47. Joy’s path to motherhood took a surprising turn when she discovered that the key to her fertility at 43 wasn’t just about her age, but about her gut. Joy shares how she transformed her internal health to defy the odds and conceive naturally when most told her it wasn’t possible.
On episode 47, we have Joy on to share her pregnancy story at 42. Joy is an athlete that grew up in small town Alsea, Oregon. She went to OSU (Oregon State) where she became a registered dietician. She spent her 20’s in Portland, Oregon. Then she had two daughters at 33 and 35. She doesn’t describe the two pregnancies as ‘that hard’ but she feels like they took a toll on her. She remembers looking at other pregnant women and moms in their 20’s thinking just how much easier they had it being young and able to survive on less sleep. She and her husband made their way back to her small town to raise their two daughters. She thought her family of four was complete.
Joy shares her incredible journey of conceiving naturally at the age of 43. After facing the unique challenges of mid-life fertility, she discovered a surprising and often overlooked piece of the puzzle: the profound connection between gut health and reproductive wellness. By focusing on healing her body from the inside out and prioritizing her microbiome, Joy was able to create the optimal environment for a healthy pregnancy, defying common narratives about age and fertility.
About the Guest
An Oregon State University-educated Registered Dietitian and lifelong athlete, Joy grew up in the small town of Alsea, Oregon, before spending her 20s in the vibrant city of Portland. After returning to her hometown to raise her two daughters, born when she was 33 and 35, she felt her family of four was complete. Though she recalls those earlier pregnancies taking a significant physical toll—often comparing her energy levels to the perceived ease of younger moms—life had a surprise in store. Leveraging her professional expertise in nutrition and a deep focus on gut health, Joy navigated an unexpected and successful pregnancy at 43, proving that vitality and motherhood can flourish well into a woman’s 40s.
Connect with Joy:
- Instagram: @bringingthejoy.jordan
Key Topics
- The Gut-Fertility Connection: Understanding how the microbiome influences hormonal balance and reproductive health.
- Healing from the Inside Out: The specific dietary and lifestyle shifts Joy used to prep her body for pregnancy in her 40s.
- Defying the “Age” Narrative: Overcoming the mental and physical hurdles of trying to conceive at 43.
- Actionable Wellness: Simple, holistic steps to improve egg quality and uterine environment through nutrition.
Resources & Links:
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Transcript
Jamie: Joy, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your story. Welcome.
Joy: Thank you. I’m so happy to be here.
Jamie: She’s on to share her story at 42. How many weeks postpartum are you?
Joy: Yeah, 10 weeks postpartum now. He’s this two month.
Jamie: So tell us about finding out you were pregnant, because this was a complete surprise.
Joy: It was. I had been just tracking my cycle for two years, and that had been going really well until I made a lot of lifestyle changes, and my cycle changed with that.
Even before this pregnancy, I had a few pregnancy scares where my cycle was just running longer and, I was thinking maybe I was pregnant or were you… and then my k- menstruation would start, and so you’d be like, “Great, best day ever.”
My previous two pregnancies took a toll on me at 33 and 35. Our girls are 19 months apart, and so that made it harder. We thought we were done having kids, and I was excited to be the active mom doing all the things with my kids. We were really getting into a new phase of life and parenting and God has other plans.
Jamie: Will you tell us about your lifestyle change that you mentioned?
Joy: Of course. I really started focusing on gut health, and being a dietician I never thought I had an unhealthy gut, but I had stubborn weight. I was a lifelong athlete, but I still had stubborn weight.
I battled hypoglycemia where my blood sugars would just tank if I didn’t eat every two to three hours, especially when it, when you’re dealing with blood sugars, that is related with hormones. When I focused on gut health and cleared out the candida yeast, that’s one thing that’s unique about what I did with the gut health products, and I no longer had to eat every two to three hours. The weight came off, and my anxiety cleared from it too, but with that, my cycle did change. I had a longer cycle, and that made it harder to use that kinda method of birth control.
Jamie: How long were your cycles when they were extended with the, your change?
Joy: 31 days.
Jamie: Okay.
Joy: I was pretty regular at 28 days for two years. Previously it worked very well. And then when it was 31 days my demonstration was only five days. It would be three to five days, and so everything was shorter. But the rest was longer.
A few months previously, I was wondering if I was pregnant because, my period hadn’t started like it was supposed to but then it did.
Jamie: You weren’t shocked when you didn’t start your cycle?
Joy: At first, no I wasn’t. I don’t know how much people share on this, but, in August was a busy month for my running. I did two relay races that are long distance relay races with a, with a team. And just it was a busier schedule than normal. And we only had intercourse one time in August, like- There was only-
Jamie: That’s all it took apparently.
Joy: That’s all it took. And that’s also, so when I finally stopped being in denial and took the pregnancy test, I pulled him aside and showed him, and we were just in the bathroom, yeah, like laughing hysterically at me. My husband was just like, “How?” And I was just like, “How is this possible?” And I’m like, “Yeah. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Jamie: How were you feeling about it? Were you excited or happy, or were you just so shocked?
Joy: Shocked. Shocked because it was right before I turned 42 that I found out. It wasn’t in our plan and I was worried about, going through it again at 42, because it had been hard.
I recognized that I was at a much better place in my life. Those health changes had me at a much better place mentally. After some time thinking about what was ahead of us, I started seeing the positives about getting a chance to be a mom with a better mental health. That was definitely what made me excited because I dealt with anxiety a lot with our first two daughters. I missed a lot and so I got excited about the fact that this is a chance to have a baby and fully experience the mom experience.
Jamie: Let’s get into your pregnancy. Tell us all about it. How was it?
Joy: Besides not having my period the sign that I couldn’t be in denial about was tender breasts. I was googling menopause, pre-menopause, perimenopause symptoms, trying to say That’s what’s happening. And I even asked my sisters, ’cause my mom passed away eight years ago, “Do you guys know when she started menopause?” Just trying to convince myself that maybe that’s what was happening.
Other than that though, it was pretty easy. With this, I didn’t have anything dramatic happening, and so I could understand why sometimes people don’t realize they’re pregnant for so long.
Because of my blood sugars being more stable, I didn’t have the weight gain that I had before. With my other pregnancies it was about 10 pounds every month of weight gain because my blood sugars were more sensitive and I needed to eat every two hours. My first pregnancy I gained 90. Then did get most of it off, and the second pregnancy I gained 60 to 70 pounds. And this one, it was 30, 35 pounds is what I gained.
Jamie: What about exercising and diet during pregnancy?
Joy: Yeah. I had done relay races over the summer. I ran Hood to Coast relay being pregnant and not knowing it. I also had COVID and didn’t know it. So I had COVID, didn’t know it. Was pregnant and didn’t know it.
Jamie: Wow.
Joy: Yeah. Still was my best race that I’ve had.
Jamie: That’s awesome.
Joy: I continued running up until about Thanksgiving. So by the end of the start of my second trimester, i was no longer running, but I still walked a lot. I was the health and PE teacher at our local school, and so that kept me on my feet doing 16,000 steps a day. Yeah.
Jamie: And so was it just uncomfortable by that point to not run anymore?
Joy: Yeah. The first time my pregnancy belly started to grow, I remember jogging and then being sore in a different way. The, my ab muscles- … because they were starting to get stretched. The jogging made them sore. And it was a different experience.
After that, I just went to walking. I would still, not only with the steps, but would walk with my classes, at least two miles a day. And then along with all the other steps. And I did strength training as long as I could. I kept with what was comfortable.
I was teaching a women’s strength training class. So I checked with my doctor about is there anything I should be worried about? And he just said that your body will start to tell you when it’s getting uncomfortable. You’ll know that you should restrict certain movements.
Jamie: Okay. Speaking of doctor, did you use the same OB you did with your two girls?
Joy: I did. I did. So I had the same doctor deliver all three babies. It’s a little farther away but I didn’t mind it. It’s really only a 15-minute extra drive from where we live. It was worth it to stick with somebody I was comfortable with.
Jamie: How far away is he?
Joy: It takes about an hour. Most of it is on a highway.
Jamie: How did your doctor react to your age?
Joy: One reason why I for sure wanted to go back to him, is that he didn’t, yeah, have any concerns about it at all. And even, when I gained 90 pounds with my first pregnancy- … afterwards, af- I think it was maybe one of the follow-ups after I delivered, I thanked him for not having it be an issue and not bringing it up, and because I know it wasn’t ideal. You’re not supposed to gain that much weight.
And he just said that, there wasn’t any complications to it, so it wasn’t a re- you know, he didn’t need to address it. I appreciated that.
And so when the age, being 42 and showing up at my first appointment, I asked, “What do I need to worry about?” He listed off, think, complications that could happen, that are higher risk for me. The baby really there wasn’t what he listed off, to be concerned about. I didn’t worry after hearing him say that and knowing my body was the healthiest it had ever been when I conceived.
Jamie: That’s awesome. And was there any products that helped you through pregnancy?
Joy: The gut health products definitely helped my blood sugars be stable, and that’s why I didn’t have the weight gain. I didn’t have any problems with constipation. With my second one, definitely towards the end needed a stool softener, and w- but dealt with constipation, and this one even after delivery, that’s something that you can deal with, especially if you use pain meds during delivery. Pain meds just slow everything down.
Then with everything being stretched and sometimes people have episiotomies, that first bowel movement after you deliver a baby can be scary, especially if there’s less tearing or episiotomy. I didn’t deal with any worry about that at all where, within 24 hours of delivering I was having bowel movements every day.
Jamie: What about cravings?
Joy: Cucumbers is something that I was never really a fan of before, and I loved cucumbers throughout this pregnancy. Then spicy things like pickled jalapenos pepperoncinis, yeah, that salty, vinegary, spicy-
Jamie: Yeah
Joy: Products were definitely, I craved those. And I didn’t really have cravings with my other two pregnancies.
Jamie: Oh. It’s so interesting how that works.
Joy: Yep.
Jamie: What about the gender? Did you find out you were having a boy when you were pregnant?
Joy: Yes. I chose to do the blood draw where they do just genetic screening for chromosome conditions. And with that they can tell gender, which just amazes me.
So I got the call on the results, and they said, everything looked normal. They asked me if I wanted to know the gender, and we had already had a name picked out ’cause we figured we’re having a girl. That’s all my family has and when they said I was having a boy, I actually started crying on the phone.
My husband had walked in the room and I hung up. He thought something was wrong, because I’m crying from a phone call. And I was like, “No, we’re having a boy.” It was pretty neat to call my dad and say he’s gonna have a grandson when he didn’t have any sons of his own.
Jamie: And how did you prep? You probably didn’t take any classes or anything ’cause this is your third child.
Joy: Yeah. I didn’t do that. I prepped the least for sure with this pregnancy. I didn’t pack a bag ready to go to the hospital until maybe two weeks before. ‘Cause I had gone longer with both pregnancy, with p- my previous pregnancies. My first one I was 12 days past the due date when I agreed to in, be induced- … because my body was not showing any signs that it was going into labor.
Each pregnancy I did have Braxton Hicks that I thought I was going into labor. But no. I went to the hospital each pregnancy with a false alarm. Which kinda makes me feel a little dumb, but the nursing staff were nice about it.
Jamie: Yeah. What about a birth plan? You definitely planned in a hospital. Were you planning to have an epidural?
Joy: I wasn’t opposed to an epidural, but I wanted to go as long as I could without an epidural. With my first one because I had to be induced with Pitocin, I only made it for about five hours after contractions started. They were just too intense, had the epidural, and then she was born six hours later. That epidural worked wonderfully except afterwards, I don’t know if it was the Pitocin or the epidural, but I held onto 20 pounds of fluid in my legs. My legs had a lot of edema that finally came off a week later, and it was gone super quick. So that that was uncomfortable.
Then with my second I did everything I could for labor to start. I went to a pad Thai restaurant asking, “How spicy d- can you make it” to help induce labor. Their scale went five and I went with the four out of five for spiciness. I was walking uphill a mile and a half at my in-laws’ house. That would take a 45 minutes just to get up to the top. That pregnancy, at about two days after the due date, I went into labor, but at that morning I had already was scheduled to be induced, but labor started at 3:00 AM. So that was nice, and only needed the epidural for the last 30 minutes. It worked great, because it was so short. It didn’t have any lasting effects.
Same thing with this delivery. Went with being induced, but ended up not really needing Pitocin. They gave me some miso which softens the cervix. And then that did enough where they broke my water. Then labor went very quickly once that happened. I only had the epidural for about 30 minutes or an hour, but it only worked half of my body, and that wasn’t a pleasant experience of-
Jamie: Wow.
Joy: Yeah, where half my body was numb and then, needing to adjust me to help gravity help the epidural flow to the other half of my body. Yeah.
Jamie: When did you start having the Braxton Hicks?
Joy: Braxton Hicks started more with this pregnancy but I traveled more with this pregnancy. It was more associated with traveling and when you’re dehydrated it can cause you to have Braxton Hicks. January, let’s see. So I was due May 7th, so January is still in the second trimester I would have some.
Jamie: Oh, wow. That’s early.
Joy: Yep. They weren’t bad. I would rub the sides of it to try to soothe it. And that was after I traveled to Florida.
Then I did a road trip right before at 35 weeks. I drove from Oregon to Utah. We went to the Zion National Park for a conference.
Jamie: Oh, wow.
Joy: It was a very small group, but wasn’t sure about that. I asked my doctor, if I should be concerned, and he just said that you take lots of breaks and stay hydrated. As long as you stay hydrated you will have to take a lot of breaks. I think we drove 13 hours the first day, and so once I got through that first day I wasn’t too worried about it, but there were some, Braxton Hicks following that as well.
But the one that I thought was labor, it turns out we actually had norovirus going through our family. My daughters had been sick five days previously, and I didn’t have any symptoms and felt fine until I was there at the hospital. Then I got nauseous. I was dehydrated and they gave me IVs. My baby’s heart rate went really high.
The nurse that was taking care of me wanted to keep me and induce labor was that his heart rate went to up to 200. they ended up giving me two liters of fluid and sent me home. but the doctor let me go. And so it really was actually a blessing that I did think I was in labor.
Jamie: Yeah …
Joy: that was just five days before I delivered.
Jamie: And so you said that you were scheduled to be induced with this one?
Joy: This one I did schedule to be induced.
Jamie: And how far along were you?
Joy: I was 39 plus five days.
Jamie: Almost your due date …
Joy: yeah, almost my due date. But he’s the only one that came before my due date. And he’s the biggest one too. He’s almost by a pound.
Jamie: Oh, what a coincidence. Walk us through that day and how it started and take us through to getting to the hospital.
Joy: We live over an hour away, so we left at about 4:00 AM. Had my bags. I could tell contractions were kinda happening, but nothing too exciting. We checked in and they gave me that first round and hooked up everything to monitoring with the baby. It’s just a waiting game for that miso to start working.
Then there was one in the afternoon when my doctor was making his rounds, was gonna come and check on me. He checked in the morning and then came back at 1, and things looked good enough to break my water. After that things really started moving. The nurse was experienced enough from watching my contractions, and she was like, “I’m gonna get the delivery, set up, ready, and the delivery tray going, ’cause your body is showing that things are moving along fast. I wanna have everything prepared.” I used the Jacuzzi tub for the first time.
Jamie: Oh, nice. Did you like it?
Joy: Ended up… I did. I did like it. I only lasted maybe three contractions worth in there. So only maybe 15 minutes in the Jacuzzi tub.
Jamie: Why did you get out?
Joy: Right before I went in the Jacuzzi tub, the nurse told me she wanted to get things ready for delivery. And the contractions were intense, I was just ready for the epidural.
Jamie: Okay.
Joy: You only have a window of when you can get that epidural. If you wait too long then you can’t get it. I just didn’t wanna miss that window. I was ready. So it was nice, but yeah. I needed to move too.
Jamie: Okay. So now you’re out of the tub, and what time is it now?
Joy: It was about 3:30. Yeah, 3:30, and then the anesthesiologist probably was, got there about 4:00. They paged him and then that takes about 20 to 30 minutes for him to put the epidural in.
When that started working the… I could feel it start to working, but then when contractions would come, I would start, I would only feel it on my left side, and lower left, groin area is where it just continued to be super intense. But then my right side went completely numb, lower…
Yeah, my body went completely numb so that, when they wanted me to change positions, I couldn’t. They had to be moving me. I can only help so much ’cause most of the epidural went on my right side. And they had the anesthesiologist come back in to, try to help it, and they did eventually, get me to a spot that was more comfortable. But there was about five minutes of pretty intense just pain that happened with moving me, contractions, and then also IVs, being flushed and infiltrated.
Jamie: So you only had the epidural working on one side, and you said they were trying to move you to get the medicine to the other side?
Joy: Yeah, to have gravity help, help flow it. I don’t know exactly what happens when they insert the epidural. It is like an IV into your nervous system, your spinal cord- maybe my back wasn’t completely straight enough or something, but yeah, it flowed more when they, started p- putting it in, it flowed more to my right side. And so they- Wow … had me lay on my left to help it go flow more to the right. ‘Cause it’s, ’cause it’s a pump, it’s not, it’s a bag that’s pumping in me. It’s not just a one-time dose.
Jamie: And so that worked?
Joy: Yep, that finally helped. Okay. So it took time, and I was like, and it was definitely a, it almost, it was like an in- intense ba- the most intense menstrual cramp I’d ever had, in one specific spot is what it, how it, is what it was feeling.
Jamie: Oh. That sounds terrible.
Joy: I was so numb on the other end, couldn’t move, it made it a little bit more rough than just the contractions themselves would’ve been. But they’d encountered that before and knew what to do.
Got some relief, and then the doctor was gonna ch- come back in at 5:30. And then when he did, it was ready to push. And so actually 5:35, it was just one contraction, and pushing through that contraction and baby was born.
Jamie: So one push.
Joy: It was one contraction. I probably, I think- Oh, okay … I pushed three times. Did three pushes through that contraction.
Jamie: Okay.
Joy: Yeah.
Jamie: And then your son was born.
Joy: Yeah. Yep, and he was there, and I could tell right away that he was bigger than the other babies were. I was shocked by that, for sure.
And
Jamie: what were you feeling in those moments when he arrived?
Joy: It is just heaven, euphoria. It’s just that you know you’re done. That the baby has arrived. That you finally get to meet him. You finally get to hold him and see him after so long. That’s the hardest part of pregnancy is just the anticipation and having to be patient to finally meet this little being that’s been inside you for so long.
Jamie: Did you have any fears around birth going into it?
Joy: I would say the pain of contractions. Just not knowing ’cause I never made it all the way through a whole deli- a whole delivery. All the way through labor without an epidural. And yeah, just wondering, how bad they’d actually get, but knowing that I wasn’t, that I was gonna be okay with an epidural didn’t make it too scary.
I Even sent My husband home after I got checked in because knew nothing was gonna happen until after lunchtime.
Jamie: When delivery happened, was there anything important to you during that time, like skin on skin, or anything like that?
Joy: Yeah, skin on skin, and the baby first nursing. And that was a shock too, that right away, knew to latch on. Having a successful latch was something I was really wanting. That was pretty exciting how well that first minutes after he was born.
Jamie: Wow. That’s beautiful.
Joy: Yeah.
Jamie: How, I guess you said you only breastfed for a week with your other daughters. How did you get through this time to make it different?
Joy: The anxiety kept me from breastfeeding, I wasn’t comfortable with or trusting that my baby was getting enough, both girls. The first couple weeks, or not the first week. I don’t even think I made it more than a week with either one of them breastfeeding. And so just to ease my mind I pumped and then we bottle fed. So they still had breast milk because, the liquid gold. If my body was able to do it, breast is best, but also fed is best.
I definitely kept every appointment with the lactation consultants and lactation specialists. And even, when I checked in at the hospital they have, they ask you, “What are you most concerned about or wanting extra support for?” I very much was communicating that. When the first one showed up after delivery, my milk hadn’t come in so there wasn’t a whole lot that she could help with.
They answered my questions and told me about different ways of holding, ’cause that was one thing too that I was just unsure about. What’s the the different positions to hold and if I was doing it right with the holding.
He has had a few bottles, and I totally failed him with forgetting about the different nipple speeds. So when I was testing out if he would take his first bottle, I almost drowned him. ‘Cause I, yeah, it was just using a nipple that a friend, a bottle that a friend had passed on and I was like, “Oh, yes. They come out at different speeds. I forgot about that.”
Jamie: You’re just a little rusty.
Joy: We went home Saturday morning, and then I went back Sunday with the lactation specialist to check for jaundice, and then also on, on Monday. They were appointments checking on him, they were with the lactation specialists and, they just reassured me of what was going on.
By that time my milk had came in by the last appointment. And so that made me more more confident as well that things were gonna go well. And he gained weight. And so it was only a few ounces, but the fact that, when my milk came in he finally put on some ounces that- … we were moving in the right direction.
Jamie: Yeah. And how was your recovery?
Joy: My recovery was definitely the best this time than the other two. I didn’t use ibuprofen or Tylenol. I used the natural supplements that just decrease inflammation and support gut health. I used them. I snuck them in the hospital, and yeah, it was great.
Constipation wasn’t an issue after delivery, everything was fine. I slept pretty good during the pregnancy. And so that was the biggest thing to adjust to, was not getting a whole lot of sleep after he was born.
With my other with my daughters, I would have to wake up and pump, for them to be bottle-fed, but my husband helped out a lot with them. I got more sleep with them.
I remember one time during my second one, she was, oh, maybe five months old, that there was a moment where I realized I haven’t had more than four hours of sleep in I don’t know how long, and I was just crying, and ’cause that’s what I do when I’m tired.
Jamie: Yeah.
Joy: Luckily this guy, about when he was a week old, I got a five-hour chunk of time-
Jamie: Nice …
Joy: which was pretty amazing. When I get him now, he does about four hours every night. And so when you get that, it’s amazing.
Jamie: Great. And mentally, how has postpartum been?
Joy: It has been good. The gut health helps with the fact that, our serotonin is produced through the gut. 95% of it is. And also 50% of dopamine, and and then you get the good oxytocin when you’re nursing. And yeah, I have enjoyed having this connection more and I’m his favorite person, and I didn’t experience that with my daughters because of the pumping and bottle feeding. It wasn’t where they followed me everywhere in the room. And when I go to hand him over to my husband, like he will turn away now.
Jamie: So you think breastfeeding has helped with your bonding?
Joy: Yes. Yes, because, when they’re this young, it’s food, is food and sleep is really all they care about.
Jamie: Yeah. Is there anything else you wanna add about your pregnancy or birth?
Joy: Let’s see. . Yeah, I didn’t have- Any swelling or anything this time, after delivery when I didn’t need Pitocin? The, having the blood sugar control really, no longer being hypoglycemic definitely helped, helps my recovery as well. And like the… I didn’t need to snack during the pregnancy, and I don’t need to snack now, even with breastfeeding. And that’s because, the, I’m not having big dips.
And I suffered with those not only with pregnancies, previous pregnancies, but my whole adult life. I, yeah, dealt with that, so
Jamie: yeah. Yeah. So do you feel like you need to eat more, up your calories since you’re breastfeeding?
Joy: No. No, and that’s- Okay … and with pregnancy it really, they say only 300 to, 300 to 500 extra calories a day- with pregnancy. And the m- higher end is only just towards the end. And it’s the same way with breastfeeding, only about 300 extra calories a day do you need for breastfeeding.
I remember with my first pregnancy, I’m a dietician, but still, it was just like, “All right. I’m making a baby. Let’s just, free for all.” “Eat the food.” And d- ’cause it kept me from my blood sugar dipping.
Jamie: Great …
Joy: so still have 20 pounds to come off, but, so I’m only down 15. But I am back to running. I’m, getting, building the
Jamie: muscle.
Joy: So yeah, once… I actually ran a week before I got my doctor’s clearance so they say, wait six weeks before you have your doctor’s clearance that you can return to physical activity.
I really am in tune with my body and- … would know if I was doing too much. I’ve been a lifelong athlete, so I did it at five weeks ’cause it was National Running Day, and it seemed like it was a good day to do it, and, I kept it slow, but still, I wanted to get back to moving my body, ’cause that’s always given me just, feeling my body be strong, it’s just helps me mentally, and I just like it, so I wanted to get back to it as soon as I could.
Jamie: That’s awesome …
Joy: not… But being having three kids and it being summer break, I’m only, maybe getting two or three workou- workouts in a week, but still, it’s, it feels awesome. That’s
Jamie: okay.
Joy: And-
Jamie: Yeah.
Joy: Yeah. Yeah, my body’s still healing. The hormones that allow your joints to, to expand for delivery is still in, in our bodies post- s- up to six months postpartum. And you have to just respect it. You had y- a wound that got flushed out. Literally everything flushed out, so it’s like a wound. And even though it is natural, you’re healing from that and your body’s, healing from what it just did. And so it took, it takes about 10 months really to grow this amazing, little miracle, so it’s gonna take time for the body to recover from going doing all that.
Jamie: Definitely. And do you have plans to have more kids in your 40s?
Joy: Because this pregnancy was so much, easier than my others- that thought had crossed my brain because- Ooh … we had our daughters, 19 months apart, and that was intentional so that they would be each other’s playmates. They would have each other growing up. And during the pregnancy, I thought about “God, this guy is gonna be all alone.”
But yeah, it’s not gonna happen. My husband absolutely says… no.
Jamie: And what do you think has been your biggest challenge being pregnant in your 40s?
Joy: I would say it’s the social part of my friends that have children that have grown, that are grown up. And they’re, being at different stages in life and… But your true friends don’t care, and so they’re there to help out and be like the extra mom for you. But, it is limiting to social engagements. But that’s low on the priority list, so that’s the only thing that I could say.
Jamie: Is there anything you’d recommend that would help someone prepare for a pregnancy and birth in their 40s?
Joy: I would say to not listen to those people who, are think- that, that will think that you’re too old, because absolutely not. And your body tells us, if our body makes it happen, nature, it can happen. There’s a reason why, we still have our cycles at this age. And this, it’s all about mindset. And, if you’re excited about it, then it’s g- it’s a wonderful thing. And- … and as it should be. They’re little miracles. And- They are … and I am having a better experience with it at 42 than I did at 33 and 35. Yes, I have been through this before, but just all around, in my 40s I’m just at a better place mentally, at a better place, we- where we own a home.
So there’s nothing… 40s are fabulous. I was feeling that even before I unexpectedly got pregnant. But even with being pregnant, it’s fabulous. I am grateful that I’ve had that experience because, I previously I wasn’t sure. I had some friends that were 40- in their 40s having babies, and I was just like, “Wow, you are Superwoman. I don’t know, if I could do it.”
Jamie: Here you are.
Joy: Yep, “Being a mature mom is the best.” You just don’t worry about as many things.
Jamie: Definitely. What advice would you give yourself when you were pregnant if you could go back?
Joy: I don’t know if I have anything besides ignoring the Braxton Hicks. I had false alarms going to the hospital with every pregnancy. They always understand, but, I just think since I’d delivered babies before that I would really know about labor. I never had labor naturally happen except for my second one. So I don’t know. I guess just to be more patient for labor to happen maybe.
Jamie: And what advice would you give other women who are trying to conceive in their 40s?
Joy: To know that everything’s in God’s time and in God’s power, and that it doesn’t have any merit on your worth. It doesn’t have any merit on you as a woman, with how long it takes to conceive. If you conceive or not, you are still a beautiful woman.
Jamie: Perfect. And tell us, you are a dietician.
Joy: I am.
Jamie: Where can other ladies go that want to work with you?
Joy: They can connect with me through Instagram. Through just DMs.
Jamie: Do you wanna tell us what your handle is?
Joy: It’s just @joy.jordan.
Jamie: Joy, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your story.
Joy: Thanks.