To think there's no need for such specificnees in pregnancy?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

I've noticed a new vogue for saying "I'm 26+3"(that was an example, other degrees of pregnancy are available).

Wha?

Yup, if you're nearly due or overdue and are practically counting in milliseconds, it's completely understandble, but whyohwhy during the term?

Surely "6ish months" , or "two-thirds gone" is utterly fine?

It's quite spoiling my enjoyment of the baby name boards on Nethuns.

In my notes it's always referred to as weeks+days. Eg I see a midwife on a Thursday, my "official" New week day is a Wednesday. So my notes say 16+1, 28+1 etc.

So it seems as if it's important to the health professionals, so people think to mention it

GOING IN WEEKS IS FINE!!

It's the addition of +3 or whatever that is being precious/pfb/annoying.

No one really gives a shit if you are 35+1 or 35+2. Really. Other than medical professionals, and you.

I think because midwives and obstetricians refer to your gestation in terms of weeks + days, women follow suit.

As a midwife it is important for me to know exacts and record appointments in those terms. Can therefore understand women copying.

Well, medical professionals use all sorts of terms that really irritated me when non-medical people then copy.

I get really irrationally annoyed when people say 'script' instead of prescription.

Or 'defib' instead of defibrillator

Is it not just a MN thing - part of the lingo?

I'd never heard of people referring to themselves as 22+3 etc...until I joined MN when pg with DS.

I've never said it in RL for fear of outing myself as a MN'er or sounding like a nob

I'm 34+6 (but I only know that as I had an email reminding me, ask me on Monday and I will have to work out the days bit ;) )

I have never heard of anyone in real life talk about their pregnancy in +days and would never do it myself (apart from to DH, but then he is more interested then most...). If I wanted to be acurate I would prefer to say 35 weeks tomorrow/ on Thursday or whatever.

Gwendoline but you can say 'she has just turned two', 'she is almost three', 'she is 2 and a half'.. whatever. But telling me she is 25 months, or 30 months.. it's actually cringey.

^
This

I don't see the need for it except in medical appointments but it doesn't bother me that much. I've never heard anyone actually do it in person though - Only online.

I whole heartedly agree with the bastards that force me to start doing math during casual conversation by telling me their child is 42 months old or something.

I do not want to have to do even basic math during a casual conversation.

(That is meant to be lighthearted, i dont really call them bastards, but it is annoying).

agree that they are annoying that should say. Argh my mind isnt working today.

I think theres a gradual change.

To me you move from weeks to months at around 13 weeks/3 months.

Earlier than that, months is too vague.

A "one month old" could be a 4 week old newborn or an 8 week old small baby who has had their first jabs.

Similarly with months and years.

I always switch from one to the other at around 2.

So a 13 month old. A 15 month old. Even a 22 month old.

But once you're at 2 years you can give enough information with either 2 or 2 and a half.

Once you get to 3 just give the numerical age, unless they are very soon to have a birthday. In which case you say "nearly 4" (or whatever).

Not that it matters much, or that it's "precious" to be more precise.

But to my mind those are the things that make the most sense to the most people. 30 months leaves people doing sums in their head.

Which might be good for them, but it does slightly obscure meaning :o

I think the 32+2 thing, on a parenting board where lots and lots of newcomers are pregnant with their first child and spend most of their time on pregnancy threads talking about it, is totally fine and we we should leave people alone about doing it.

:o

God, I'm 467 months old and I'm still a big swot.

Bugger, I'm considerably older than yow.

Ragwort - I worked out when I was ovulating yes. I know what day I conceived number two but not number 3, 4, 5.

No one really gives a shit if you are 35+1 or 35+2. Really.

It's fine not to give a shit about other people's pregnancies. But lurking on forums designed for expectant parents and then taking the piss because there are pregnant women talking about their pregnancies only makes you look pathetic.

Just sayin'.

JohnnyB - why the sneery question?

I am not the only person in the world who knows the date they had sex and conceived a baby .

Thanks Juno.

For JohnnyB in easy to understand logic. I knew when I was due to ovulate. I had sex on that night. I was scanned and given how many weeks and days pregnant I was. It matched with the night I had sex.

Do you get it now?

The pregnancy thing doesn't bother me but I'm right there with being forced to do math. Past 2 doing it in months makes you look like a twat.

Joinyourplayfellows Thats exactly how i do it.

But you said your scan was a day out, Toffee !

I know with a fair degree of certainty which shag resulted in my son, because his father and I had been thoroughly careless that one time with contraception. I don't know when fertilisation and implantation occurred though.

Maybe I'd have had a clearer idea had we had dating scans back then, or I'd done the maths and counted the days

Toffee - how do you know when you are due to ovulate ?

Saucy
It's fine not to give a shit about other people's pregnancies. But lurking on forums designed for expectant parents and then taking the piss because there are pregnant women talking about their pregnancies only makes you look pathetic.

Well, sure, if you think so. FYI I 'lurk' on these forums, because I am a pregnant woman. And already a mother. So, thanks for telling me I am pathetic, but I respectfully disagree.

And I stand by my opinion that using +X when discussing pregnancy is cringey, unless relevant, as is describing a childs age in months past 23 months.

That is how I feel.

Johnny - I still know as I didn't shag the dh the next day. The sperm just took a few hours to get there.

Ragwort - there are physiological changes when you are about to ovulate and the average is 14 days after your period starts.

YABU. I've had two difficult pregnancies with multiple mw and consultant appointments. In these my pregnancy was always referred to in weeks and days so that's how I got used to saying it. Honestly never occurred to me that anyone would be bothered by that.

Similarly I don't mind at all how a parent chooses to say their child's age. I'll probably use months up until 2 years

After unsuccessful pregnancies every single day I was pregnant was important to me. It also mattered enough for there to be a full on debate at the hospital as to whether I was 35+6 or 36 weeks when my waters went around midnight.