first pregnancy

[onestar]

when did u start showing? when can i expect to start showing?

[AnneWonders]

I'm pretty sure everybody is different. I looked kind of chunky in my second trimester, although it was obvious in certain maternity clothes. It was clearly obvious in my 3rd trimester.

Anne

[vibrantecho]

I agree with Anne - I didn't feel like I was showing hardly at all until just this past week or so, although I switched from regular to maternity pants (for the most part - I have some pj pants that still fit comfortably) around oh, 16 weeks I think.

I also think it makes a big difference whether you carry high or low - seems to me when you carry low, the space below your belly button pops out a lot faster than when you carry high (I am on my second pg, carrying high both times, and I'm growing sideways as much as out, still!)

[GreatBigMonsterMomma]

I started showing at about 8 months--in my third pregnancy!

By that, I mean that no strangers noticed I was pregnant until then.

Oddly, I showed earliest in my first pregnancy; my husband & I could see a difference at about 13/14 weeks. But it wasn't really showing, it was more the general shape my body was starting to take on. Your uterus doesn't hit the top of your pelvis until 14 to 16 weeks, if memory serves. So if you notice a difference before then, it is like to be a subtle one.

Of course, when it comes to being visibly pregnant, like anyone in the world notices it...like I said, 2 out of 3 pregnancies it didn't happen. I remember talking to my insurance agent's secretary about a month before my middle daughter was due and her being absolutely shocked when I told her just how far along I was. Which was nothing compared to her amazement when I brought my first daughter into the office!

[aphil]

Everyone is different. It depends on how big the baby is, your bone structure and body frame, how heavy you are, and how your uterus is situated. A really tall woman usually doesn't "pop" out as much as a woman who is 5'1", because her torso is longer and it has more room. A woman carrying a 5 pound baby is going to have a lot smaller belly than someone who is carrying a 10 pound one...there are so many differences.

My boobs grow about a cup size larger in the first month or two of pregnancy, and I get a rounded abdomen (I look really bloated) in the first month or two. I can't button my pants by three months...and have to wear maternity clothes by the end of my first trimester-12 weeks. On the other hand, my sister in law didn't even show at ALL-even when she lifted up her shirt-until she was about 5 months along. She just got bigger breasts. When she was full term, her belly looked like mine did at 5 months.

It is a very personal thing.