8 weeks pregnant but very conscious of 'showing' belly

[MaySunshine123]

Very new to MN so please bare with!

I'm currently 8 weeks pregnant. This is my second pregnancy after having a missed miscarriage and surgical management at 13 weeks back in March.

For the past week or so I have noticed a 'belly' which sounds ridiculous being only 8 weeks. I'm quite petite and have never really been big, but I'm just feeling very self conscious with this new belly so early on.

I haven't been eating badly and haven't actually put on weight, I'm sure it is just bloat or water retention etc etc.
Because of what happened in my previous pregnancy my husband and I really don't want to tell anyone about our news until the 12 week mark, but I feel like it's getting harder to keep a secret when I look about 20 weeks gone!!

It's becoming very difficult to hide with my my clothes and I'm just very aware that I'm looking bigger already, even though baby is only the size of a raspberry!!

Is anyone having the same issue, or have experienced this in the past?? Any tips?

Hey OP congrats on your pregnancy!

I can sympathise as I've been super bloated for the last few weeks to the point that my jeans won't do up and I was also getting paranoid as our scan isn't until next week!

Cue my mum taking me into town to find some clothes that fit now but are a little baggy and will be able to accommodate my growing belly when I'm ready to show it off! I only bought a few things but it's made me feel much better.

Also you probably don't look as big as you feel, I felt huge but when I really looked in the mirror and compared my tummy to others at work I realised it's not as noticeable as I think. It's still hard though!

A lot of women get a belly straight away because of bloating, constipation etc. I was one of them. I've looked very pregnant from day one which led to upsetting comments on how big I am. You're not alone hun xx

This happened to me. For work I wore skirts with elastic hair bands to wrap around the button, ditto trousers. Bought some loose tops. It was quite a shock. My friend on the other hand did not show until she was seven months. We are all different.

Thank you for your replies, it's nice to know I'm not alone! I think baggy clothes are the way to go for now!

no idea why mumsnet put a link in when I typed trousers....

and again sheesh.

Oh, the link isn't showing on my end. How strange

Congratulations!
I'm also petite build and had lots of bloat around 7/8 weeks.
The lovely ladies of MN suggested under the bump maternity jeans with lighter tops. It's much comfier than normal jeans with the hair band. Then loose tops in my normal size to avoid drowning in fabric.

I had similar.. I felt huge but looking back (I've been taking weekly pictures to keep track) I actually wasn't as obvious as I thought so hopefully it's the same for you!!

Thanks ladies! Feeling a lot less self conscious about it now!

I total feel you @MaySunshine123. I'm only petite and this is what I have now at 10wks. Felt bloated last week and it's just sort of stuck since. As you can see from marks on my skin!! My trousers are already digging in/too tight😫

Me too! I'm a petite build naturally and I developed a noticeable belly by 8 weeks! I'm now 11 weeks and struggling to hide it - I don't want to tell people until after the 12 week scan but I'm sure that some people will have guessed. Even in looser dresses it's noticeable if you know me.

This thread has made me feel much better though :) my husband has pointed out that I'm naturally petite so there's nowhere for the extra bloat/baby to hide. I definitely always get a little "food baby" if I have a really big meal so I guess it's kind of the same haha.

I think people are a lot more unobservant than they are given credit for! Obviously your changing body will be massively noticeable to you but unless you wear spandex all the time I doubt anyone will notice or will probably think you just had a big lunch! I didnt announce my pregnancy at work and I still had people say at 18 weeks that they hadn't known I was pregnant (was a size 6/8 pre pregnancy and I'm 5ft 2) and to me I was definitely showing!

Yes i also had the same. I was on holiday and suddenly so my trousers no longer fitted me! Very annoying.

I was in maternity jeans by the time i got home. So comfy.

I'm not petite or showing as such but bloating has been ridiculous so I feel your pain! I look about 6 months so baggy clothes have been my best friend!

Yes, will probably just be a bit bloated which can be very common. Don't worry, I don't think people will notice, or if they do will just assume it's a bit of extra weight. Also, it often goes down again until much later on.

And congrats

Maternity jeans with loose tops are your friend. There's no rules about when to start wearing them, I've been in them since about 12 weeks and they're sooo much comfier than normal jeans digging in all day