The Pregnancy (Length) Debate

Just to set the record straight I always thought pregnancy was 9 months. I mean.. that's what everyone says in movies, that's the comparison/ ratio people who haven't been pregnant before expect pregnant women to compare their progress to. That's just what many of us (or so I thought) saw as "standard."

Well, when I started this blog I asked the secrets...Questions... Tips... Ideas... Things not everyone tells you about pregnancy and you're left to find out yourself when you're knocked up and at the point of no return. That's when I found out--Or was told, that pregnancy is actually more like 10 months.. Not 9. And that they pretty much don't tell you that until you're pregnant. So when you find out you're with-spawn, thinking you've got one month down and 8 more to go... You probably have another--What? 9 months left in actuality?

Ever since then, I've pretty much sarcastically referred to pregnancy as a 10 month process--Thinking it was considerably accurate since pregnancy is technically 40 weeks and there's about 4 weeks in a month so BAM--10 Months.

Well, yesterday I got an interesting comment on my "Sex Natzi" post from an person who wished to remain anonymous who made me start to second guess my helpful secret-givers. Here's what they said:

"Future Mama, If you read this I would appreciate you acknowledging in the future the point that I am about to make. You have repeatedly said that pregnancy "is actually like 10 months." Let's do the math. There are 40 weeks in pregnancy or 280 days. The first two weeks are 100% normal because they start at ovulation before conception. That means you have 266 days from conception to due date. That means that pregnancy is less than 9 months. I think of it as about 8 months because 99% of the people don't even have any symptoms or think about for the first week or two after conception. I am sure this is the straw that will push you over the edge and will give you the courage to start a family. (I just knocked off 20% of pregnancy for free.) I enjoy reading your blog but would appreciate it if you never mentioned the 'pregnancy is 10 months' concept again."

Closer to 8 months?! Wow! I went from 10-10.5 months to "feels like 8" in a matter of moments, sign me up for pregnancy!!

...Now because it is my blog, I've decided that I would bring up the concept again, and not only that, I'd devote a whole topic to it and get YOUR opinion. Unfortunately I don't know who the commenter is so I didn't have a way of responding in an email or anything, but hopefully they're reading now and can let me know more about their theory!

First off, I really wish I knew the real intentions and tone they were in. I'm not sure if it was meant to be funny, or serious, if they've had kids before or not, or if the thought of being pregnant for 10 months just scared the poop out of them too so they wanted me to correct it so they would feel better. No no... Perhaps they were just trying to make a case to get me to have a baby RIGHT NOW! (...I'm working on it anonymous!!) Well.. sorta.

Anyway, I first opened the discussion to my Twitter followers and here's how it went:

Me: "If you had to choose would you say pregnancy is closer to 8 or 10 months? I've heard both so enlighten me!!" And here were all of my @replies in a matter of minutes...
VictoriaArya: 10 months
mommyisrocknrol: 10!
tmhmom: Pregnancy averages 40 wks. That's technically closer to 10 months. But that's forever, so we shorten it to nine.
sharonsnest: 10
donotgiveup: Well from what I've experienced it's about 8 to 8 1/2
puretrance: Closer to 10~!
1HipMama: 10, I'm sorry to say as long as we're talking "full-term
fentonslee: it depends on a lot of factors, and when you consider it to begin. fertilization, implantation, last menstrual cycle, test+
4boys4now: 10!!!!! DEF NOT 8!!!!
Blacktating: Definitely 10 months. I went to 42 weeks. Even if you give birth at 38 weeks, it's 10 months. 10 lunar months. 10 10 10 10
psycho_mama: 10 months. But it can also depend on your health and the health of the baby.
Jen2Squared: 10 months! So not 8.
erincharp: Definitely ten but so worth it
SomethingGirl: Well, it's 9 month names and 40ish weeks. Where's the controversy?
nevona: 10 months?
chatterboxcgc: Most definitely closer to 10 months. At least for me it was.
jessienuez: i say it's closer to 10
fentonslee: its closer to 10, even when theyre early. the giddy xpectation and the swollen achy feet make it seem to stretch out.
ciaraj13: typically a pregnancy is 40 wks, but can vary from person to person
MrsMomNY: Depends on if it's an easy or rough one. Being sick makes it feel like forever (I mean ten mths). LOL
msrib: 10 months. 40 weeks is so not 8 months! that baby would be a preemie :(
JDpregnancy: 10 mo. It's 40 weeks & a month is approx 4 weeks so that makes 10 months.
laurathemum: closer to 10! it's 40 weeks & approximately 4 weeks per month - 10 months.
SomethingGirl: Well, if there are four weeks in a month, then it's 10 months. But there ISN'T four weeks. It's more like 4.3.
TheBabyTree: Definitely 10 months! Unless you are lucky like my sis and always go early!
SweetWifey (several tweets): Full term pregnancy is 40 wks (10 months). If u don't go into labor naturally, most OBs won't induce you until at least a week later. I was due Dec. 28th (40 weeks). But I wasnt dilating beyond 1 cm and OB ended up inducing me 4 days later.He came Jan 3rd,which was 6 days past my duedate. So essentially, i was pregnancy for 41 weeks, which is close to 10 1/2 months (lol). So im confused at anyone who would say pregnancy is closer to 8 months?Thats 32 weeks.That would be termed a premature birth,tho the baby would likely be healthy. And the only reason my OB induced my so soon (4 days after my duedate passed) is because she was going out of town. lol. She really preferred to wait, to let me body go into labor naturally. Decreases chance of having to get a c-section.
milyjh75: I went on or around my due date 3 times, then the fourth was 42 w 4 d

Needless to say I'm not alone in my confusion/ assumption. Granted, I did compare 8 months to 10 months, and maybe it is right in the middle, but it still seems as though a lot of people who have had children say it was more like 10 months for them--Or perhaps it just felt like it?

I thought breastfeeding and co-sleeping were heated topics but I had no idea the amount of time you're pregnant could also be thought as controversial! @SomethingGirl told me some women debate over the issue... Because while some women believe you should wait until the baby is ready to come out naturally, and on it's own--Others believe that could lead to stillborn births, and other problems--A really big baby for one, less amniotic fluid, and other things that could lead to complications.

So I guess while some people go well past their due date and actually DO wind up being pregnant for 10 months (or more) others believe that's just dangerous, and should be avoided. I think another reason for confusion is because of the whole inconsistent counting system. I mentally count pregnancy in months but my friends who are pregnant think of it all in weeks.. I don't know anyone who counts in days. If you average out the 4 weeks in a month--That's where people get 10 months. Then again if you're pregnant and counting one month every time you hit 30 to 31 days I guess it would feel/ be more like 9 months. But I think it's a hard thing to try to count! For one--not everyone is the same and two--What if it's a Leap Year?!

So what do you think? And Anonymous, if you're still out there I'd love to know your position on all of this. Do you consider pregnancy 8 months? 9 months? 10 months? Heck... Maybe you can even pull a "I didn't know" and it'll feel like no months, once you realize you've given birth to your child in the toilet.

The Paranoia

If my stomach so much as growls I'm thinking I may be pregnant. I've gotta go pee--Must be pregnant. My feet hurt... I'm tired... feel faint--Yep, it's the pregnancy. That's what I get right? I guess it's the price I pay for doing this and trying that. I knew this would happen and now I'm ready to KICK myself! Here's proof how paranoid I am:
I took some of ya'lls advice and just stocked up on pregnancy tests from the Dollar Store. I only got 5 though. That should hold me over for awhile.

It's weird, I haven't had this feeling for a long time. I've been on the pill, the depo shot, had an IUD, and finally... after about 5 years of diverse birth control I'm not using hormones.

I must admit, I use to think people who weren't using a hormonal form of birth control were kind of dumb... Now that I've crossed over to that side of the fence I can see it's not that strange, and it's a little annoying when people say "you're going to get pregnant right away." Well I hope not (that's not the plan)! BUT... My GYN said it could take up to a year for my cycle to go back to normal so I figured it would be best to start that timer now if that be the case.

I imagine I'll find myself in this "so now I know how it feels" scenario a lot more as my journey inches closer and closer toward motherhood. I get the feeling I'll be eating a lot of my words.

I'm trying not to talk about my paranoia. I really don't want to be "that girl." You know... The one who's always talking about the pregnancy-like sensations she feeling but INSISTS she's not (or doesn't think she's) pregnant. Although I wouldn't mind being like Michelle, and making my own personal book of my crazy-mind feelings of "maybe I'm pregnant" in a TTC Journal (when I'm actually TTC).

So far I've been pretty good about taking my Basal Temperature. I printed out about 6 months worth of charts and I've already got some dots on it! I'm surprised how FUN. It is--Wait... I'm not sure if "fun" is the right word, but it sure is interesting! I ordered "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" like a lot of you recommended. If what yall all are saying about it is right I should know when to and not to get pregnant (again, the latter being my goal). And I'm excited just to understand my anatomy better, I think it should be coming in this week! I actually don't even mind checking out that other stuff... Eer, keeping an eye on it at least (I'm not sure I know how the whole "process" should be done yet, I'm counting on the book for that one). Anything that keeps me from screwing up I'm all for!

I'm mostly worried because I just got a Tetanus/Pertussis shot and the doctor said I should wait three months before TTC, plus I'm not sure what hormones are still in my system after removing the Mirena, I've still got a little dental work to get done, AND I'm still trying to ween myself off 5-hour energy shots. Well I wanted to wait that long or longer ANYWAY but I'd feel bad if I messed up my fetus, hence my extra dose of paranoia, coming right up!

The Surprise... Really?

Lately I'm addicted to Discovery Health and love watching crazy operation shows... So it's no surprise when I saw the title "I didn't know I was pregnant" I was all about TiVoing that!

Four different women, four surprising pregnancies (one of them was pregnant with twins!). None of the women knew they were pregnant until they were in labor...One of them didn't even know until after the baby was born in the toilet! They didn't have any symptoms of pregnancy... No cravings, negative pregnancy tests, not much or no weight gain. Must be nice eh? They all had different reasons for thinking they either couldn't get pregnant or surly weren't pregnant.

I've heard of things like this happening before but I wasn't sure if I really believed that could be possible--Not knowing for nine months? Ok, maybe if you're very large already, but a lot of these women weren't.

One of the ladies thought she was going through menopause. She had an 18 year old daughter that was about to go away to college. Next thing you know, one night she's got a stomach ache, she thinks she's dying and falls to the floor. Her husband gets a peek at her whooha and is like "Woah, we're having a baby!" She delivers it right then and there. By the time the paramedics get there the baby is out! Of course they took them both to the hospital to make sure they were OK.

The one question I had in my mind during this show was "Do they get some kind of hospital discount or something?" I mean, it's not like they had all of the perks of a normal delivery. Heck, the one lady did it all in the bathroom at home. That's gotta reduce the hospital fees.

Anyway, good news is all of the babies and mommies were ok. If you missed it and want to see more info go here.