# How can I tell how far along I am?



## Woubouma

I'm totally new to this. I just did a test and it was positive! Thing is, I don't have periods because I was very underweight, so I don't know how to tell how pregnant I am. I've been feeling sick for a few months but thought it was the new tablets I take. Do I have to see my doctor? Will he know? How can I wait till Monday!!


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## ladypotter

They will have to do an ultrasound to see how far along you are if you have not had periods in months. Good luck!!


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## Woubouma

Cool, does the doctor do an ultrasound when I go and see him? I've got quite a round belly but thought that was because of me gaining weight (I had an eating disorder). I wish I knew how far along I am. Now that I know I'm pregnant Im sure I can feel movement!


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## NuKe

congratulations hun and welcome to bnb! where are you located? uk or us or other?


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## suzib76

you could be wuite far on, i would ask the doc to feel your tummy and see if he can feel your uterus, a freind of mine had the doc out for unrelated pain but as the doc was examining her her told her she was 3 months preg
but, the only real way to tell will be when you have a scan - if the doc can feel you are further on than a few weeks though you will get a quick referal for your scan x


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## LogansMama

Wow. Exciting! Yea - your doc will most likely do an U/s right away to see how far along you are!


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## MrsGlitz

You will need to see your GP and he/she will feel your tummy area and should be able to tell if you are more than a few weeks along. You will then be sent for an ultrasound scan at your hospital, hopefully immediately, where they can tell you how far along you are.

Personally (I am impatient!) I would call your local hospital, ask to
speak to maternity and see if they can see you.


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## Woubouma

Thanks for your help! I'm in Manchester. Going to call the doctor on Monday and get an appointment, can't wait to find out!! What else will the gp do?


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## MrsGlitz

They will probably take your blood pressure, weight, a urine sample and maybe send you to the nurse for some bloods. Or your bloods might be taken at your scan, depending on how far along that says you are. He/She will refer you to a midwife too.

You haven't said how long ago your eating disorder was? If it was fairly recent they may want to monitor you more frequently, or they may want to anyway being as you're very underweight. Do you still struggle with food issues? I have found it hard to eat properly during my pregnancy as although I have never had a full blown eating disorder I do often skip meals. I know it's not the same thing but feel free to PM if you want. :hugs:

Oh and sorry, I forgot to say Congratulations!


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## brandonsgirl

First of all congrats on the pregnancy. Also yep go and see your GP and he/she will feel around your belly an ask your obvious questions. They should be able to tell you by feeling on your belly but to know for sure they will refer you to the hospital. By the way dont expect it to be right away. You might be lucky and get one right away but i had to wait about 3 weeks for mine and i was an emergancy scan. 
Also you mentiond you have an eating disorder nd i understand if you dont want to talk about it BUT the DR will ask and there will be major cause for concern if its an on going thing. And so as someone else said they may want to moniter you alot more closely. Espesh because baby needs to many nutrients and you need to be eating healthy meals etc. And being underweight they may worry about LO development if you are quite far along which seen as you mentioned that you are 'showing' abit then i suspect you are. 
Sorry if i sound preachy at all i really dont mean to be. Just letting you know that DR dont spare feelings but rather tell it to you straight


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## Woubouma

Thanks for the replies, it helped to know what to expect. GP squeezed me in today, but said I need to see the midwife. He felt my belly and said he could feel something but he didn't want to guess. I've got a scan appointment on Thursday and seeing the midwife there at the hospital, because he thinks the consultant will want to see me. Blood pressure was a bit low and I'm still underweight. It is all starting to feel a bit real now!

I am worried about one thing, will they ask anything about the father?


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## brandonsgirl

They will ask for obvious reasons.. health and stuff. But if you say you dont know then they will leave it at that. Is there a reason you dont want them to know?


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## Woubouma

brandonsgirl said:


> They will ask for obvious reasons.. health and stuff. But if you say you dont know then they will leave it at that. Is there a reason you dont want them to know?

I'm not 100% sure who the father is. That sounds awful doesn't it. 

How accurate are scans? Will they tell me the day? I might be able to work it out then. I thought because I had no periods I couldn't get pregnant.

Gosh knows how I'm going to tell my parents and friends that I'm going to be a single mum!


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## bky

Generally they base the age off a crown to rump measurement (CRL crown to rump length), and it's more or less accurate +/- 1-2 weeks. They'll give you an estimate though, something like 9 week, 3 days, or 6 weeks 5 days etc. That number minus 2 weeks is when you supposedly conceived. 
For instance I know I ovulated (as I was tracking) on October 5th, however, due to baby's growth etc my measurements are a few days ahead. Then there is the whole when did the sperm meet the egg and all that too :) 
They should be able to tell you with a reasonable amount of accuracy at least the week.


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## brandonsgirl

They should be able to tell you how far along you are and they will also tell you your estimated due date but remember that hardly any babies are born on their due date. 
Its pretty much a guessing game anyways lol

And as for not knowing who the father is isnt a terrible thing. Its not great but no one will think terrible of you here. The majority of us dont judge. 

How old are you if yu dont mind me asking?
If you ever wanna chat about watever you can just PM me :)

*EDIT* there are tonnes of single mums on here so your not alone.


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## MrsGlitz

Like other's have said, they'll give you an estimate on how far along you are and will be able to help with working out roughly when you conceived.

How are you feeling?


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## Woubouma

You are all so lovely. I'm really happy about it, I didn't think I could have children. I'm worried though, I look after my auntie full time and don't know how I'm going to cope with that and a baby, without a partner.


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## brandonsgirl

Dont worry hun, you will find a way. Plenty of people do it all the time. Maybe there is someone else who could help look after your aunt part time? That way it will take the strain off you. Something that you will really need help with later on in pregnancy.


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## MrsGlitz

Aww bless you.

Can anyone else help with looking after your auntie? Do you live with her? Are you at uni as well? That's a lot to take on!


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## Woubouma

It is just me and her. She is like a Mum to me. I don't know how to tell her about the baby, she thinks I'm a virgin!

I'm so nervous and excited about my scan. Not long and I can find out when I'll meet my baby!


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## brandonsgirl

Maybe wait until you have had the scan untill you tell you aunt??
Do you have any other family or close friends around that could also help? 
Dont be nervous about telling her, im sure she will be very happy to hear your news :)


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## suzanne0402

i found out i was pregnant just after xmas and went to the docs she felt my stomach to see if she could feel my uterus. she then reffered me to the midwife who took bloods and gave me a number to phone for my scan. because didint know how far i was i had my scan within 5 days of seeing the midwife


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## MrsGlitz

I would wait until you have had the scan so you know how far along you are before tellin your aunt?

If you don't have family who can help, your mw or GP will be able to put you in touch with organisations who can help support you in terms of caring for your aunt.


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## Newly_Wed

Good luck with your scan tomorrow, I didn't find out I was pregnant until I was nearly 5 months with my son, it was one hell of a shock as I was only 17 and single. I went to my doctors suffering with constipation, he felt my tummy and told me I was pregnant, he guessed I was 5 months and my scan the next day showed I was 18 weeks so they can get pretty exact dates from the ultrasound.


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## brandonsgirl

oh wow that must have been a huge shock hun. 
Bu on the up side you didnt have to wait as long as the rest of us haha. 
Amazing how correct they were with the dates though. Who would have thought that just having a poke around would be so correct lol


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## MrsGlitz

Any update?


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## Woubouma

Sorry for the delay, I've been a bit all over the place. I'm having a little girl! Totally in shock, according to them I'm 28 weeks! Don't know what that is in months? 6 months? Bad news is she has 'bright kidneys'. They didn't say what that means, I'm seeing consultant next week for more info and another scan. I didn't know about the baby but now the thought of losing her terrifies me. I bet it is because of my eating disorder :(


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## MrsGlitz

Woubouma said:


> Sorry for the delay, I've been a bit all over the place. I'm having a little girl! Totally in shock, according to them I'm 28 weeks! Don't know what that is in months? 6 months? Bad news is she has 'bright kidneys'. They didn't say what that means, I'm seeing consultant next week for more info and another scan. I didn't know about the baby but now the thought of losing her terrifies me. I bet it is because of my eating disorder :(

Oh wow!! That must have been a huge shock for you! :hugs: I am just under 29 weeks and feel like I have been pregnant forever! Lol

I don't know what the kidneys thing mean. I hope you ge some answers soon. Please don't beat yourself up over stuff you did before you found out.

You should pop onto the Third Trimester boards now!


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## LogansMama

Amazing. I hope your little one is okay. Take Care of both of you!


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## brandonsgirl

wow that must have been a shock for you hun. 
I dont know about what the bright kidneys mean though. Good luck with the consultant


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## tiger

Oh my gosh!!! 28weeks! thats 7months! congratulations!! how exciting for you! i would have loved to have found out at 28weeks, would make the wait so much shorter lol! pop in and see us in third trimester if you ever have any concerns or worries! we are all very friendly in there ! again congratualtions :hugs:


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## Linz88

Congratulations  call your doc, and he should get you a scan.. X


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## Joyzerelly

Woubouma said:


> You are all so lovely. I'm really happy about it, I didn't think I could have children. I'm worried though, I look after my auntie full time and don't know how I'm going to cope with that and a baby, without a partner.

If you tell Social Services they should be able to help you. You shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting at all (something which I know caring at home can involve). They might send professional carers in a few times a day, depending on the extent of your Aunt's disabilities. But if you tell them that you're so many weeks pregnant, they'll have to help you. Especially as you become more heavily pregnant. In the mean time, just take care of yourself, and start taking an antenatal supplement if you're not already to make sure your baby gets everything he or she needs (I take Pregnacare). Congratualtions!:flower:


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## wannabubba#4

Congratulations WOW -28 weeks ,I am only just about 19 weeks and feel like its been forever too lol. Not long for you to wait on your baby girl.

Hope everything goes well with your next doc appt and baby's kidneys etc xx


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## bunnyhop

Congratulations!! Normal kidneys can be bright too so try not to worry hope the consultant can put your mind at rest x


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## littleblonde

Wow hun. My mum was 28 weeks when she found out she was having me. Congratulations. I no its worrying about the kidney but im sure all will be ok. Worst case (i mean worse as well) We can survive on one kidney . But im sure it would not come to that.


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