44-Year-old-mom to Be Hopefully!) Needs Advice

Try to google a due date calendar, it will tell you when you are due, and what each stage should be like! Good luck, it is a very exciting time!

Congratulations!! I found myself unexpectedly pregnant at age 39 (what a blessing!) and due to all my traveling at that time, I KNEW exactly when I would have gotten pregnant as my husband were only home together 1 night that month. Despite my telling the Dr that situation, the always calculated me as farther along than I was....
My advice is just ENJOY your pregnancy (I know you'll be exhausted the 1st trimester, and hopefully not sick) and go with what the Dr's are estimating.
And here's a little bit of advice..... although my Dr.s watched me like a hawk due to my "advanced maternal age", I did have to go on bedrest at the beginning of my 3rd trimester. Never even thought that was a possibility prior to that and I felt perfectly fine (pre-eclampsia). So, get as much done ahead of time in regard to prepping for the baby as you feel comfortable with - ie bassinet w/sheets, onsies. etc.
At the time I was admitted to the hospital for bedrest (11 weeks before due date), I actually told the Dr that I couldn't possibly do bedrest - I had way too many things to get ready!!!! Seriously, I only wish I would have planned for the OPTION of being on early bedrest and had just a small "hospital/bedrest kit - books, list of phone numbers, comfy pj's, ipod loaded with music/movies, etc. packed and ready to go months before my due date "just in case".
Best of luck to you and I hope all goes well! -

Hi! I am a labor doula and from my calculations it looks to me like you might be abot 3 weeks pregnant! Congrats! I am so sorry to hear about your miscarriage! How far along were you? Good luck!
S. B CLD
Aurora IL
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

Well you will count the days from your last missed period. That will give you an estimate of how far along you are. (I would say approx 4 weeks)
If you have long cycles and you ovulate later, then you may be told you aren't as far along as you thought you were when you have an ultrasound. (An early ultasound is the best way to get an exact measurement on the baby to determine gestational age) It all depends on when you ovulated.
Doctors use the LMP (last missed period) as a guide but it still includes those weeks before you even ovulate.

Here are some great links to websites that can tell you how far along you are:

www.lilypie.com (you can copy the ticker and put it on a myspace page if you have one)

http://babymed.com/tools/pregnancy/calendar/calendar.aspx
(this one will tell you all your milestones, etc during your pregnancy)

Congrats and good luck. I hope this baby is extra sticky :)

Congratulations G.! I did not know exactly with my first pregnancy. In the visits with ob-gyn, eventually there will be ultrasound and a measurement of the cross section of the baby's head to help determine when your healthcare provider believes that your baby will be arriving. It is good to connect with your health care provider to start getting regular visits, vitamins, blood pressure checkups and the opportunity to ask questions. I had the same ob-gyn for many years and he retired so now I am working with his partner - Dr Michael Pourtabib in Naperville works out of Edward Hospital. The doctor you work with will depend on your health insurance (who is in your plan), and what hospital is near where you live (where you want your baby delivered).

I write this as mother of three children. I teach prenatal yoga (students usually around 13 weeks pregnant or more) at Universal Spirit Yoga in Naperville and at local fitness center in Aurora. If you email me at ____@____.com I can give you details about where I teach in Aurora, IL.

But, your first step is have ob-gyn that you are working with on a regular basis.

I have 3 fertility babies so I understand your tenative time your going through. Please call your doctor right away if you think your pregnant and ask for your homone levels to see if they are progressing normally as I ended up giving myself shots to stay pregnant. If the pregnancy is truly meant to be, give it every chance. I understand there are those who say let it happen naturally and if it is meant to be it is meant to be. Well all mine are fertility based, chemically kept by shots and all induced with epidural(no sections). Last 2 breach until the last minute as well. Good luck. E-mail me if you have more questions.

Barbara
____@____.com

Your due-date will be calculated according to the first day of your last menstral cycle... not according to your date of conception... there are lots of websites online that will calculate your due date for you... just google search for pregnancy due date calculators....

Congratulations1 It looks like we'll be due the same week. My conception dates are exactly the same as yours. They will start your pregnancy based on the first day of your last period. Unfortunately for me I dont know when that was. They may also adjust your due date based on the measurement of your baby at your first ultrasound.

Congratulations!
I finally got pregnant at 42, and my son is the light of my life. Something about being an older mom helps you to enjoy and really appreciate them in a different way. I was so much more relaxed about things (I helped my husband raise his two... his wife died when they were 7 and 9, not the same as infants, but they were still so little!)

They will calculate your due date based on the first date of your last period. Use the pregnancy calculators you can find through Google. I knew exactly when I got pregnant (we did IVF), but my OB used the 1st date of my last period anyway, siting that sometimes you ovulate early, sometimes late, and unless you were monitoring exactly you never know for certain.

I remember I was so excited that's all I could think about! Waiting for the doctor's confirmation of my due date was nearly impossible. My endocrinologist wouldn't even guesstimate! I had to wait until he released me from his care (8 weeks following the transfer of the fertilized embryos) before I could get in to see an OBGYN.

Congratulations! I'm so excited for you!! Write if you have anything you'd like to know about pregnancy and being in your 40s! I'm no expert, but I've been there!!

You count from the first day of your last period. So technically if you are 2 days late on a 28 day cycle you would be 4 weeks and 2 days. That's what my doctor told me. Because you are pregnant for 40 weeks it is 10 lunar months (4 weeks in a month). My condolences on your miscarriage. The same thing happened to me and I have a beautiful 2 year old boy.

DEB

Congratulations!! How exciting!!!

I teach Bradley Method classes.... if you are interested- let me know!

hi, G.,

you're about 2 weeks i would say, it takes our bodies about that long to really pick hcg levels. what you need to do is go to the dr immediately. to get confirmation and then get somewhere and sit down. i say this because i'm a mother of 6 (3 adopted and 3 natural birth). but suffered with endometrios for about 15 before i was able to concieve. i was 34 when i had my 1st baby now i'm 42 and we are asking god for one more miracle. G., since you've already had one angel return to heaven, you want to keep this one. so, you rest and rest and rest. no more stair climbing, no excesssive walking or standing, no lifting anything over two pounds, absolutely no sex, for now. most of all much prayer and i'll be praying with you. let me know how thing go ok.

fellow mamasource sister,
W.

I didn't read the other responses. Usually 14 days prior to your period you ovulate. If you get pregnant during ovulation then you have been pregnant for two weeks before your period. However, the zygote or whatever it's called at the stage when you are supposed to get your period, doesn't implant until the time you are supposed to get your period. So at this time you are most likely implanted because you've missed. So you are technically only a few days pregnant but the the two weeks prior to implantation are counted. So you are two weeks and two days pregnant. To figure out your due date Subtract 3 months from the first day of your last period and add seven days. That will most likely be your due date. Congrats!!!!

Hi,

You start counting at the first day of your last period. Good luck!
HTH

S.

As others have indicated, your baby has been developing for only about 2 weeks, but your gestational age (# of weeks you are pregnant) would be 4 weeks, based on the date of the first day of you last period. Congratulations and good luck!!

The way doctors date a pregnancy is by counting the fist day of your last period as day 1 of your pregnancy. It's weird I know, but it's how they do it. So, if your period started on May 18th, you would be considered 5 weeks pregnant, heading into your 6th week.

Good luck, I hope this is a healthy, happy pregnancy for you. I had my first at 42 - totally great pregnancy resulting in a beautiful girl. I am now 46 and am hoping to repeat my good luck! I wish you all the best.

If you are two days late and the pregnancy test is positive, then if you are pregnant you are about 1 month pregnant - it goes from the date of day 1 of your last menstral period. There are lots of calculators on the web eg. http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-due-date-calculator
And as you likely know (I am close to your age and tried for a second with two early miscarriages), it is hard to really tell if the pregnancy is going to take until you see the heart beat (around week 6-7) and then possibly do CVS at 11 weeks to make sure there are no chromosomal abnormalities. Very best of luck to you.

G.,
When I had my son, due date was figured out by the first day of my LMP. Add 7 days and subtract 3 mos and that would give you your due date. Also there are great websites out there that if you type in your LMP it will give you weekly updates and what to expect. Congrats and
Good luck.

Dr will go by your LMP (last menstral period)or they will do an internal ultrasound at first to guess gestational age.

You are about 4 weeks along. You add 2 weeks to the conception date. They track it from your last period (I know this is weird).

G.,

I highly recommend the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. It's a fantastic book on our bodies and our fertility - I'm 38 and considered myself to be well-educated on how my body works, until I read the book! There were so many jaw-dropping moments, I couldn't believe it (like, "Why didn't they teach us that before?!"). I know it is sold in bookstores throughout Chicago and on www.amazon.com. There's a great section on advanced maternal age (which is what we are), miscarrages, taking your temperature to determine when you are fertile, so many great things! A good read.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck!
~M.

Pregnancy is measured from first day of last period... so assuming your cycles are 28 days apart..should be alittle over 4 weeks. Use the first day of last period and recheck though! Congratulations!! V.

Hi G.!

Congratulations!!

You count the first day of your last period as "day 1" - even though the conception date is within a 7 day period.

If you use a calendar similar to this one . .
http://www.pregnancy.org/pregnancycalendar/

you can see "how pregnant" you really are. I'd use the date of your last period, that's normally what the doctors use. But you are probably looking at a Feb/March baby!!!

I think with my 2nd son, I took a pregnancy test before my period was even due . .. I was just hoping! It is possible to find out this early.

Congrats again!!
B.