am enjoying this new opportunity to have a child with the soul mate I love and watch our older children fall in love with this new addition to our family. In some ways, this baby has become some of the glue that binds our blended together.

All of the aches, pains and discomfort of pregnancy have definitely been worth it.

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About today's guest writer:

Amy Lee was an executive and is now a stay-at-home-mom with her babies. She loves to shop and now she's learned how to do coupon clipping when she shops for her favorite clothing brands, such as NY&Co and Victoria's Secret. Her favorite online coupon cutting sites include Sidepon.com and RetailMeNot.

Disclosure: Sidepon.com is an advertising sponsor at Anktangle.
Please see my full disclosure policy here.