Bloating in the very early days?

[jumpingjackhash]

Hi all, I got a bfp today following fertility treatment, so am 4wks. However I look closer to 4 months with a big round, hard belly.

Is bloating like this common? Will it ease before I get a proper bump made by the baby?! At the moment s/he must only be the size of a dot, so wtf is going on?!

I know the progesterone I'm taking as part of the treatment can cause some bloat, but this is unexpected!

I'm a little concerned as we don't want to tell anyone we're expecting until after the relevant scans (I've mc'd early on before), but it's hard to hide as I'm only quite small so any bump is pretty obvious!

Any one else experienced this? Any advice on reducing bloat or cleverly hiding without drawing attention to it? Don't want to be in maternity clothes at 4 weeks!

Thanks!

[HaitchJay]

Bloating is common in early pregnancy , stomach etc all moves and adjusts to make room for baby

[ThreeWheelsGood]

Yes, I got this. Way more comfortable by three months.

[CityDweller]

I'm a bit bloated, and also having bad diarrhea (pregnancy fun!). I've read/ heard positive things about probiotics helping with both issues so I'm going to get some of these a go. Can't hurt to try and apparently a test made links btw probioitic use in pregnancy and prevention of asthma and eczema...

[Dandelion75]

Congrats on your BFP! I'm in exactly the same boat. I'm 5 and a half weeks pg after IVF and look so bloated that someone offered me the pregnant lady seat on the tube this week. My clinic say its a result of mild OHSS along with the bloat caused by the delightful progesterone pessaries. I would say I look at least 4 months pg.

All you can do is leep up your fluid intake and avoid foods that might make you bloated normally (for me, white bread etc) I have been assured that it shouldnt get any worse, and will reduce when I stop the progesterone (only 31 days to go). We plan to keep the news to ourselves until 12 weeks. Dressing for work is the biggest challenge, but I've settled on floaty loose blouses tucked loosely into linen trousers that are low on the hip - strangely a loose blouse tucked in makes you look less pg than a loose blouse hanging out. At home, it's pyjamas only already! Good luck x

[NellyBluth]

Congrats! Yes, I looked more pregnant during weeks 5-10 then I did from 10-20, the bloating was horrendous. If you can wear something that disguises it that will help if you are worried, but I found that no one asked me if I was pg as the bloating made a 'little' bump, not the size of bump that people comment on - however, once it became public knowledge that I was pg, quite a few people commented 'oh, I thought you were because you looked different'. Thanks all . Experiment with food if you are happily eating, see if anything makes you feel better, and drink as much water as you can.

For disguising clothes, in some ways tighter clothing looks better than looser. Looser clothing invites comments and attention. Actually, I wore all my clothes that might naturally invite the comment 'that isn't too flattering'... Good trousers and skirts with tops that are loose but sit around the tummy - kind of like this www.next.co.uk/g65238s2.

[jumpingjackhash]

Thanks all, glad it's not just me but sorry you're all suffering with it too!

Thanks for the link Citydweller, I'll give them a try too.

I'm avoiding bread, pasta and rice as I didn't eat them before I was pg as I know they can make me bloat. But all I want to eat right now are potato-based things (but not actual potatoes, think hash browns, farls, wedges...!).

I'm heading out tomorrow to try to get a few tips to hide the bulge for the coming weeks, i'll look out for loose blouses, thanks for the tip Dandelion!

Aside from the bloat, how are you all feeling?

[jumpingjackhash]

X-post Nelly! thanks for the suggestion, tomorrow will be spent rummaging through my wardrobe finding clever combos! Glad to hear it gets better!

[PeshwariNaan]

i bloated up huge immediately and by 7 weeks was in maternity jeans. I also had to buy a new bra at 7 weeks since my boobs had grown a cup size since conceiving!! Now I'm 17 weeks my bump has actually settled down a bit, but I've looked big since about week 10.

[ItsMyLastOne]

I was seriously bloated till about 14 weeks. I looked huge and struggled to hide the pregnancy.

[FuzzzyDuckosaurus]

When I was about 6/7 weeks preg, the bloating was awful. I was out for friends birthday (very few knew I was preg then) and the photos are dreadful ! My face is a big puffy mess! It did calm down by 12 weeks though. Plenty water to keep yourself hydrated

Congratulations

[theTramp]

I have been horribly bloated and it is rather nice to know I am not alone in this. Never really suffered from cloating before. Not pleasant.