Anyone else NOT showing (especially STMs)

maysmiles · May 2016

Hello!
I'm just curious. I am almost 15 weeks, Im a STM and I am not showing at all. I get a bit of a belly in the evening, but during the day, no one can really tell unless MAYBE after I've eaten....and those are just people that already know anyway. I am an exercise junkie but I dont have washboard abs or anything....Ive read that the stronger your abs are, the later you show. I am in good shape, but I dont feel like my ab strength is abnormally high. All tests are normal and baby was measuring two days ahead of my EDD at my last US. Just curious if anyone else, especially STMs, are wondering where "the belly that happens so much faster" is. Thanks!

Schell2013 · May 2016

My second baby I didn't show all that soon, but boy when it popped out, it grew like crazy fast. This time around it is more like my first pregnancy but I am much fitter going into this pregnancy than I was my second so I think my ab muscles are just tougher.

sammysam88 · May 2016

I can relate, although this is my first pregnancy. I'm 15 weeks and 3 days and I don't look pregnant at all. It's crazy because I'm definitely pregnant but the outward signs just aren't there yet. We bought a fetal heart monitor on amazon to listen to the baby's heart beat from home. So I know there's a baby in there lol. I'm hoping I'll start showing here within the next month. From reading the posts from this thread I'm feeling a lot of similarities to being in shape and maybe that's why there's no baby bump yet. Just have to be patient, baby's growing but just not as quickly as we'd like to see haha.

simcal18 · May 2016

FTM -- 14 + 4 and I can still wear/button most of my pants with the exception of one pair of jeans. Things are just starting to get a teeny bit snug. I'm overweight and certainly wouldn't consider myself in stellar shape, but I have been working out with a trainer for quite a while so I think I have a fair amount of ab muscle under my fat. I also have a tilted/retrograde uterus, which I think also tends to make you show later. The flip side is that I'm short so there's not a lot of vertical space for the baby to hide. I may regret this later but I do kind of hope I start showing relatively soon -- I feel kind of weird not noticing any change.

Blonde1817 · May 2016

Are you tall? I was telling my OB "everything I've read says FTMs don't show until 20ish weeks, but I've been showing for awhile!" And she told me that short women show sooner (which I am), because baby doesn't have as much room to grow up before it starts growing out.

sheviolentlyknits · May 2016

Third time mom here. I just hit 15 wks yesterday and am not showing, still just looking bloated. Started showing. Around 17 weeks last time, not til 20 weeks with my first.

BoyMom44 · May 2016

This is my 3rd and I'm not showing, maybe a very, very small bump. I'm still wearing all my regular clothing. It is totally normal to not be showing. With my second I didn't show until almost 26 weeks.

aesthyerin · May 2016

STM here and not showing. However I still have extra fluff from the last baby. I feel like I'm starting to waddle but just look fat

Mintz1982 · May 2016

My second took me forever for me to pop I was close to 25 weeks then boom she grew my butt and my belly at the same time. I felt like a kardashian on steroids lol. This is my 3rd and I feel like I swallowed a water Mellon my feet are already going away

CaptainPhasma · May 2016

1st time mom, 15 weeks, not showing, though I think mine has the opposite cause, I'm a little fluffy and have a tummy normally so the uterus is still sitting underneath that in my pelvis. I'm 5'8" and I guess the tall thing makes a difference because my friend who is 5'2" and 16w is already showing off her bump.

MRSCORKER · May 2016

CaptainPhasma said:

1st time mom, 15 weeks, not showing, though I think mine has the opposite cause, I'm a little fluffy and have a tummy normally so the uterus is still sitting underneath that in my pelvis. I'm 5'8" and I guess the tall thing makes a difference because my friend who is 5'2" and 16w is already showing off her bump.

I really think there is truth to the height thing. I'm also 5'2" and I started to notice a small bump at 13 weeks, at nearly 16, I can't hide it anymore.

OP, every person and pregnancy are different. I would think having a strong core would prevent your bump from popping early on. There was a picture floating around recently of two women, one was a fit mom at 20ish something weeks and you couldn't tell she was pregnant at all. The other was an average (meaning not crazy fit but not overweight) mom who was like 3 weeks further along and she looked very advanced in her pregnancy. Both were perfectly healthy pregnancies. Don't let not showing yet worry you, before long, you'll be popping out!

lvd16 · May 2016

This is my second pregnancy too, 15wks and not showing yet. Bump popped with my first at 16wks last time so hopefully soon for this one! I'm also short, 5'2.5" and a bit overweight but I have a 1 year old to chase in the yard this summer lol

mommym234 · May 2016

Stm here, at 18 weeks I also don't have a noticeable bump. I do have a little bit of a mom pooch from my last, and in the evening kind of have a bump. But feeling weird at 18 weeks with no bump. With my first by 18 weeks, I had enough of a bump to be a volleyball for Halloween. I was in much better shape with way better abs last time. I'm also 5'0" so the tall thing is most likely not it lol.

katlarissa · May 2016

Second pregnancy, 16 weeks, not showing. I have a tiny bit of bloat by the end of the day. I went to yoga 4 times per week consistently before my first baby was born (he's 11 months old,) but not consistently since. So, I'm not crazy fit, although I am pretty thin. Also, I'm only 5'4.
I think everybody is just different, like lots of previous posters have said. My view is that it buys me more time in my regular pants, so I'm going to focus on that! Baby is measuring ahead, so I'm not concerned.
I did have a lot of people tell me I'd pop early this time, especially since there's such a short time between my pregnancies, but that just hasn't been true.

LGW2015 · May 2016

Yep height is definitely a factor! I'm almost the same size as DH's friend's wife who is 10 weeks ahead of me. Apparently the dr told her that she has a long abdomen so it took her a long time to show. I, on the other hand, am short and petite and I've been showing forever haha

mrszoess · May 2016

my best friend is due basically the same day as me and she's tall and in no way as bumped as I am. and I'm plus size and it totally made my belly different

sadeathe · May 2016

This is my second baby and I still fit in all of my pre pregnancy clothes. I was slightly overweight when I became pregnant with this baby, so not really in shape beyond running after my 3.5 year old. I just feel fat and ugh at the end of the day because all I've got to show is bloat and a tender tummy. I can, however, feel my uterus moving up, just not out yet. Hopefully I'll look pregnant soon.

NoraAurora · May 2016

This feels a little humble-braggy, no? OP, you say in an earlier post you are a Bradley method teacher. Surely you know that all bodies and all pregnancies are different?

But good for you and your rock hard abs

simcal18 · May 2016

NoraAurora said:

This feels a little humble-braggy, no? OP, you say in an earlier post you are a Bradley method teacher. Surely you know that all bodies and all pregnancies are different?

But good for you and your rock hard abs

I don't think it's any more humble-braggy than the HDBD posts. It's not like we're all over here going "OMG I can still button my pants because I'm in SUCH AWESOME SHAPE!!!!!!!" And it's not like we're all happy that we're not showing yet either -- in fact it sounds like quite a few of us (including OP) are nervous about it. There have been tons and tons of posts, in HDBD and other places, about how people are showing/dealing with bumps/wearing maternity clothes. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a place where those of us who aren't there yet can share too.

katlarissa · May 2016

NoraAurora said:

This feels a little humble-braggy, no? OP, you say in an earlier post you are a Bradley method teacher. Surely you know that all bodies and all pregnancies are different?

But good for you and your rock hard abs

For what it's worth, I'm thinking this is the same type of post as the "comments from people about being huge" post. Body images are difficult during pregnancy, whether you're having people judge you wrongfully because *they* think you're too big, or whether they're asking you if you really think you should be starving the baby by trying to keep your weight down. (Yes, multiple people said that to me with my last pregnancy. And no, I wasn't. I just happened to be very sick the first two trimesters.)
I don't think OP was bragging. I think that sometimes we all need a little comaraderie in this journey, and that's what she was looking for.

ladyshark311 · May 2016

I have the issue where I've been showing for weeks (16 weeks), I'm only 5'3" and this is my fifth pregnancy so that plays a factor as well. I'm paranoid because I'm huge but I haven't actually gained a pound. Baby is right on track I just don't get why there is no weight gain yet.

k2k2tog · May 2016

I've heard when you show has far more to do with the length of your torso than your height. So, you can be short, with a long torso, and not show for a long time, or tall with a short torso, and show really early on.

TurtleMomma · May 2016

STM @ 13+5w and I'm showing in a really weird way. My ute is going straight up so I show up by my ribs and my tummy fat kind of hangs below it (I lovingly dubbed it my fat-cicles, like icicles but of hanging fat, lol)

maysmiles · May 2016

@simcal18
Thank you so much for understanding. Yes, I am a Bradley Method teacher. I am also a physical therapist. I know a lot about the body but @simcal18 hit it right on the head! When it's your body, you question things differently. You arent as objective as you might be with a student or patient. Being a childbirth educator, in some ways, makes me more paranoid. I had a mom have a stillbirth last month at 35 weeks, Im paranoid about such things now and looking pregnant, especially after everything Ive observed and read about 2nd time pregnancies has me nervous that I dont look the part yet. The fact that Im stronger than I was the last time is my only guess for this...I am not tall....I am actually really short (5'2")....and I just want to know my baby is ok, just like the rest of you.

UponAStar16 · May 2016

I don't know if you saw this, but I find it kinda cool in terms of the differences....this pic was posted online of these two equally healthy pregnant women supposedly at 4 months on the left and 5 months on the right. I'm sure both had some insecurities but everything was fine either way!

maysmiles · May 2016

@UponAStar16
I did see that picture soon after I posted. Thanks for putting it here. It is reassuring to know the vast array of "normal".

22mango22 · May 2016

This is my second, I dont feel like Im showing but im holding so much water weight this time that Ive been in maternity pants since 9wks. Im.still at my starting weight. But my husband says he can tell a little now that its a bump and not the extra fluid around my tummy and legs.

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