In Bloom Doula Services

This week I am 22 weeks pregnant with my second pregnancy. There is nothing I love more, or wanted more, than to be growing another life, but that isn’t to say that a second pregnancy hasn’t come with its own special challenges. Challenges I didn’t have to face during my first pregnancy. The first and most obvious being that through nausea, exhaustion and all the wonderful physical symptoms of pregnancy, I also have a high energy toddler with a new sense of bravery and voice. I also was breastfeeding up until 20 weeks, and pumping until 10 weeks, which honestly deserves a blog post of its own.

I expected those challenges. One thing I didn’t expect was to be showing with this pregnancy as soon I did and experience the growth of a new baby bump as fast as it has happened. Evidently it is normal and very common. My pregnancy twin, Chrissy Teigan (we were pregnant both times together and I sincerely believe we have the potential to be best friends, which is beside the point) has been very concerned about the sudden appearance and size of her second baby bump. Thankfully she has been experiencing this too and been very honest about it via social media. It is always nice to see your own experience being reflexed by someone else.

I began showing around 6 weeks (pictured above, don’t mind my crazy hair and messy bathroom). I wasn’t quite sure if it was a bump, bloat or my imagination, but I could notice a clear change. My first baby belly wasn’t noticeable the first time around until 15 weeks. I didn’t even really show until weeks 17 or 18. I decided to not even bother to wait until the 12 week mark to share the news this time around, and I wouldn’t have been able to at work anyway. Once the word was out the comments and questions came rolling in.

“Now, how far along are you!?”

“Wow, you’re already popping out there!”

“Sure you aren’t growing twins in there?”

And my favorite response to explaining that it is in fact normal to show earlier and faster with #2, “Well, I’m not sure about that!”

All fun and flattering things to hear!

But the evidence is clear! Here are some bump progression comparisons through both of my pregnancies.

15 weeks pregnant.

20 weeks pregnant.

22 weeks pregnant.

I wanted to know exactly why this was happening and see that I’m not alone, and thankfully – I’m not! It seems that some women’s tendency to show sooner, and appear bigger earlier for subsequent pregnancies is all due to anatomy, and changes that were causes by the first pregnancy. I read this article, which basically explains that the stronger your abs are the less likely you are to “show.” This explains the controversy surrounding fitness model, Sarah Stage, who notoriously didn’t have any baby belly at 6/7 months pregnant.

Obviously, I am not rocking abs like Sarah Stage. The abs I did have at the beginning of my first pregnancy have now been stretched and lost some of their ability to hold in my uterus. I never tried to work out in between my pregnancies, so it is no wonder that my abs have not recovered. Your pregnant body also has muscle memory, so your uterus essentially says, “oh, I’ve done this before!” and just kinda hops back into action.

I decided to just go ahead and embrace the early baby bump. I love being pregnant and looking pregnant. I actually prefer being pregnant because I am much more comfortable and confident in my body while it grows a baby. My pre-pregnancy and postpartum body did not generate that same self confidence for me, so I really do not mind the early showing and fast growing. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t growing a monster baby, or that I was a weirdo.

Bigger and earlier showing baby bumps are simply another variation of normal.

Of course this won’t be everyone’s experience simply because we are all different. Depending on the length of your torso, the position/ tilt of your uterus, and your weight you may show sooner or later no matter which pregnancy you may be on.

Pregnant women can’t seem to win when it comes to appearances though. People will make comments, criticize, and remark about one’s size no matter how big or small you are. Just focus on being healthy, happy and feeling good, and especially do not compare your pregnant body to anyone else’s.

Pregnant bodies are beautiful in every phase and at every stage because they are doing the most beautiful thing imaginable- growing a human to bring into the world and that is always worthy of celebrating!