Forum 1st trimester

How is it now?

12 replies

firefly
Hi everyone,

We’re trying to conceive, but how does the week count work now? I’m asking because I read the following on Baby24:

Determining the due date during the dating scan
During the dating scan , it can be determined when conception took place. The reliability of this is very high. An average pregnancy lasts 38 weeks from conception . Based on this, the due date is established.
Does an average pregnancy last 38 or 40 weeks? This depends on when you start counting. From conception, it is 38 weeks. From the first day of your last period, it is 40 weeks. The latter count is usually used to indicate how long you’ve been pregnant. Read more about this pregnancy duration mystery

We just had my fertile window and our first attempt, and you can guess what, I think I’m having symptoms. (Yes, my body might just be playing tricks on me)

But when I look up symptoms, they say things like nausea can occur after x weeks. And so it could be that I’m following the 40-week count. But if I follow the 38-week count, it wouldn’t match. Can someone help me?

Replies

  1. sharishvr #2

    That's correct. For example, if you're 6 weeks pregnant (counting 40 weeks), you're actually effectively 4 weeks pregnant (counting 38 weeks). So you should actually calculate with 40 weeks. I'm not the best person to explain this, but if you feel symptoms, this could just be correct whether it's 38 or 40 weeks. Those 2 weeks are just free.

  2. firefly started this #3

    I'm still unsure, since our first attempt was on the 26th, wouldn't 5 days later be way too early to have symptoms?

  3. Anonymous Guest #4

    It seems pretty strong to me that you'd have symptoms after just 5 days. Seems more like pure coincidence to me. There are more women who had that and turned out to be pregnant.

    I felt my babies move at 9/10 weeks. Which according to theory shouldn't be possible either. Yet it was confirmed with an ultrasound. Baby moved and I felt it.

    How it works with that counting. You count from the first day of your last period. Most women ovulate after 14 days. Then you count 40 weeks. So you get 2 weeks as a bonus. Counting from 38 weeks isn't really done. At your first ultrasound. Nowadays at 8/9 weeks I believe. They set a due date. With the anomaly scan at 11/12 weeks the due date is set. This can differ by a few days. That's because the measurements are very precise. Also the fertilized egg might have swum around a bit longer.

    Just count from the first day of your last period. Everyone sticks to that.

  4. firefly started this #5

    I have the following symptoms:
    - Nausea all day.
    - Metallic taste (I didn't know about this symptom).
    - Extremely dry eyes (also a symptom I didn't know about).
    - Suddenly disliking the smell of coffee (not a drinker, but used to like how it smelled) and my most favorite laundry detergent, damn it, what a stink that is now. Also, I notice scents much more strongly.
    If the 40-week count is accurate, then theoretically I'd be 2 weeks and 6 days pregnant by now.

  5. stff48 #6

    Yeah, just count from your last period. That's the simplest way... Don't let yourself get confused by early symptoms because your body can do weird things sometimes

  6. Bs1987 #7

    But is the body really that bad that it doesn't fake just one but multiple symptoms?

  7. Lisa V. Guest #8

    Bs1987, absolutely. I had all the symptoms except nausea, and after a blood test, I was definitely not pregnant.

    This doesn't mean, by the way, that you're imagining everything or that your body is 'faking' it. For me, it was due to coming off the pill. And yeah, I've been off the pill for almost 5 months now and only started experiencing these symptoms after 4 months. So stopping hormonal contraception can also have an impact.

  8. Anonymous Guest #9

    No, your body isn’t fooling you—aren’t we the ones doing that to ourselves??? Your hormones are raging through your body. You’ve probably just stopped the pill. The urge to procreate is so strong that you’re extremely attentive to everything. You’re much more focused on what you feel.

    Breathe in and out. Try to enjoy it as much as possible. And try to focus a little less on what you feel.

  9. Bs1987 #10

    She hasn't taken the pill for the past 10 years. So it's not about revealing.

    It's also something she's never had with her period. Nausea, metallic taste, etc. etc. It all feels so coincidental. Of course we really want it, but we don't think "yes, it's happening" with every little pain. These symptoms have been going on for 1 day now.

    Coincidence or luck. There's still 2 weeks to wait.

  10. Anonymous Guest #11

    I just read your other thread. For you guys, the process is a little different.

    I don't know if you've been reading along on pregnancy forums for a while. What you read most often is that the woman turned out to be pregnant when she had no symptoms. Doesn't say anything about you, of course.

    I personally think you can't feel anything yet. If conception already took place on the 26th, you're producing such minimal hcg that it shouldn't be noticeable at all. But anything is possible.

    You'll really have to wait and let things rest. Are you familiar with the phenomenon where if you think you're nauseous, you actually become nauseous? Your symptoms come up here so often. It's not weird that she feels this way since it's your first attempt.

    Fingers crossed because it could happen. We can't say yes, pregnant. Because even if the egg is fertilized, it doesn't mean anything yet whether it implants in the coming days.

  11. Anonymous Guest #12

    Firefly & BS are a set, right? How special to have a man on the forum who’s active about ailments, menstruation, etc.! Welcome!

  12. Bs1987 #13

    That's right, I'm Firefly's fiancé.

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