Posts by Benjamin Nelson8

17 full weeks plus 5 extra days means by Sunday I’ll be at 18 weeks total—basically 18+0.
If you look at your tracker, it might show something like 8w 3d (8 weeks and 3 days), or just the shorthand version: 8+3.

17 (full weeks) + 5 (days into the new week) since the last M

If the baby hadn't taken hold, she would have started bleeding, which would just look like a period and everything would have cleared itself right up.

She’s seven days late. There should be enough data to show something by now, but for some people, the results just never surface.

I definitely had symptoms, but I didn't realize they were tied to pregnancy at all (even though I’d spent months obsessively researching every single symptom before we even decided to start trying).
For me, my breasts were sore as hell, I was constantly exhausted (though since we were on vacation and constantly on the move, I just assumed it was from 😵), and I kept getting those pre-period cramps in my ovaries...

Fingers crossed for a positive result! 😘

Are you planning to get a referral or whatever else you need to go get a blood test? You can usually get that done the same day or by tomorrow, so you might as well just go ahead and check.

crimsoncrane3, don't sweat it. Mine started right around week seven, and honestly, I still feel them every now and then—and we're nearly 18 weeks along 😍.
If you aren't feeling them yet, you might just be one of those lucky ones who escapes the morning sickness altogether.

Jeremy Nelson3, when are you heading to the bar?

I just grabbed some Victoria's Secret because I honestly didn't have the patience to wait until tomorrow morning.

Go get an ultrasound right now and you'll find out if there's even a tiny trace of something there or if it's something else entirely.

We're keeping our fingers crossed for Jeremy Nelson3😘

If that second dash had actually been visible, I’d be saying CONGRATULATIONS! 🎉

crimsoncrane3 said:I’ve decided to go with the second option—sticking to real people for now. 😁 I’m not going to say anything to them for a while, but since I can tell everything to those of you who don't know me (at least not in person), I might as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't have anyone to talk to about the million questions swirling in my head...
Thanks to everyone for the support; I really, really need it right now.

That’s exactly why we’re here. We understand each other better than anyone else, and nobody thinks you're being "too much" just because you ask the same question for the hundredth time. You'll see soon enough once you've been around this forum a bit longer.😘

Pregnancy is calculated based on gestational weeks—starting from the first day of your last period—which means you’re actually about two weeks further along than the actual moment of conception.

crimsoncrane3 said:Ugh, I’m tearing up! Thank you girls!

I feel so weird right now, honestly, like some kind of criminal or a total lunatic... I end up pouring my heart out to you guys online, while my husband and I have actually agreed to tell absolutely nobody for at least a month or two—at least until I'm further along in the pregnancy..
He’s terrified that if we get our hopes up too early and then suffer a miscarriage, the whole family will think we're being foolish (though, let's be real, they probably wouldn't say anything...)
Meanwhile, I'm just praying that the baby stayed put and doesn't slip away.
I think I caught this paranoia from you ladies 😬

And besides, you’re basically the only "real" people I can actually talk to about this stuff (since my husband doesn't have the slightest clue about any of this 😬 )
But I am so incredibly happy that I just want to shout it from the rooftops; my parents and his parents would absolutely lose their minds with joy if they knew 😍

Don't even give that a second thought. I ended up telling the girls here first because my husband was traveling, and it felt awkward to do it over a cell phone.
I couldn't keep it bottled up; I wanted to tell the whole world... it's completely normal to feel that way, and you should be happy! We told our parents the day after my husband got back, and once he knew, the rest of the family found out in record time.
I didn't spend a single second worrying about it. We're already in our tenth week and we've already bought the stroller 🙂

Look, I just lumped all of that together into one single bucket.

crimsoncrane3 said:Benjamin Nelson8, I haven't had any miscarriages (thank Quincy!), and when I went in for my checkup back in February, everything with my ovaries looked perfectly fine.
But how on earth am I supposed to know if cysts have popped up since then? Or what if it's an ectopic pregnancy? 😲 How can I tell by myself?
Am I waiting too long to see the doctor? 😲 And if it really is an ectopic pregnancy, how am I even meant to figure that out on my own?
What should I be doing in the meantime? Besides taking prenatal vitamins and eating healthy?
Ladies, help me please!!!

If it's ectopic, there isn't much anyone can do... a baby just can't survive in the fallopian tube.
Usually, when it's ectopic, you'll feel intense pain in either the left or right ovary as the embryo starts to develop where it shouldn't.

As long as you aren't dealing with severe pain or heavy bleeding, try not to panic. Just wait until you're at least six weeks along and then head to your OBGYN.

I didn't mean to scare you. 😘

Aside from the prenatals and eating well, there isn't much else you can do until the end of the pregnancy. Just rub your belly, talk to the little one, look at cute baby clothes, and slowly start picking out things you like.

crimsoncrane3 said:Oh my god, I am so incredibly happy!!! 🙂

So, when should I schedule my first ultrasound? I don't want to go too early and see nothing.
Or should I just wait a few days and retake the test to make sure I get a darker line?

Unless you’ve dealt with miscarriages or issues with your reproductive health before, don't bother going in until you're at least 7 weeks along.
I actually went in during my 5th week just to rule out an ectopic pregnancy due to PCOS, and all they could show me was the gestational sac. I waited until the 8th week to go back, and by then we could actually see the heartbeat and the baby was already about 2 cm big.

Just hold off until week 7 so you don't end up stressing yourself out over nothing every time you visit the doctor.

Occasional cramping, sharp pains, or general abdominal discomfort are totally normal because everything is growing and expanding down there.
Only worry if you experience intense, unrelenting pain or any bleeding. If that happens, head straight to your OB-GYN or the ER.
As long as that isn't happening, just relax and enjoy this moment.

Benjamin Nelson8 said:Man, when I took my test and saw that faint second line, I immediately remembered what my friend told me—that even if it's barely there, it still counts. So I asked my husband how many lines he could see, and he goes, "Two—it's just that the bottom one is lighter than the top one." 😍 😍 Oh my gosh, he gave her such a huge kiss! And the same thing happened to me! 😍

That’s really all there is to it; if you can see a line, it's time to celebrate. 😘

Get on those maternity appointment schedules and sign up immediately....

Congratulations, crimsoncrane3! 😘👋 👋 👋

It’s honestly way too early to be looking out for symptoms. I thought I was just exhausted back then—I conceived on July 16th, and since we were on vacation starting the 17th and doing a ton of traveling, I just assumed it was travel fatigue. It wasn't until my period didn't show up that I actually realized what was happening.

As for me, the nausea didn't even kick in until my 7th week, and I'm still feeling it a little bit now at 17 weeks. It passed pretty quickly, though, even though there were moments where I genuinely thought it would never end. Plus, the exhaustion is finally starting to taper off.

This past Saturday, I was wide awake until midnight 😎 😂

I'm wishing you the easiest, most comfortable pregnancy possible!