EARLY Pooch in 3Rd Pregnancy

My best friend from high school looked 4 months by the time she was 2, and I'm not talking a small 4 months and that was with her first baby. She ended up having not only a healthy baby but over 9 pounds. Hope this helps but doesn't scare you about a large baby.

Wow! So much to be proud of A.:) I would not worry but all I can recommend is that you ask your dr. With each pregnancy, it seems you get bigger faster because your muscles just aren't as tight. I didn't show until 4 mos with my first, a little sooner with my second, was around 3 months with my third and by the fourth, I don't know if I wore anything besides sweat pants to begin with. Congratulations, hope everything goes well and enjoy it. Your body can be worked on later.

most likely the reason you are already showing is because your abdominal muscles have been stretched by your first pregnancy. they are not as strong, and therefore are not doing as good a job at holding back your growing uterus. this is a condition called diastasis. ironically i first learned about this condition here on mamasource and have done a lot of further research on the topic. please respond if you need help on getting more information on this subject.

I didn't show with my first until I was almost 6 months pregnant (and I must be wierd because I couldn't wait to start showing!)

I am currently pregnant with number two, about 9 weeks along, and I've already started to wear my bigger clothes.

No need to fear...After your first, your tummy muscles just aren't as tight as they were before the first.

Wear those maternity clothes with pride! :-)

I am pregnant with #2... showed with #1 at 4 1/2 months, but with #2, "the pooch" was visible at 6 weeks!! The muscle tone just wasn't there and it popped! By 3 months, I was in maternity pants.

You can buy something called a Bella Band (?) from Motherhood Maternity. It looks like a 'tube' that you wear over jeans and pants, but you can unbutton/unzip your pants because it is spandex and super stretchy. It stays in place and unless you're wearing low-rise jeans or belly shirts, you don't even see it under your clothing. I think it might also be called a Tummy Tube.

And yes, like the other posters mentioned, the second pregnancy can be much different due to the abdominal and uterine muscles being more lax after a previous pregnancy. So, your your pooch showing is totally normal.

With each pregnancy, everything was different pooch-wise for me. My first I looked amazing...ate anything. My second I pooched early. With my 3rd...it was horrible. I gained the least with my 3rd but looked the worst and felt the worst. Weird. I just had to come to grips with it and focus more on getting through it all while feeling awful. I hated wearing jeans or anything constricting for a great time after also. I think that muscles being stretched and also hormone/amniotic fluid levels have a great deal to do with it. Don't pay attention too much to it; it will drive you crazy. You also have a lot of other stuff on your plate, make sure you focus on giving yourself TLC that you need now and not so much on all of the out of control changes. Get some cute maternity clothes that are comfy and make you feel good. I spent a ton on EBay getting many many clothes for great prices. It makes you feel better about yourself at a very uncomfortable time. Easier said than done, but really do try. Best wishes on baby 2! :)

MAYBE BE MORE THEN ONE BABY IN THERE MY SISTER HAD THAT HAPPEN WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 10WEEKS SHE HAD A POOCH AND I TOLD HER IT MAYBE MORE THEN ONE BABYIN THERE DO U KNOW IF THERE IS ONLY ONE BABY IN THERE? TAKE CARE GOOD LUCK !!
L. IN MADISON...

A. Hi my name is M. and I had the same problem with my daughter. Come to find out I had to go to the doctor cause I was retaining to much water. I got a pouch at 8 wks so I had to start wearing sweat pants. I thought I was having twins. I had to go on a special diet where I had to watch my sodium intake. I would have that checked or you will be very uncomfortable this summer.

I was showing early too and I lost weight in my first trimester! I couldn't figure it out, I lost 15lbs total in my first trimester becuase I was sooo sick, and couldnt keep anything down. But then I couldnt hardly sqeeze into my jeans at 12 weeks. I think you should be ok. My doctor said I was bloated, so I think it should be ok. I only gained 14lbs, but I was a Tank!

Hello Congrats on the pregnancy!!! IT is absolutely normal to be carrying this baby differently. For one thing your uterus is already stretched out from the first pregnancy. It might be that your uterus sits towards the front of your pelvis and that would mean your pregnancy would show earlier. Everyone is different and every pregnancy is different. Some women have great first pregancies and terrible seconds. Just keep in mind that each one is different. Dont worry about what everyone else thinks. Just keep you and your baby healthy,let your doctor care for the rest.

Hope this helps!!

C.

Hi A.,
Congrats on your baby belly! Not to worry about showing so soon. With my second baby, I gained 10 lbs as soon as I peed on the stick. I swear! I think that since your body already knows what to do, it will just do it. I gained all of my weight in the first 5 months. I think I gained less than 5 lbs in my last trimester, it was totally backwards from my first baby. If you have any concerns about your weight or belly, just ask your OB, but just go with it and enjoy it while you can! Good luck!
~L.

hi A.. i have 5 kids of my own. after my first, i did have a miscarriage also. i was showing by the time i was 3 months with my first, and with my third, i couldn't beleive that my stomach was almost rock hard by 2 months!! i kept wondering if i was farther along. but it turned out that was with the rest of them too. i was told that your muscles aren't as strong after you have one, and with each one, they give in a little more than the time before!! maybe since it (hopefully) will be warming up soon, you can just wear tee's around the house! other than that, dear, i hate to tell you, you might need to get the maternity clothes out, or invest in some a little bigger than you normally wear! good luck with things, and keep your chin up!

C.

Hi A.:
From what I've seen with other women, and confirmed here, that's totally normal. I would, however, try to do something to tighten up those loose abs to help avoid diastasis (a separation of the abdominal muscles that is not easily remedied). It can be as simple as breathing and engaging your abs -- inhale and fill your lungs than exhale and scoop your belly in and up, like you're trying to zip up a really tight pair of pants. This is recommended for women who have just had c-sections to help strengthen and heal the muscles as well. Talk to your doctor next time you're in about options to help strengthen your abs. It's SO important! Don't exercise without his/her permission, but there are some basic things you can do, including pelvic floor therapy, that don't take a lot of energy and can make a big difference later in your pregnancy and afterwards. Hope you feel better! Good luck!

Hi A.~ I am also 12 weeks today with my 4th preg. I lost a baby in early preg in June of 06 so this will be my 3 child. I am however showing a bit too. I feel uncomfortable in some of my clothes but not all of them. The more times you are preg the more your uterus gets streched out so theres no fear. The one good thing is that at least you know this baby is growing. You will slow down popping out around 16 weeks or so at least I did with my 2nd preg. You are normal and everyone is different. Hang in there you will be fine:)

A.,

There is absolutely nothing wrong with maternity clothes at 12 weeks. I was in maternity clothes at 8 weeks with my first pregnancy, AND I ENDED UP WITH TWINS!! But even in my second pregnancy, with a singleton, I was in maternity clothes by 12 weeks. It was sometimes uncomfortable when people asked me when I was due, but I was able to find some really cute maternity clothes that fit well, and didn't make me feel so abnormal. Good Luck and don't worry. I am sure nothing is wrong this time around and I would ask about an ultrasound to rule out multiples. One of the earliest signs is an early pooch! Good Luck!

Congratulations on this pregnancy! If it makes you feel any better, my first pregnancy I had to change into maternity clothes at about 10 weeks. Then I had 3 early miscarriages (all at about 5 weeks)in a year and a half time span. Then my fifth (and last) pregnancy, with my son, I started showing at 8 weeks!! By 12 weeks there was definitely no question I was pregnant. With that pregnancy, I started showing early and got big early, but then maintained around the same size for a month or two when I was about 5-6 months along. So you may just show early and then not change much for awhile later on. I have another friend that experienced the same thing. That is just how my body handled pregnancy- and as others have mentioned, any pregnancies after the first, your muscles have already been stretched so you do start to show sooner most of the time. And, if it makes you feel better too, even though I started showing so early, I didn't gain massive weight with it-I only gained 18 lbs. the entire pregnancy. I wouldn't worry about it at all. It sounds like this is just how you're body is handling this pregnancy. Good luck with this pregnancy!

Hi A.,
With my first pregnancy it seemed to take forever for me to show (I couldn't wait to get to use my new maternity clothes - what a weirdo I was) but with my second, I was showing almost immediately. I think I was only about 10 weeks when a cashier at a store asked me when I was due. I knew I was showing but I was shocked I was showing enough for other people to be able to tell. I didn't want to drag out the maternity stuff so early in my pregnancy so I tried to put it off for a while by wearing sweats and wearing my regular pants by doing the rubber band through the button hole thing. That bought me a little time, but not much, I'm pretty sure I was completely in maternity clothes around middle of the third month. I was pretty big by 5 months but things did slow down quite a bit after that. Which law school do you go to? I went to UD. Congratulations on your pregnancy and your upcoming graduation!