Silly question about a squidgey belly

[CarrotWithaTwist]

This is a vain and rather silly thing to ask but....

I'm currently 11wks+5 with my first and I've always thought I'd have a smooth hard round belly when pregnant as, on the whole, that's what I see other women waddling around with.
But a friend of mine got pregnant for the second time and her belly, though larger, stayed squishy.
She's not a particularly large lady and now I'm wondering if these perfect bumps are only sported by those lucky ladies that had flat tummies to start with.

I'm not over weight but heading towards 40 and my belly is a bit more jiggly than it used to be. Will this spread out and firm up as my belly grows or will I keep this little extra 'padding' round the middle?

If that's the case, I'm guessing it's too late to do anything about firming it up, as sit ups are out of the questions.
I do a lot of walking but am more tired these days and can't go as far as I could before.

Is there anything I can do to tone up and even slim down by a few pounds? Or does that have to wait till after the LO arrives now?

C

Well with my first I only started getting a bump around 16wks. It seemed to sprout overnight and by 20 wks it was a very beautiful proper bump!! I do remember at 12 wks my waistband seemed to expand and my belly felt bigger but no bump. I felt fat rather than pregnant! Im expecting our 2nd, Im 12 wks tomorrow and again I just have a squishy belly that seems to be getting bigger but no bump as such. x

I was a 14 when I got pregnant, had a bit of squish. Now at 27 weeks my bump is rock solid! I can only feel any squidge when I lie on my back and my uterus sinks into my body iykwim and it goes soft.

I suppose it's that old nugget, "everybody's different" :)

Oh but pretty much everyone goes through an is it a baby or are they just overweight phase before they look properly pregnant.

I'm 30, was a size 16 before I got pregnant with DS1 and have always had a pot belly. I ended up with a bump that looked very bump-like at the top but had an unattractive saggy bit at the bottom where my pot belly had relocated itself I ended up wearing lots of those maternity jeans which come up over your bump in an attempt to make it feel a bit neater.

I am jealous of all those cows women who have splendidly formed round bumps

My squidge hangs under my bump, like a flabby apron (gross) my bump is lovely and firm until then, so I just dress accordingly. I wish I could wear things that hug the bump all the way down. I have been very overweight before, so have excess skin, which does not help. It is a means to an end though.

Thank you all !

I feel slightly encouraged. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that in a month or two my belly will 'pop' in to a perfect little ball.
In the mean time are there any exercises other than walking and swimming that are suitable during pregnancy that will help strengthen stomach muscles?

C

Your stomach muscles will relax and stretch to make room for bump, so you don't want to be fighting that as you could pull something I would think.

Im a size 10, and now reached 18+3, the bottom half of my bump up to my belly button is firm and round, but the top half is all squishy. Its like my uterus has shoved all my jelly up!

Have you thought about antenatal yoga/exercise classes? I know at my NCT relax, stretch & breathe class we do gentle stretches that support our abdominal and back muscles, making our posture better (& hopefully our bumps neater).

When I was pg with DD I was doing yoga and Pilates twice a week, I was a size 8 with a lovely flat stomach. I remember by 18 weeks I had a perfect little smooth bump.

However, this time I was a bit bigger and don't do any exercise to mention anymore and at 18+6 my belly still looks pretty soft unless I've just eaten a big meal!

:o eggs iirc all your organs and stuff will be getting pushed up, so it'll be all your squishy innards! You'll go hard all over once your uterus reaches up your whole belly iyswim :)

Herrena my bump sounds exactly like yours although luckily the flabby bit kindof rounds off the bottom of the bump and looks quite neat :)

I've been given stomach exercises to do by physio to help with PGP, along with pelvic floor exercises. I have noticed that after doing them for a couple of weeks my bump looks a bit more defined (it was pretty hard and round before but now more sticky out that round the sides) not sure if it's just a coincidence or not tho :)

I'll take a look for local yoga classes but I have the balance and coordination of a three legged rhino, so not sure I'll be any good at it.
I'll add the pelvic floor exercises to my list of MW questions for my first visit tomorrow.

Thanks all!

I had a very flat toned stomach before pregnancy (due to wedding workouts not a stealth boast ) and my bump was fairly squidgy and still can be when sitting or laying. I wouldn't worry, it's far more comfortable than feeling like you are going to pop as I do most days now!