Need to know my dates for work but have NO idea ( v. long cycles and this not expected without assistance!)

[bootus]

Title explains it all really, I am a flight attendant pg with dc2 (yay) and had just been referred for fertility treatment due to pcos which results in v.long cycles and apparently not ovulating(!) Anyway got a bfp last tues and the airline I work for allows me to fly a certain amount of hours while pg and as its long haul they build up quite quickly. my lmp was 23rd may and my previous cycle to that was 53 days. I used one of the clearblue digital tests which read that i was 2-3 weeks (apparently that would have me dated at 4-5 weeks?) Can anyone shed any light on this as obv dont want to risk anything unnessecarily. many thanks

My cycles are 39 days - so not as long as yours, but still annoying as everyone works out EDD based on a 'typical' 28 day cycle.

Without knowing when you ovulated, it'll be difficult to date the pregnancy without a scan. If you know when you ovulated you count back 2 weeks before that date, and that would be the first day of your period if you had a 28 day cycle.

I would suggest an early scan - they advise to wait until you are 7 weeks when you can see the heartbeat. As you have such long cycles your GP should arrange it for you!

Congrats! I know nothing about cycles, but I am a flight attendant too and I am 17 weeks today with no3. My long haul airline grounds you immediately you find out you are pregnant. I'd wait for your scan, you don't have to put that form in (Mat1B?) until 15 weeks before your due date, so just give them a guess x

Ignore the clearblue test - they are so unreliable (as a lot of threads here, and my personal experience, have confirmed).

I would agree - have an early scan, even if you need to pay for it, just so you know for sure, rather than guessing. If you need to guess, I'd go by when you tested. You're likely to have been at least 4 weeks at that point. So tell them at least 4 weeks then, but you could be a week or two further on.

Congratulations x

If you need to guess for work so they can manage your flying hours then I would suggest telling them the most pregnant you could be - so if you had LMP on 23rd May calculate how pg you would be if you had a standard 28 day cycle from that (put this in the due date calculator you'll find on the RHS on any MN page)

That way, even if the scan shows you are less pregnant than that, at least work will have taken the most prudent course of action with you in the meantime. You could always say to them that you aren't totally sure but your best guess is X and then you'll tell them after the scan.

Congrats, by the way!

The CB tests aren't very accurate so I wouldn't go by that. If you don't know when you ovulated, either use your LMP for now as the PP suggsted to get the most prudent course of action or get an early scan.

You should get an early scan on the NHS anyway as you've no idea how pregnant you are. Dating scans ideally need to be done between 10 and 14 weeks pregnant (when they're most accurate) and if you're having the nuchal test that has to be done between 10 and 13+6 weeks pregnant. So an early scan to work it out roughly is really needed so you can book the usual scan for the right dates.

Thanks for replying everyone. I will err on the side of caution and assume I'm further on than I actually think I am. Goodlifemummy, I dont work for a british carrier (though based here) so think I'm right in saying I can fly 200 hrs or up to 6 months. My hours will be fairly high if im more than 6 weeks....all v.confusing.

As your work will be affected by it, you should be able to get a referral for what they call a viability scan, which can be done from around 5 weeks (although you can't see a heartbeat usually until about 6 weeks).

Congratulations!!