Conception Questions

[Iluvmymonsters]

I just took a test both at home and at the doctors in the last day. I havent been able to see a doctor just yet due to the wonderful navy hospital having too many pts, and not enough dr's. I have tried to look up online how far I am or when I conceived. And about 5 diffrent sites gave me 5 diffrent answers, everything from I conceived on Aug 29th, 5th, 6th, and 11th-13th. But it is saying I am 4 weekd and 3 days along. The week of aug 9th the condom broke but I took the morning after pill asap. On aug I believe 23-25th I did get a regular cycle but I did have unprotected sex with my husband on the 18th and 19th but he did not ejaculate inside me. My cycle ended early this month (sept) since it does last about 8-10 days. I did go and see my husband at another base the weekend of sept 10th-sept 12. He came home on the 17th and I found out yesterday on the 21st that I am pregnant. Based off of the possible dates of my last cycle its making me too far along or not far along enough. How do I know how far along I am and when I conceived. Because if I did conceive on any of the dates in sept wouldnt I wouldnly be 1 1/2-2 weeks? instead of 4 1/2?

[Gina04]

Based on that, I think that what I said earlier about you conceiving the weekend of the 10th is probably what happened.  I know it is weird that the doctors say you are like two weeks pregnant before you ever conceive but that is the way they do it.  In your case, the first day of your last period was August 25th (or26th).  Even though you didn't conceive until about September 10th, the doctors would start counting on August 25th or 26th.  Going from August 25th, it has been 4 weeks.  That is why they would say you are 4 weeks pregnant.  Depending on who you talk to, some would say you have been pregnant for 4 weeks.  Some would use September 10th when you conceived and say you have been pregnant a week and a half.  Still others would say you have only been pregnant a few days since the baby didn't implant in your uterus until a few days ago.  However, when you tell people how far along you are or when the doctor tell you that you will have a certain test done at 20 weeks, etc.  those times are based on counting from August 25th or 26th.

With your cycles being irregular, it is POSSIBLE that you conceived somewhere between August 18th and August 23rd with sperm from the 18th or 19th and that you still had your period on the 25th.  It is not unheard of for this to happen.  However, since it sounds like that was a normal period, MOST LIKELY you weren't pregnant at that time and didn't conceive until about the 10th of September.  When they do an ultrasound and measure the baby, that should help you know for sure whether you conceived during this time in August or during the weekend of the 10th of September.

Hopefully I explained this in a way you can understand.  Like I said, it does seem weird that based on the way the doctors count, you were already a couple weeks pregnant when you conceived this baby.

[Iluvmymonsters]

Thank you for the reply, as for my cycles no they are not regular at all but are far from it. My cycle never comes every 28 days like some women but can come anywhere between 20-30 days insteand and will always last 8-10 days never anything less then a week. And I actually believe my cycle started the night of the 25th early morning of the 26th because I recall I got it 3 days after my husband was sent out of state for those few weeks. I just wanted to see about how far along i am since I will not be able to see a doctor for a few more weeks. But I do remember the dates we slept together, when I took the morning after pill (in aug) & the weekend I saw him. I just dont understand how I can be 4 weeks if I had my full cycle and only saw him the wknd of the 10th and now since hes been home since the 17th

[Gina04]

If you give me some more info, I can give you a better idea.  Based on what I have so far, here is a possible scenerio...

If your cycles are 30 days, that means that you would generally ovulate like 15 days after you start your period.  If you started your last period on 08-25, you would likely ovulate around 09-09.  The sperm can live for about 5 days inside you and the egg can live for about 24 hours without being fertilized.  If you ovulated on the 9th, the egg could still be there ready to be fertilized on the 10th when you saw your husband.

From conception to implantation is generally a week or two.  That means that the baby could have implanted on or after the 17th.  Within a couple of days after the baby implants, your hormone levels can be high enough to register a positive on the test.  Thus doing a test on the 21st or 22nd could definitely yield a positive.

When doctors calculate your due date and how far along you are, they use a gestation wheel.  Even though you don't conceive until about two weeks after you start your period, they start counting from the first day of your last period.  If that was 08-25, then you are 4 weeks pregnant as of today and due June 1st.

Some things that would be helpful to know to would be:
Are your cycles regular?
How long are your cycles?
The exact date you started your last period (23rd, 24th, 25th?)

From what you have said though, it sounds like you conceived that weekend of Sept 10-12 and are 4 weeks pregnant.  When the doctor does an ultrasound, they will measure the baby, etc. and get an idea of how far along you are.  The will use that to confirm the information gained from the LMP and sexual encounter dates.