Monday, November 25, 2013

"X Weeks" and "Xth Week" Differentiation

Before I continue this blog as a pregnancy blog, I'd just like to explain something about the terminology and dating descriptions I use.

You will see me say "weeks pregnant" and "in the x week". While these sound the same, they refer to different periods of time. This confuses a lot of people and I see people struggle with the distinction on pregnancy boards so I'll explain. (Actually I didn't get it my first pregnancy either.)

When I say "weeks pregnant" I speak of it like an age. I am saying "I have completed this many weeks."

When I say, "in the x week", I am discussing the week that is in progress. 

This is easier to understand when we think relative to age. For example, My oldest daughter is 4 years old, which means she has completed 4 full years of life. She is in her 5th year of life, meaning that her 5th year is in progress.

When people ask her age, they are asking how many years she has completed. So, I would say 4. When discussing her development with the pediatrician, however, we would discuss the skills that she would work on in the 5th year of life and should have mastered by her 5th birthday. 

Hopefully that makes it easier to understand why under my "x weeks" post I describe the development and size occuring in the next week. 


No comments:

Post a Comment