Where's my belly?

Ok this is probably going to sound stupid but where is my belly?

I have been looking online at belly galleries and everyones belly is much bigger than mine.

Yes I know everyone is different... but where are all those small tummy photos? where are all the plump ladies photos?

Do we only post belly pictures if we are thin and protuding ??

For some reason (probably being so sick) I never got into taking photos of my belly and if I had done it might have helped to SEE changes.

I have a belly when I am standing but when I sit down one big bit of it is just a rolled over spare tyre. So half my belly is just fat i think.

I have heard the h/B on the doppler so I know I shouldnt worry, but I am worrying and I am impatient.

My impatience is getting worse with pregnancy.


I know when I do get a belly I will complain then too. :)

Please reassure me... anyone have pictures?

Awww.. Delicate Dove.. i hear what ya saying! Everyone in my group has bellys too.. excpet for me, to be honest - i have nothing!

Delicate Dove I completely understand, I'm 24 weeks and only now developing a belly but honestly the average person would still think I am fat opposed to pregnant. At your stage I was worried/annoyed all those things but after my 19wk scan and seeing bubs was exactly the right size I stopped worrying and then thoughts of the positives - maybe this means I won't be huge at the end, maybe less stretch marks, can fit into my normal clothes for longer so therefore less expensive of buying maternity clothes. There are positives, try to think of them.

hey girls,

ditto to bridee!!

i have just started to get one now at 23 weeks and TBH - if you don't know i'm preggas you still wouldn't be able to see it!!

i have a feeling i'm gonna blow in the last trimester though!!!

Oh Delicate Dove - most people I know actually didnt have a real 'pg' belly at 16 weeks, whereas I had one and I was worried cause I was the only one 'with' a belly. You can view a pic of me at 19.5wks on my pg website (see link below) but I wouldnt worry hun - we all carry differently, so long as bub is healthy then thats all that matters. The girl i work with is 3 weeks ahead of me and she didnt have a proper bump at 16 weeks either, but you should see her now! She has outgrown me - and it just happened overnight. Dont be suprised when you wake up one morning and there is this big basket ball sitting under your jammies.

Belly rubs,
Lisa

thanks ladies..

24wks! Because I am / was overweight before i fell pregnant with my first baby(this one), you can tell when I'm standing that I'm pregnant. But if I lie down or sit down, nah it just looks like fat but more of it!! I'm starting to think that very soon I'm going to need some more maternity shirts and to start buying maternity pants, I'm busting out of my normals!

Delicate Dove, i didnt have much of a belly at 16 weeks... than all of a sudden about 18/19 weeks, there was some belly!

Don't worry, I was the same. I started out overweight (not too bad, but definitely overweight). I really wanted to "show", but it took forever. And even then, if you didn't know, you would have thought I was just putting on weight. Even now at almost 35 weeks, I still wear my pre-pregnancy shorts. I can't button them up anymore, though. I just wear one of those belly bands over the top. My neighbour actually asked my husband yesterday if I was pregnant. She said until this week she just thought I was gaining weight.

As much as I disliked my belly being on the small side, I am now thankful that it is. I am not nearly as uncomfortable as most of my friends were at this stage, it's still easy to move around. And for the first time in years I hear people saying "you're tiny!" or "you're looking trim for the third trimester!" I decided to enjoy that for as long as I can.

My midwife assures me that the baby measures just right and is growing at a healthy rate. Most of the babies on my side of the families weighed somewhere between 4 and 5 kgs at birth, so I hope a small belly means that my baby is taking after my husband's side of the family and be more in the 3-4 kg range.

If you want to "show" more, wearing maternity tops made a lot of difference with me. Because most of them tie under the bust, the accentuate whatever belly you have.

Mine is small too, and some days it appears to get smaller. I had my 20 weeks scan on Saturday and there was a nother lady who was also 20 weeks and had a huge belly.

I am a plump lady :D but I think part of my problem is that I have been pretty sick with m/s and haven't put on any weight so I look almost the same. Its starting to look more rounded now which makes it look more lake a baby and not just a tummy roll.

delicate dove,

i am 18.5 weeks PG and still don't have an obvious belly! i mean my friends would notice because they know what i usually look like (i'm quite slim normally), but people on the street would probably just think i'm a bit chubby around the middle.. is this your 1st? from the photos that i've seen, those ladies with the more obvious bumps are usually those who already have children. for first-time mums, your tummy doesn't pop as soon because of your superstrength abdominal muscles - he he he!!
i haven't put a tummy photo up because there isn't much to see yet! that's probably another reason why there aren't as many small baby bump photos around - those of us with small bumps think that they're not big enough to bother taking photos of!!

now that my tummy is finally starting to sprout i'm willing it not too because i want to avoid stretch marks!! every time you get a bit disappointed about your belly not being big enough, just think about the stretch marks!!

Hey DD,
I didn't really have much of a belly at 16w!!
I am a big girl!! If u want to have a look at my pics from 20w, where I had a little bit of a belly, ur welcome to a have look at my site.

The belly will be here before you know it!! At first its fantastic, but it does get in the way sometimes....:)
he he he

When I sat down I looked like I had a tubby belly and not pg until approx. 30 wks I reckon, but looked like pg belly when standing. Try not to worry, but I know how it feels to want to finally look pg!!

Check out my belly pics at http://thesmithfamily.mytinybaby.com/

No belly for aaaaages!

Hello,

Thank you for all the belly shots and comforting advice.

I made the mistake of going Bra shopping this afternoon and was totally left feeling stupid by the sales assistaint. She asked me how long I had been feeding for...

I said no I am pregnant and want a maternity bra... She said Oh really... your getting in early..

I felt stupid to say the least, My breasts have actually gone up 2 sizes already so a bra is much required despite how EARLY she things it is.

So I made my self feel better by making myself some "Maternity types" By make I mean printing out fun sayings onto tops. Including a big Baby On Board sign for my new granny knickers that nearly come up to my armpits.

once again thanks ladies.. I guess I 'll have to learn some patience...

Delicate Dove, don't worry so much about the size of your belly because sizes vary from people to people. It depends if they work out with their abdominal muscles, previous pregnancies, and overall weight before becoming pregnant. This is my first pregnancy, and I am 12w3d but only has a slight bulge. That is because I am not a very active person before my pregnancy so my belly is kinda showing although not very much.

I do have a belly, but just want to say that I too just look fat when I sit down. My tummy goes from being nice & round to flabby looking & awful! I hate my sitting down tummy LOL.

Great idea on the sayings for your tops! I would love to do that but have never gotten around to it!

I'm so glad I read this thred as I had been wprrying about the same thing! I definately look pregnant when standing and especially after a meal but when I sit or lay I can just feel my flabby tummy! I was panicking thinking that I really wasn't pregant and just putting on weight due to not so good eating habits (hard to be perfect when you are STARVING!!) Phew!- you all sound just like me which is a relief. Have my 20 weeks scan tomorrow so that will put my mind at ease I hope.

As for bra shopping - I HOPE you didn't go to Bras "n" things - they are HOPELESS!! Half the time they have 16 year olds who have no idea. I know that sounds mean but I really trust "older" more experienced staff to fit me properly. I was very lucky withthe help I had at Myer so I reccommend them. I might have to go up another size closer to the end but at the moment I'm loving my maternity bras - very comfortable!

Hi,

I was the same, not much to show. I got to my 19 week scan, showed the ladies at work my ultrasound pics and they are looking at me going if that baby is about 20cm big, then where is it??

Don't forget that ladies with an anterior placenta show sooner too.

I could have gotten away without telling my employer until 20wks!!

Don't worry about the lady at the bra shop. I have big boobs, and I swithced to maternity bras back at about 16 weeks, and glad I did. Ive gone up to an 18 D so far, and I know this isn't the end.

D_D - when i'm standing i look like i'm alot further along than 18wks (im so sick of being asked if i'm having twins!!!!) and when i'm sitting i just look like i'm fat! My belly just goes like a big blob! But the strange thing is, it's the top part of my belly that is harder and sticks out and the bottom half is all soft and saggy...

Lisa L - i was reading ur online journal where did u get the online reading about the birth?? Sounds interesting...

I'm 23 weeks and still not showing much either!!! I'm still wearing my normal clothes. Like the others, belly looks good when standing then collapses to a spare tyre when sitting! My boobs however "exploded" in the first trimester - up two sizes to a 16E (E for enormous!) - then after the milk comes in no doubt it will progress to G for gigantic and finally F for F@#k!!!! I find most maternity bras look very "grannie" but are comfortable, the Triumph bra is very comfortable but huge - a massive V front so you look like you're wearing a vest - no scoop neck tops if u buy this one! The Berlie "barely there" mat bra is also a good one for low cut tops, but I found the Triumph one fit better. Definately Myers for fitting - you don't want some clumsy teenager fiddling with your boobs at Bras N Things.

Thanks for the replies

It was bras n things but actually a 50 yearold women.

I am an 12 E now and moving to a F. I guess I will have to wait to I feel up to going to myers...

I saw my brother yesterday, for this first time since being pregnant and he automatically rubbed my belly , so maybe there is one there after all.

gee I am so impatient, how does one GET patience??

DD - see you do have a belly if your bro rubbed it!! I dont know how you get patience hun - but hang in there, your belly will pop soon :)

Urgghhhh - I hate maternity bras - my bbs exploded too (but they were smaller to start with) I went from a 12B to a 14D but im still not wearing proper maternity bra's - will have to go and look into that but I just hate the no underwire thing.


Mummynelly - google 'she knows madame zaritska' and see what happens, otherwise the site is she knows, then dot com. If you dont have any luck, let me know and I will post the link on my website :)