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AIBU?

To not know how old my DD is??

62 replies

Talcott2007 · 26/09/2016 13:56

I obviously know when she was born but people have counted her 'months' in different ways I don't know which way is correct and it's driving me crazy!

She was born on 31.05.16 (which was a Tuesday if that is at all important)
So that means she will be exactly 17 weeks old tomorrow. If anyone asks how old she is I still say xx weeks because I know the GP and HV still use weeks up until she is a year but all the milestone charts seem to be in 'months' and I'm trying to work out if she is on target with development.

There seems to be 2 ways that people have been working out her age.

  1. by the number of weeks (eg. 1 month = 4 weeks) so at 16 weeks that would make her 4months old regardless of the date that day falls on.

  2. by the date in the calender month (so every 31st of the month she is a month older) which would mean by that method she isn't 4 months until 30th Sept/1st Oct.

    Which method is correct??

    I have asked several mum friends in RL but they've each said different things! I am the only one to be baffled by this?? AIBU to feel like a total idiot?!
OP posts:
Soubriquet · 26/09/2016 13:59

She is 17 weeks AND almost 4 months

ShowOfHands · 26/09/2016 14:00

She is approximately 4 months. Grin

The 4 weeks = a month thing is wrong as most months aren't 4 weeks.

I go with weeks until week 26 which is 6 months and then go by calendar month until they're 12 months, at which point I use years.

Soubriquet · 26/09/2016 14:00

4 weeks is not a month though

So she's almost 4 months but not yet

TheSultanofPingu · 26/09/2016 14:01

I would say option 2, so almost four months. It will get too complicated otherwise.

akkakk · 26/09/2016 14:01

this may just go down in life as one of those things which really doesn't matter Grin

but in reality if giving an age in months it is same date from month to month, not sets of 4 weeks so she won't be 4 months yet

TheSparrowhawk · 26/09/2016 14:02

You don't need to be totally exact - try not to stress too much about the milestone charts, they give a very general picture and children hit the targets at a pretty wide range of ages.

milkyface · 26/09/2016 14:05

I always use 2 but honestly don't stress about it!
If you need to know specifically like at a doctors appt I'd just tell them how many weeks she is!

skyyequake · 26/09/2016 14:07

This used to wind me up but about pregnancy! Everyone going on about how pregnancy is 10 months not 9 because it's 40 weeks, like umm no it is 9 months because all those couple of days at the end of each month that everyone seemingly ignores do start to add up by the end!

Also, all babies are different, an extra couple of days/a week isn't all that important. The development charts/milestones are just a rough guide so don't fret about them too much!

In terms of what you say to people, I used weeks for everyone up until 3 months, then carried on using them for HV/GP but used months with everyone else.

KondosSecretJunkRoom · 26/09/2016 14:09

Just say four months, unless it's a health visitor, they are quite keen on counting in weeks.

I would say that nobody is counting... But there was a poster who started a thread a month or so back who was having a right fanny on about her friend misdating her baby's age by rounding up the months...it takes all sorts, I suppose

MewlingQuim · 26/09/2016 14:11

Once it starts being tricky to work out weeks, use months. Once it starts being tricky to work out months, use years.

once it stars being tricky to work out how many years, use decades. Thus I am 40ish

Wink

AmeliaJack · 26/09/2016 14:11

The thing is, when people ask "how old is your baby?" They don't actually care very much about the answer. Grin. So it doesn't matter too much what you say.

It all gets much easier once you start counting in years!

mintthins · 26/09/2016 14:12

I think by the time you get to 4ish months, it is simpler just to start saying it in months rather than weeks, and to try not to get hung up about it.

ShallNotBeNamed · 26/09/2016 14:16

I was thinking about this myself, my DS will be 2 in January but I feel like I'm wishing his years away referring to his age like this, but every month counts at this point.. how old do I say he is?! Confused

blushrush · 26/09/2016 14:16

When people ask how old she is, just shrug and say 'Dunno, I found her under a bush in the park.'

Extra points if you can say it straight faced ;)

Talcott2007 · 26/09/2016 14:16

Thank you for your replies!! It's been driving me crazy especially as I have that one mum friend who seems to be quite competitive about our DDs development (hers is 3 weeks older than mine so is of course going to be hitting milestones 1st!!) and insists its method 1 for counting and keep saying on and on about milestones and how her DD is so advanced blah blah blah and I am worried yet that my DD is 'behind'

OP posts:
Talcott2007 · 26/09/2016 14:17

Hehe brushrush! Great idea!

OP posts:
Soubriquet · 26/09/2016 14:18

I tend to use weeks up to 6 months, then months up to 2 and then years from there

There's a big difference from a 13 month old and a 23 month old but not much between just turned 2 and almost 3

NapQueen · 26/09/2016 14:18

I used weeks for HV and for when they were under 6m. After 6m I'd do it in months.

After about 18m I'd say "they will be 2 in october" etc.

1frenchfoodie · 26/09/2016 14:18

Soon people will stop talking in weeks so it will be easy. DD is only 6 months old and I've definately given up working out how many weeks she is. I'm a bit baffled by those describing their DC as 30 wks etc - after the 16wk injections I didn't see the point.

Crunchymum · 26/09/2016 14:18

I went in weeks to begin with habit as that is of course how pregnancy is counted medically so I'd have 16w / 28w appointment etc...

By 4 months-ish I think I went over to months, basically after the 16w jabs!! After that weeks don't really matter.

MrsHathaway · 26/09/2016 14:20

By DC3 I gave people a slightly panicked look and said "er, he was born on ". Fuck arithmetic when you've got a little baby.

By the "four weeks is a month" rule, you're 18 years old a mere 16 years 7 months after your birth...

FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 26/09/2016 14:23

Ignore the daft woman bleating about milestones. They mean nothing with regards to being advanced at that age. Unless she's already talking and doing multiplications or something of course!

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skyyequake · 26/09/2016 14:25

oh if you've got one of THOSE mums then definitely start making extravagant claims of what your kid can do! Start small so look on the development chart and pick something about 2 weeks - a month older than what your DD is, then slowly pick it up so that she definitely walked at 6 months, but she can't do it now because she's tiiiired, and then speaking a full sentence by 10 months but only to you as she's a tad shy Grin you do have to be able to keep a straight face though.

minijoeyjojo · 26/09/2016 14:29

Method one is incorrect because a month is not 4 weeks long (unless it's February not on a leap year).

I'd either count in weeks, going up a week every tues in your case or in months going up a month on the last day of each month.

TheSparrowhawk · 26/09/2016 14:31

With DD (my second DC) a couple of times I had to say 'I don't know' when people asked me how old she was. I just couldn't be bothered working it out.

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