How many months are you?

StephRN23

Being that I'm a nurse, I have always viewed pregnancy in weeks. I ask my patients and my friends "how many weeks are you". Now that I'm getting a lot of strangers asking me, I'm getting "how many months are you". I am over 5 months because I'm over 20 weeks. But when I say I'm due in November, people side eye me because "it's a long way to go". We all know that technically pregnancy is 10 months, but not everyone knows that. So what do you say when people ask you in terms of months? Do you take off a month for those first four weeks or will you be 9 months at 36 weeks? Was this confusing? I hope not, sorry.

edinger3

I'm adding those 1st four weeks.  If people look at me weird, I'll let them know that pregnancy is actually 10 months.

niknak1128

Right now I'm 23 wks 2 days so I would just round up and tell them I'm 6 months. It's just easier. I say weeks and then people dont' understand how many weeks you're supposed to be pregnant. And I've gotten the same reaction when I say I'm due in November.. they act like I have soooo far to go.. and I do have 4 months but I'm farther along than I have to go. It's aggravatiing because then they look at me like I look bigger than that and I just want to smack them.

biochemgirl

This still confuses me.  I am 16 weeks so going with 4 months if people ask.  Up until now I've gone by weeks.

biochemgirl

November doesn't seem that far away to me.  Now January 3 on the other hand seems FOREVER away.

skye83

I may be the weird one here but I count backwards from my due date. A month is closer to 4.5 weeks so pregnancy is 10 lunar months but only about 9 calendar months. I'm due 10/16 so I have just under 3 calendar months left. I tell people I'm 6 months. 

krisztina33

My doctor's office has a Pg FAQ handout.  In there it says to subtract the first two weeks (since no one is pg those weeks) and figure out months from that...So 12 weeks you would be 2.5 months...

HTH!

orangegoggles

This question is always confusing. I just say between 4-5 months but its kind of weird. I like saying the weeks.

adoxyinherear

I've always told people as if they knew pregnancy was 10 months! And I clarify if they side-eye me. I feel we've earned every single day we get through :P

cmumama

my edd is 9/14, so when people ask i say i have about 2 more months to go or that i am 8 months along. 

damabo80

Well, considering that there's only one month that has 4w, using the 4w=1m is weird. 

If I were to tell a stranger that "I'm 9m PG", the expectation is I could go any day. If I told a strange that I was 8m, they would assume I'm due next month. If I told a stranger I'm 7m pg, they assume that I'd be due in 2m.

So, right now I would say I'm 7m. 

kelly321

skye83:

I may be the weird one here but I count backwards from my due date. A month is closer to 4.5 weeks so pregnancy is 10 lunar months but only about 9 calendar months. I'm due 10/16 so I have just under 3 calendar months left. I tell people I'm 6 months. 

For later in pregnancy (starting in 2nd tri), that's what I do, too. I take my due date and subtract. For 1st tri, though, I count forward, so at 10w I'm now 2.5 months. It seems like it shouldn't be that complicated, but somehow it still kind of is...

Ladiebug710

I just divide the weeks by 4, so yes at 36 weeks I say 9 months.  Although often I give the countdown, so instead of saying 28 weeks, I'd say 12 weeks left. 

luvinlifeMN

I'm 28 weeks... so in my head, I'm 7 months along.  However, that confuses people because they assume I only have 2 months to go.  I just tell people I have 12 weeks left to go.

Eveanyn

luvinlifeMN:

I'm 28 weeks... so in my head, I'm 7 months along.  However, that confuses people because they assume I only have 2 months to go.  I just tell people I have 12 weeks left to go.

This exactly. (In fact, to the day exactly!)

StephRN23

Thanks for all the feedback! I'm glad I'm not the only one that has issues with this! Lol!

tetiananina

I just tell them how many weeks I am, If they don't get it then I don't bother. I don't do months because it confuses them even more. I explain there are 40 weeks in a pregnancy. I had to explain this to DH, I would ask how far along one of our friends wives was and he gave me months, I said no weeks. : ) Now he knows

zombiemommy

The reason it's 9 months, but also 40 weeks, is that there are more than 4 weeks in a month. February is the only month with exactly 4 weeks worth of time in it. On average, you gain an extra week for every 3 months. That would make 3 months=13 weeks, 6 months=26 weeks, and 9 months=39 weeks. So yes, pregnancy is a little more than 9 months, but it's definitely not 10 months.

For me, I use weeks unless people specifically say "no, tell me months" (which one of my best friends did the other day. Actually, I think his quote was "use months like a normal person"). Otherwise, I'd say that at 21-22 weeks I'd say I was 5 months. You're not yet 5 months at 20 weeks. 

That being said, the weeks are all that matter. Anyone who has had a kid should understand the weeks thing.

VineyardMel

My pregnancy will be exactly 9 calendar months from LMP to C/S at 39 weeks. I never quite understood counting 4 weeks as a month for the reasons others have mentioned. I just hit 7 (calendar) months this week, but to bridge the gap I say I'm in my 8th month.

KelliLynee

StephRN23:

.....We all know that technically pregnancy is 10 months.....

No, we don't. 4 weeks does not equal 1 month. 

1 month, on average, equals 30.4 days.  

Pregnancy, on average, is 40 (weeks) or 280 days. 280 days divided by the 30.4 days is just over 9 months. 9.2 to be exact. 

It drives me crazy to hear people say pregnancy is 10 months, or to call themselves 5 months when they are 20 weeks (or any other version of that math) so I just stick to weeks, but if someone wants to know how many months I am, I just stick to the date on the calendar... so, I am due on September 10th, around the first or second week of July I said I was 7 months. I won't say I'm 8 months until close to August 10th.  

[Deleted User]

KelliLynee:

StephRN23:

.....We all know that technically pregnancy is 10 months.....

No, we don't. 4 weeks does not equal 1 month. 

1 month, on average, equals 30.4 days.  

Pregnancy, on average, is 40 (weeks) or 280 days. 280 days divided by the 30.4 days is just over 9 months. 9.2 to be exact. 

It drives me crazy to hear people say pregnancy is 10 months, or to call themselves 5 months when they are 20 weeks (or any other version of that math) so I just stick to weeks, but if someone wants to know how many months I am, I just stick to the date on the calendar... so, I am due on September 10th, around the first or second week of July I said I was 7 months. I won't say I'm 8 months until close to August 10th.  

I agree with this. I also count forward from my LMP...which was Dec. 28th. So on the 28th of each month I "change months". So, on July 28th, I will be 7 months pregnant, entering into my 8th month. Not sure how accurate it is but it's accurate enough for me.