Not showing much at 16 weeks - worried

[kittypower]

I'm 16 weeks pregnant and not really showing, is this normal. I feel I should bigger by this stage, did any of you not really show at 16 weeks?

Also do you think buying one of those dopplers to hear the baby's heartbeat at home is a good idea to put my mind at rest? Some people have told me it's more stressful as it's very difficult to find the heartbeat?
XXX

A lot of women don't show for a while. A friend of mine looked like I did at 4mths 2 weeks before her due date. Have you had a scan? What has your midwife said?
I was huge both times and got fed up of people saying "not long now, eh?" or "Are you sure there's just one in there?" when I had another 12 weeks or so left!
I didn't get a doppler, mainly as I was worried that I would stress myself out too much.

i didn't have a bump until i was 6 months pregnant - baby was fine. I wouldn't recommend a doppler myself as you will probably get upset when you can't find the heartbeat ... even my MW used to struggle finding my DS's heartbeat at times.

Hey, just think how many times you read of babies being boern to mothers who didn't know they were even pg, or those girls who give birth when no one in the family realised they were pg.

Not everyone blows up like a barrage balloon you know, and 16 weeks is still fairly early. You may be carrying under your rib cage, and not get big until much later.

Be grateful, you can save your money for baby clothes, rather than spending it all on maternity wear.

Don't worry kitty, all women are different.
I remember going for a 20week scan feeling ( and looking )quite round bellied. I saw a woman there I vaguely knew - (also 20 weeks) wearing quite fitted clothes with no visible bump

I wouldn't worry about it (in fact it is a blessing!) I'm 21 weeks and barely show during the day (bump comes out after my tea!!!)

My theory is if you are pear-shaped (i.e. wide hips and slim waist, the baby sits low down in the pelvis until quite late on in the pregnancy. Also, if you ahve well toned tummy muscles, that will also mean you show much later as they are holding it all in.

Thank you. I think I am worrying too much, i've had a 12 week scan and it showed that everything was fine but I now don't have a scan until April and I keep worrying that something might have happened and I won't know, People keep saying 'oooh you don't show yet' and it's making me stress out!

XX

hi kitty, is this your first baby? if it is, its expected not to really show anything yet. and as it was said before, it depends so much on the shape of your body. and if you are fit you wont have any fat to help the bump to show anyway.

we have a doppler. i dont want to sound irresponsible and its true, if you dont find the heartbeat you might get stressed about it. but i dont think midwifes have much time to try to find it, thats why most of them dont even attempt it while the baby is tiny. we struggled a bit in the first weeks (i was then 11 weeks preg) but found it. now im 19 weeks preg and its very easy to find it. one good way to make sure you are hearing the baby and not your own arteria, is to keep one hand on your own pulse and you will see, when you find the baby's heartbeat it will be way faster and wont match your won.

Unfortunately people do make silly comments that play on your mind for ages afterwards!

I didn't show til I was about 26 weeks, my mum didn't even know she was pregnant with me til 23 weeks

I don't have experience of doppler but have heard its difficult to find heartbeat. I wanted one at a point but dh persuaded me not to and I'm glad I didn't.

I found it much more comforting once I could feel the baby, which you will do in the not so distant future.

Don't worry and enjoy your pregnancy!

Me neither - am 16.5wks and have just gone up a jeans size. Like Bodkin I'm the slim waist/big hips type and I think it does hide it well.

I haven't told anyone at work except my line manager and have a bet running with Dh how long I can keep them in the dark for - I reckon I'll be at least 20wks before I get a visible bump and people start whispering.

I think the Dopplers aren't an especially good use of money tbh, although a colleague did quite well borrowing a stethoscope off a doctor friend.

please try not to let what people say upset you. the world in general seems to find it impossible to grasp that pregnant women - just like non-pregnant women - come in different shapes and sizes.

i'm at the other end of the scale - i get told on a daily basis that i must have my dates wrong or am i sure it's not twins and it's been really starting to get me down.

it can be so hard when people are so unthinking, but they feel they have to comment and even if you know they don't mean any harm it can still be upsetting if your hormones are running in the wrong direction that day.

I'm 15 weeks and don't really show - as this is number 3 my muscles are completely shot so thought would be big early. I just look fat like normal!

Remember really popping out with number 1 at about 24 weeks.

Everyone is different so try not to worry - agree that when you start to feel it moving (which is likely to be soon now) you can relax more.

I am very pear shaped and was exactly the same at 16 weeks, people kept saying that I was 'small' and it worried me a bit...am now 20 weeks and do feel as if I've 'popped out' a bit more over the last couple of weeks, but if I'm wasn't wearing something that really 'showed off' the bump I think people might not notice i am pregnant, but of course that will all change! I know it's really hard not to be concerned about things - this is my first and I 'm worrying about everything under the sun (thought about doppler myself but thought it might actually stress me out more than it would reassure)...but just try to remember, as my GP said, the majority of women have 'normal', healthy pregnancies...xxx

With my second pregnancy i worried about the same thing especially as i had shown quite early on with my first but as soon as i hit 18 weeks my bump just appeared.

I wouldn't advise getting a doppler just because of the additional stress if you fail to find the heartbeat,just not worth it imo.

Hi kittypower! I'm 22 weeks pregnant for the first time and had the same concerns as you. I really do only just have the smallest of bumps - if you didn't know me you wouldn't guess I was pregnant, and at 16 weeks there was nothing there! I had my 21 week scan last week and everything measured what it should do - the height of the fundus was on target etc. It was a great relief as I was starting to worry! Are you tall? I'm 5'11" and was told that there's simply more room for the baby to spread out vertically, not just outwards.

Thank you so much for your messages and I have now decided not to get a doppler, I can fully imagine myself stressing out when I can't find a heartbeat! It's reassuring to hear from others who haven't shown at 16 weeks too. I hope I start to show soon and then hopefully I can stop worrying for a bit, it's exhausting!!!
XXX

Agree with everyone else for you not to worry, I was still in my normal jeans (albeit my more ´fat day´jeans, and they were tight) until 20 ish weeks and between 20 and 25 weeks I put on 5kg!!! In my antenatal class there is a girl who is only 4 weeks behind me (i´m 33 weeks now) and she has hardly any bump at all.

i remembered when i was 16 weeks pg, i pulled my top up to show to my friend my bump and she said "Youre tiny!".......well towards the end of the pg everyone was convinced i was having twins and the surgeons thought i was having at least a 10 and half pound baby!! (had emergency c-section)....ended up with a 9lb 1oz!!

Kittypower, I am 20 weeks pg and have a very small bump even now, and have only put on about 4lbs so far. This is my fourth pg too, and I was enormous at this stage with ds, so it really does vary! Really don't worry about it

Hi Kittypower. I didn't show at all at 16 weeks. I started yoga for pregnancy at 20 weeks and some people didn't think i was pregnant. When they realised that i was pregnant, and not a weirdo attending their class, everyone constantly commented on how small I was. It freaked me out for ages but i eventually got used to it. Everyone has very different experiences. The hospital even told me I had a small baby really late in the pregnancy when I went for a growth scan and made me sit in the hospital for about 30 mins while I waited to find out if there was a real problem. Then someone came back and flippantly said ' oh we got the calculations wrong, everything is fine'. I had a perfectly healthy full term baby. She was 6lb 8oz. Not huge but not small either. I never did get very big which was a godsend. If you stay worried then speak to your midwife for some reassurance but otherwise I would make the most of having a small bump. Best of luck.

Hi Kittypower

I hardly showed at all by 16 weeks with my 1st. The mw's kept saying that I had fantastic stomach muscles and they were keeping the baby in.

Don't know where the muscles came from though as I appear naturally allergic to exercise and the only exercise I did was TTC!

Do you have a 16 week appointment at the hospital or with your mw where you live? If so they should listen in anyway and hopefully put your mind at rest.