baby movement

I was wondering when the earliest fetal movement has been felt by some of you. I am 18 weeks with my second child and I feel some movement but I'm not sure if I should be feeling more than I actually do. My daughter is almost 7 years old, so it's been a while since I have been pregnant (you tend to forget things over time).
  
Also I was wondering how soon some of you began to show with your second child?
                          Thanks

[nanakay]

i am 17weeks 3 days and i ahve been feeling my baby for a short time now. this is my second child also, this baby likes to sit very high which i think is one of the reasons i can feel so much, the other reason i think i feel so much is that i swear this child is training for an olympic swimming medal...haha

i gained a lot of WEIGHT the third month of pg so me not fitting into clothes is mainly because of that, otherwise or babywise i am not showing to much at all.  then again with my first hardly anyone could tell i was pg until i was 3 days from due.
hope that helped....are you feeling the baby a lot??
~nanci

[Kassimom]

I felt this one the first time at 14 wks. And I was in small maternity clothes by 8 wks, fitting them well by 12wks.

Hope that helps! :)

(BTW this is my second baby)

[manman]

I have been feeling the baby move some, mostly down low. I just wasn't sure how strong and how often I should be feeling them. I have already started to show, it's like I've blossomed overnight. So far I havn't gained any weight, as a matter of fact I've lost 10 pounds, only because I've been so sick.
You mentioned that this is your second child as well, is it a boy or a girl, and were you sick with it & have you been sick with this one? I was very sick with my daughter and this one too, so everyone keeps telling me this one is probably a girl. I'm not sure, but we find out next Wednesday, I can't wait.
                  Mandy

[nanakay]

you are so lucky....i have to wait until the 27th of this month to find out what this one is.

with my son i never got sick at all!!  the only thing i got was heartburn and indigestion with him.
this one i got nausous for a couple maybe 3 weeks and lost 2lbs and that was it. also my son was very content to just hang out and sleep while i was early in pg so i didn't feel him moving until pretty late.  this one is the exact opposite, so everyone keeps telling me it is going to be a girl. (of course according to the dangling needle trick it will be a boy, you know the scientific method of telling the gender. haha)

well make sure you let us know what you are having
~nanci

[FIREMANSWIFE]

I am 8 1/2wks right now with my first and I can't fit into my clothing already. I am normally a 5/6-7/8, so I suppose that could be the reason! My mom bought me maternity clothes already (she's a bit excited, I am an only child!)Anyway I feel strange wearing them when I am so early still! Do you have any ideas as far as do I buy larger sizes, which will get expensive? Or just break down and wear the maternity clothes that are a tad to big? Or, perhaps stick with the rubber-band that I have been using for the past few weeks! HELP!!!

Emily

[manman]

One thing that I have found that has helped me alot is to get a hair rubberband and put it on the button and pull it through the button hole and back over the button. That has really kept me able to wear my blue jeans.
                Mandy

[tresmathews]

When I was preg I had the same problem. I bought a lot of draw string pants. They were wonderful and comfortable. I wore them even after my delivery. So you may want to try to find some of them. I hope that helps.

[Kassimom]

I went ahead and wore the "tad too big" maternity clothes. It looked a little over anxious on my part, but to be totally honest I tired buying a pair of bigger size pants and the fact is, big clothes aren't made for expanding bellies but expanding waistlines! When it's your tummy doing the growing, maternity clothes are just WAY more comfy!!

I usually wear a 3/4 to a 5/6 and when I was about 8 wks I tried on 7/8's and the pants worked for only about a week. If I were you, I would let mom spoil me and buy me some smaller maternity clothes now. The thing about most maternity wear now is that it expands with you. I can still wear everything I bought at 8 wks now at 23 wks, with the exception of ONE pair  of pants. And most of it still has a lot of expansion room soI will probably still be wearing it for awhile more!

[FIREMANSWIFE]

THANK YOU LADIES THAT HELPED ALOT!!!
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK.

EMILY

[nanakay]

when i was in high school one of the girls in my class used a shoe string to hold her pants closed at the begining of her pg (i know that sounds really bad the high school part but the truth is the truth)
~nanci

[S.A.M.]

I'm 26 wks pregnant with my 2nd child.  With both pregnancies nobody believed I was pregnant until I hit the 6th month mark.  Like some of you I've worn just draw string pants and loose fitting tops up until now.  I've just started wearing maternity clothes in the last couple of weeks.  Sometimes if you put them on too early they look like tents on you.

I felt this baby move sooner than my first, I think because I knew what to look for.  At the 4th month.

I read that some of you think you're having one sex or another because of nautiousness etc.  Just thought I'd tell my story so some of you wouldn't be disappointed like I was:  With my son 5 yrs ago I had almost no symptoms of pregnancy.  Just tiredness.  With this pregnancy, I've been throwing up, nautious, lightheaded, tired-you name it.  Everyone thought I was having a girl, even the Dr and the string test said so.  Well at the 19 wk ultra sound I was told it's another boy.  Everyone was shocked except my 5 yr old who had really wanted a boy and just knew it was one.  I feel guilty now for being disappointed but when you get your mind set in a certain direction, it's a shock when you find out otherwise.  Just wanted some of you to prepare for the unexpected.  I had friends of mine who weren't too supportive when they found out and really hurt my feelings.  Good luck to all of you.