UPDATE IN COMMENTS 1 week behind, certain of my dates. Does this timeline make sense at all? :/

angeladowns1 · January 2017

Hey there everybody.
first of all I am so grateful to anyone that reads this whole thing!

I have fairly regular 34 day cycles, my last one started December 6th.
In the fertile window, we BD'd the 22&23rd (CD 18 and 19) and again on New Years I believe. I can't remember for the life of me if we did sometime between the 28th-30th but I feel like we may have once.
I had EWCM the 26th and 27th, with twinging and cramps. (CD 21&22) and I assumed this to be ovulation.
I got my BFP January 11th, two days after my missed period. (Didn't test before that, but was fairly dark) The following day my HCG was 262, three days later it was 580.

So, based on those days I went into today's ultrasound thinking I was somewhere between 5+6 and 6+2.

Nope. There was a gestational sack measuring 5+3. We both saw something inside a couple times, what she guessed to be the embryo. It kept hiding though and she was having a hard time getting it to find a good angle. She was using a pretty low resolution portable ultrasound, and said on a higher resolution machine there might have been more to see that hers wasn't picking up.

Assuming her measurements were correct, that means I would have only been 3+6 when I got my dark BFP.... is that even possible?

I know I'm overthinking this but I'm really trying to understand if this is actually normal or not. The nurse practitioner didn't seem worried, and chalked it up to thinking I conceived somewhere between the 29th and New Years. However, I'm fairly certain ovulation was over by that point, and that would have been CD 25-26, which with my cycle length would only be a 8-9 day luteal phase, right?

Anyone have any similar experiences? Is there any other explanation for why the dates might be off? I'm all ears. I'm feeling like this pregnancy is pretty doomed as of now. PGAL brain might be getting the best of me, and I really hope that's the case.

Emeraldcity · January 2017

I got my BFP at 6DPO, which put me at exactly 3 weeks when I found out. The line was pretty dark by 9dpo so it is possible to get a good line that early.

JNR6510 · January 2017

EWCM doesn't necessarily mean ovulation. It occurs multiple times throughout the cycle. Getting a positive test at 3+6 is perfectly possible. The #w#d doesn't really mean much since you can ovulate any number of days after your cycle began. It is better to go by DPO. It's also not uncommon for a fetus to show + or - a day or two since the measurements doctors use for dating is based on averages.

HollyGolightly09 · January 2017

Last time I got a BFP (3 or 4 actually) 10 DPO... not sure exactly how far along that made me, but it was less than four weeks. They weren't super dark, but obviously there. Try to focus on the fact that the nurse practitioner wasn't concerned.

GhanimaAtreides · January 2017

Any discrepancy up to a full week is within normal limits. Especially with wonky cycles and no temp chart to go off of to know for sure when you ovulated.

angeladowns1 · January 2017

Thank you ladies! I'm happy to hear you guys don't think it's doomed, lol. I'm having some period like cramping (and have been cramping for over a week) but trying to not let it get to me. Ugh, I can't wait for this little uncertain stage to be over.

maddisonwallace · January 2017

The same thing happened to me. I thought I was somewhere closer to 6-7 weeks because of when I got my positive, which was fairly dark. I went to the OB yesterday and was actually closer to 5 w 3 d based on a sonogram and pelvic exam. So when I found out I had to have been between 3-4 weeks. Crazy how soon that positive will show up nowadays!

ColoradoHiker · January 2017

I got my BFP at 10dpo, CD23. If the nurse didn't mention any reason for you to worry, I would try not to dwell on it.

wellhithen · January 2017

I went in for my 6+2 ultrasound and the baby is too small to see which is so confusing to me also. I have had symptoms since week 3 so I don't understand that either! I go in today and hopefully they can see something.

SuperKristy85 · January 2017

Getting your positive at 3+6 is definitely possible. I had my first ultrasound this pregnancy at 5w4d on a high resolution ultrasound and all we saw was the gestational sac and yolk sac. On my follow up at 6w 2d we saw the fetal pole and heartbeat. Your gestational sac only measured 3 days behind what you were expecting so I wouldn't get worried about that and thats just too early to really see much else.

sableeg · January 2017

I totally understand your fears! I would be worried as well.

to you and good thoughts for comfort as you go through this (scary) PGAL journey.

awildrose · January 2017

I totally understand the PGAL fears. I lost my second baby and worried through most of my third's pregnancy even though she was and has been perfectly healthy. This is my fourth pregnancy and I got a positive at 3+3. I thought that was insanely early (I tested as a joke to my husband on his birthday- big surprise for both of us). I know my dates are accurate since I was temping. I'm keeping you in my thoughts and prayers that you next Appt shows fantastic growth and a strong heartbeat!

eeyorefan215 · January 2017

I went in for an emergency ultrasound at 6+0 and saw only a gestational sac and the ultrasound was reading 5+3 so of course I panicked thinking my days were off some how. I went in for a scheduled ultrasound at 7+5 and was then measuring a week ahead.
I wouldn't worry too much at this early stage because all babies grow at different rates. As long as your nurse practitioner and OB are not concerned, you shouldn't be either

ShreyaR · February 2017

You have a 34 days cycle so according to that you are just fine I think, my cycle is usually 35 days and according to that I am a just 6 weeks whereas according to LMP I am 7 weeks!

angeladowns1 · February 2017

Update!!!

Thank you ladies all so so much for your support, kind words and sharing of experiences and advice. You guys are awesome!
I have had so many "bad signs" this pregnancy or things that are totally normal but have given a unscientific stigma of being a bad sign.
I have dealt with "line progression" issues on pregnancy tests (getting lighter not darker), low initial HCG, tail-end-of-normal doubling times, spotting, cramping, multiple (low res) ultrasounds showing an empty sac measuring about a week behind.

I've had every googled reason in the world almost to think I miscarried.... yet after my second low res ultrasound where I was told I had a "small, empty sac" I was sent to a higher quality one, and the same day, there was my beautiful little babe measuring EXACTLY to my dates (that I was told for weeks must be wrong) with a STRONG heartbeat.

That was a little over a week ago, and turns out spotting and cramping were due to a small SCH and corpus luteum cyst.

Basically, the point to that long ramble is that there really is hope when your pregnancy isn't going textbook "normal" at first. Sometimes babies get a slow start, and catch up! Sometimes the equipment your doctor is using may honestly not be detailed enough for how early they're using it. That day when I had two, the low res was measuring me at 6+1, and the high res at 7+0. The difference was night and day.

And trust me, I've had the same story almost with a different outcome before. I know the fear is valid. But, take heart and truly hope for the best, because that outcome happens too.