Pregnancy body

[Blueturtle12]

Background info: I’m 15 weeks pregnant and have been really bloated throughout. I think I am showing a bit now but I can’t tell whether it’s bloat, putting on weight, or the baby. I have very bad body confidence issues which is probably body dysmorphia and I’m planning to ask for some mental health help at my first midwife appointment next week. Before being pregnant, I ran regularly and ate small portions. I’m now obviously eating more and have stopped exercising, so I have put on some weight.

Some people’s comments recently have really upset me and made me feel very uncomfortable.

I told my supervisor that I’m pregnant 2 days ago and today I came in leggings and a jumper. At the end of the day she said ‘Have you told anyone yet? If people didn’t know before then they would probably know now.’ Meaning my stomach was poking out. As I said I’m unsure if this is my pregnancy belly or bloat but it made me extremely conscious.

I told a ‘friend’ at dinner the other night I was pregnant and he said ‘I did notice you’d put on weight actually.’

I told some other friends around 11 weeks pregnant and someone said ‘Not meaning to sound rude but I thought you were with the way your stomach was sticking out’. The friends then felt my stomach throughout the night (they’d been drinking). I definitely wasn’t showing at this point and this was more likely bloat or just me putting on weight.

I am very happy to have this baby. I’m just very conscious now that everyone thinks I’ve put on weight. I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced comments like this and how you coped with it?

I think the body changes can be really tough. I'm now 22 weeks and feel way better about it because it's very clearly bump now but there is an awkward middle stage where you can't tell for sure!

I think sometimes people just like to think they were in the know the whole time even if they didn't really have a clue so will say stuff to reassure themselves that it was obvious all along.

Also, absolutely no judgement because I am rubbish with exercise anyway and spent the whole of my first trimester napping and slobbing out as much as possible but you could still be exercising if you're able to which night make you feel a bit better?

Congratulations on your pregnancy. I think
Most women find their body changing a little unnerving and hope they can return to 'normal' afterwards-I know I did. What nobody told me was that breastfeeding sends your metabolism into overdrive and I couldn't actually keep the weight on. I was also doing the equivalent of a mini workout each day running around the house and up and down stairs!

Fwiw I think all of the people making comments on your body are rude! I am 20 weeks today, just about at the stage where it's starting to look like a bump and not weight gain, and not one single person has said something like that to me. People aren't entitled to comment on other people's bodies like that and imo they shouldn't be doing it for exactly the reasons your post implies - it can be really upsetting. I know that's not what you were asking but I do think you can to some extent discount the opinions of anybody who would talk about your body that way. (If it was me I would be tempted to make some smartass remark about that in response but I recognise that's probably not wise with e.g. your boss...!) It's normal to gain weight in pregnancy and it's normal to bloat but I'm sorry people's rudeness is taking away from this exciting time. Your body is doing amazing things and I hope you can be proud of that!

Oh OP I feel you. People are OBSESSED about talking about your body when you're pregnant in my experience.

With my first I carried small and had to have regular growth scans to make sure he was ok. People at work would continually be like 'oh you're really small' 'are you sure you're pregnant' 'oh it's going to be a small baby'. It was really triggering after 4 years of trying and ivf I was like yes I'm bloody sure I'm finally pregnant. Then when my bump did pop (albeit later on) they were like oh you're huge now. (I wasn't) FFS

Then second baby everyone delighted in announcing how huge I was early on and how he would be a big baby (he wasn't) and how my body had 'given up this time'. Honestly I couldn't win.

Re the exercise why have you given up? Because you're not feeling it or other reasons? Just today it's perfectly safe to carry on exercising as you were before if you want to and all ok with baby

The changes are huge but you are creating life from scratch. An actual human. From nothing. That's pretty incredible!

I am massively struggling with my body image. I’ve struggled with it for years and pre pregnancy was looking great. Not the thinnest I’d been (had gone too far about 7/8 years ago) but felt really good about myself. I’m now 20+1 and just feel so big! If I use my head properly I’m not - I’m a 12-14 - but compared to how I felt looking in the mirror at Xmas I feel awful.

Makes it worse that me and DH had been trying for over a year for baby (our first) so I just feel awful for just not enjoying it.

Just know you’re not alone ❤

Feel for u congratulations I'm tiny
And petite I'm 20 weeks and I had a bloat bump now it's gone u can hardly tell I'm pregnant. I
Have always carried small but some times I wish I had the big round bump. Instead people say omg ur tiny is the baby growing and it makes me paranoid! Embrace it though all body's are different xx

Maybe ask to speak to a mental health midwife because eating disorders can affect the growth of your baby (and will also affect them in childhood as it's not a nice thing to witness). Sorry if this comes across as harsh, but some support might help with your body image. I found that the third trimester was incredibly tough. I was slightly underweight (I don't diet) at the start of my pregnancy and had a small bump but I was in so much pain. I definitely couldn't exercise for most of my pregnancy because of the pain so please don't feel bad about not exercising.

Out of interest why have you stopped exercising and eating more? It's safe to continue any exercise you were doing (unless you have any conditions relating to pregnancy that you've been told to stop) and obviously you don't need to share that, but may be something you were unaware of, so if it makes you feel better then do it.
I showed really early, by 12 weeks I had bloat/small bump, I was huge by the end. Embrace your pregnancy body, it's doing an amazing thing, you're growing a human in there! My post pregnancy body however, I hate! Unplanned c section, and at 4.5 months post op I've lost nothing.

I'm 35 weeks pregnant and people make comments about the size of my bump constantly and always have. It's rude, embarrassing and unnecessary. But people seem to think it's acceptable to comment on a pregnant woman's body. Try to ignore them and enjoy your pregnancy. It's very normal to put on weight. If it's any consolation I put on a lot of weight too but it's much less noticeable now that I also have an enormous bump 😂. So I feel less conscious about my weight now because irs sort of disguised by the bump!

I was still running at the start then I began to feel really dizzy and not right when I tried the next couple of times. I get motion sick which is heightened more now so I think booping up and down on the pavement was probably making me feel weird. Either that or I was iron deficient (not checked it for a while).

I probably wasn’t eating enough before becoming pregnant, skipping breakfast, having a tiny lunch. Now I’m eating 3x meals a day with snacks. So going from running regularly and poor eating habits to no exercise and eating more, I’ve put on some weight.

I am walking to and from work which is about 1k each way. I do want to start swimming but concerned about the motion sickness. I should probably give it a go for my mental health.

@Blueturtle12 if you get motion sickness while swimming you should try swimming earplugs as they are meant to be very helpful for that. I love swimming and find it great for mental health (it's a bit of mental peace and quiet) so if you enjoy exercising hopefully that turns out to be a good pregnancy compromise!

Stop giving yourself a hard time OP. You sound perfectly healthy and your new approach to eating sounds much better than your pre pregnancy situation. I was listening to a podcast the other day that said a lot of pregnant women are iron deficient and they think part of that is because a lot of women skip breakfast which means they aren't getting the iron that is added to breakfast cereals. Your body needs food and nutrients and so does your baby. Don't feel bad about that and there's no need to over compensate with exercise. I'm also always starving in early pregnancy so eat a lot more as a result. I'm much less hungry in the third trimester so I eat less. Just listen to your body.

Don't give yourself a hard time, people will look at your body and wonder if you're pregnant, if they don't know - I do it all the time. I'd definitely recommend exercise if you can, for the mental benefits - what about pregnancy yoga as everyone there will be in the same boat. Walking is great, and I'd recommend swimming, It's really helped my aches and sleep quality. your body needs nutritious food- 3 meals a day plus snacks is what you need!

Try travel bands for motion sickness. Really helped me