How to hide my pouch

[coffeandbookstore]

Assuming it’s part of the many joys of perimenopause 🙄but this is new and I’d love ways to hide it! Jeans always feel uncomfortable but jogging bottoms/ leggings only accentuate it and today someone asked me when I’m due ☹️☹️☹️which stung a lot. pic added with courage! TIA

Sorry pic is awaiting review by mumsnet. It’s my below bellybutton pouch that for some reason lately has grown 😵‍💫

I feel your pain, OP. To be fair, yours is tiny. I just tend to wear things that protect my side view - so if I’m wearing a t-shirt and jeans, for example, I’ll throw a cotton shirt on over it.

I’m trying to make my peace with it, though. I’ve been through two pregnancies and C-sections, and now menopause. It’s my war wound.

Completely agree with accepting it rather than obsessing / hiding. It's part of what women look like and no one apart from you will care. Anyone who thinks you are pregnant looking at that needs their eyes tested!!!

Thanks guys! I like the war wound idea. It’s certainly
seen it’s fair share. I think menopausal bloating doesn’t help as by evening I do look about 5 months pregnant and then it goes back down to pic size in morning. Just really hurt me being asked when I was due. I like the idea of oversized shirts - will try and get a couple.

Who in their right mind randomly asks a woman when she’s due?

Your might have a minuscule little tummy pouch, OP - but at least you don’t have a big flapping gob with a foot in it!

Such a small bump in this photo

I do know what you mean about bloating though so I'm assuming you were much rounder at the tune the rude person asked you about pregnancy

I bloated like crazy. It was huge and tight and went from under my boobs to my public area.

It stopped when I went super strict about small portions and I don't eat after about 5pm

I lost a load of weight and now I have no bloating at all. I think it's to do with the slower passage of food during and after perimenopause.
There needs to be a longer window of time with no new food going in and smaller portions so your digestive system can process

Goodness me. That looks pretty and womanly. You don’t need to disguise it at all. Nowadays the reality of female shape is accepted, we don’t have to wear girdles or corsets or Spanx all the time. My mother’s generation wore control pants, so uncomfortable, but flattened their bellies for public consumption.

whoever said to you ‘when are you due’ is the problem here, not your curve.

There's barely anything there, and you were asked when you were due. Unbelievable

I have a very pronounced tummy. When I want to wear a dress (Weddings & funerals mainly) I wear control knickers but I'm a lot bigger than you OP. In normal day-to-day wear I don't give a fuck. If you get comments again ask them where they get off being so rude? Honestly!

That is a perfectly normal female shape ffs.