Feeling discouraged by my small belly

[PetiteWonder]

I feel so discouraged about my small belly...  I am very small myself - weighing 100 lbs at my start of my pregnancy and being 5'2 but most people guess that I am 4-5 months pregnant... and I am now into my 6th month at 26 weeks...  I definitely look pregnant and am growing but I have the world's skinniest ball like baby belly...  I am aware that my baby was measuring a couple days smaller than what they would expect for average for my gestational age but the doctors said its not a concerning difference..

I guess I just expected to be huge because I am so small but I am not.. i am huge for myself but definitely not huge in comparison...  I eat alot.... i eat breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and evening snack...  I have only gained around 12 lbs...    I am healthy and my pregnancy is going great. But I wish I wasnt so discouraged by the size of my belly..

this isnt much of a question but just a general vent.. Anyone else sick of hearing you look so small ....

[nic374]

Yes i agree all with the above post, you can never tell sometimes the babies sit further back in the womb more so than others I think they will position themselves where they can grow, I saw one lady on here which everyone thought her kid was 10lbs plus the way she looked, and was only born at 7lbs, this woman even said that her doctor said the kid was huge.

[NicoleW09]

I had a small belly too. Well, I thought I was huge, but no one else agreed. I'm almost 5'5" and I'm of small-average weight for someone my height. I lost quite a bit of weight while pregnant with Lexi and I really didn't show until 26 weeks (ish). By the end of my pregnancy I only gained 10 pounds. I had bought maternity clothes in the beginning of the second trimester because I wanted to plan ahead. Well, my shirts fit, but I only had one pair of maternity jeans that fit me! lol. I had to stick to sweats, thank goodness it was winter! My SIL and DH's cousin were pregnant at the same time as me and they were huge. They'd look at my SIL who was 4 months behind me and say, "Oh, are you about to deliver?" She'd say no, and they'd ask if it was twins. I'd tell them I was the one about to deliver and they would tell me, "No...I think you've got a few more months left. You hardly look pregnant."

I wore prepregnancy clothes home from the hospital and I'm lighter than what I was before I got pregnant. Sure, my abdominal muscles are wayy gone, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I went to my dd's first ped appt and he commented that I looked wonderful for just having had a baby. My midwife was sure my dd was going to be under five pounds, but she was 7 pounds even. Belly size doesn't always give a good idea about growth, unless you're way small.

[mamaof4410]

I wouldnt worry to much about it. DH was constantly telling me he thought our baby was going to be small and he didnt think he would weigh as much as my daughter did (8lbs 8oz) turns out I was smaller with him and he was born yesterday weighing 8lbs 15oz. I was smaller and he was bigger than her. It all depends on your body structure and how your carrying. I'm still baffled at how such a big baby was inside me when I looked tiny.

[needhelp24121]

I'm 30 weeks and I get told all the time how small I am. My shower was on Sunday and the people that hadn't seen me since I've been pregnant told me I barely look pregnant at all. I too am a small person, I've gained 16 pounds so far. At my 29 week appt last week, I measured 27 weeks externally. Ever since I was 24 weeks, I've been measuring 2 weeks behind, so I am growing! When I was almost 24 weeks, the ultrasound measured the baby at almost 23 weeks, and externally I measured 22 weeks, so I know that the external measurements don't really mean as much at the ultrasound measurements! As long as the baby is growing and healthy, it doesn't really matter how big you look from the outside!!

[zazou]

I didn't start to show with my first pregnancy until about 5 1/2 months through and everyone was waiting. I too am small (164 cm), everyone is different. A friend of mine is 17 weeks and is showing, another friend is about your size and showed really early, she was huge at 5 months. Every body stature and make is different, I ended up gaining 15 kg in the end and lost 9 kg alone in the first month.

It is hard not to compare with others, but that's what makes us unique our differences. As long as baby is growing and both you and bub are healthy then everything is fine :-)

[megan210792]

the baby could just be further towards your back. i was 6-7 months before people where noticing i was pregnant cz i hardly showed. and i was very very skinny when i got prenant i always thought there was something wrong cz i wasn showing but baby was just more towards my back than upfront whereas this pregnancy baby is right up front. and cz im still skinny i look ery big for what i am. your tummy will grow in its own time. and like the above post said dont compare your self to other people as everyone is different.

[JoyRenee]

My sis-in-law was just talking about how she feels so tiny compared to others who are due at the same time as her. All I can say is - don't compare yourself to others! While you're upset about a tiny belly there are other women on the other end looking at their very, very huge bellies (usually complete with dark purple stretchmarks).

My belly always gets huge really fast because I'm short and I get unwelcome comments about making sure there aren't twins, etc. I feel like a whale.

I think that we as women just struggle with our personal appearance. Enjoy these moments and don't worry so much as what is on the outward.

[Clysta]

I LOVED my small belly. I need to upload my photo. I got one taken 3 days before I delivered, and I was super tiny. I remember being in labour and at Bob Evans and my waitress saying it wasn't possible for me to be in labour, I was too early. I myself am also tiny (5'2" but 147 pre-pregnancy....Yay for being overweight!!!! <3) and my midwife said I would get enormous. Boy was she wrong.

For me I didn't care that people said I was small or whatever. I knew my baby was just fine, and relished that I could still actually get around and move. I was even able to sleep on my stomach until 35 weeks. It was amazing.

[Michele, Katy, TX]

I agree w/ Nic.  Boy do I wish I had that problem :)

[PetiteWonder]

Well I like the idea of the fact that all the weight i have gained is baby and all in the front. and that im not overly huge when I think about getting to wear my old clothes without going broke by buying all new stuff...  and its nice to be able to continue to work because I am not too huge too move...  I think what I hate is the fear that my baby maybe isnt growing enough.. and more or less, really hate hearing the "no way you are 6 months pregnant" or you are way tooooo small...  It would probably suck to be told I was huge all the time but people need to realize people can be sensitive about being small too...

on a positive side, every person who didnt know I was pregnant at my work is now noticing this week and are really surprised they didnt noticed sooner... all day friday last week and all day today, everyone was like holy **** you are pregnant...  It must be a good sign for me that i am growing since most of these people I have been working with since i was 4 months and only a few noticed back then.

[NicMom]

I was super small with my first. If it wasn't for the maternity clothes you wouldn't even know I was pregnant. I wore my size 6 jeans home from the hospital. The good news about not getting huge is that you don't have as many stretch marks and you get back into your regular clothes quickly after delivery. Getting huge is only fun for about a month and then you feel like a circus act. Plus you go home from the hospital and still look 6 months pregnant.

Don't be discouraged and just rock that little belly in some form fitting shirts. Who cares if you look smaller, they're probably just jealous!