The Belly Thread! « Back to Group Discussions

[FeralFox]

Come on ladies, fess up...who's showing already?  I can't wait to see all the gorgeous pregnant bellies!

I'll be four weeks on Monday, and we're going to take out first belly shot.  We're planning to do them every four weeks, and probably a portrait session near the end.  As soon as I have my first monthly pic, I'll post it here.  I hope lots of you do the same!

[Knitting Mama]

I'm not showing yet, I'm just fat.  I am taking belly pics every 2 weeks though. Last pregnancy I didn't take them a lot because I was embarrassed of being overweight and not a pretty, skinny, glowing pregnant lady, and I regret that now. So this time I will take them and hopefully love them even if I don't like my size.

This is me last week. One of the things that I hate the most is how....bloated my upper belly looks. It would be one thing to have the soft lower belly, but the upper belly is just so rounded and ugh...I hate it. I don't know why I have it, either. It's not limited to this pregnancy-- it's been there for a while now.

[Thebyr]

I take one every week.. but I'm bloated and I have a pretty big fibroid - so I already look kinda preggers... and I'm too embarrassed to post my picture. lol

[andaluza]

I took a photo the day I tested positive and plan to take one every week. But I think I'll post my first two when I reach 8 weeks, so there is something to compare, I would hope.

I am feeling kind of bloated--I already ordered a bella band from Amazon so that I'm not squeezing my belly into my pants if this bloating gets any worse.

[intime0]

I'm so bloated. Plus I'm fat. I look 5 months pregnant.  Though I havent gained any weight, my pants are fitting SNUG.  Uncomfortable.

[Ninetales]

I keep meaning to start taking pictures.  I'm fat and pretty bloated right now.  I look pregnant already but I know it's all just fat and bloat.

I'm so looking forward to when I really pop.  Last time I felt so wonderful.  It was the first time in my adult life that I didn't worry about how my belly looked, or how my clothes fit.  I looked pregnant and I was supposed to.  I can't wait for that again!

[LilyTiger]

Ninetales,

That's hilarious.  I feel sort of the same way.  I'm in decent shape, but I've always had a "pooch" that I couldn't get rid of.  Finally I can say that my body looks like I'm pregnant for a good reason!  I'm pretty excited to start showing.  I'm already bloated and can't fit most of my jeans, so that doesn't help the whole "crankiness" thing...

[jeannineb]

This thread is making feel better, I feel so bloated and chubby too!  Cecilia's Mama, my belly looks just like yours.  I feel like my 1st baby blew out my lower belly and my 2nd blew out the top!  I don't think my muscles ever came back together completely after baby #2. It doesn't help that I am short, very short-waisted and busty.  I am not one of those long, lanky, skinny pregnant women that look like a toothpick with an olive on it!  I agree with being happy to finally show, once you are showing, all pressure is off!  I have been loving my yoga pants these days.

[Knitting Mama]

I am built the same way-- I am only 5' tall and very short waisted as well (and busty), so the baby has nowhere to go except out, and how!

I have never considered that I have diastasis, for no reason other than it never occurred to me, but I am starting to think that maybe I do. Is it safe to do diastasis exercises while pregnant? Gotta look into that...

[eleuthia]

i've taken a few pics, but so far the only thing you can see is that i really need to clean my mirror! i am also short, short-waisted, and busty, plus i have a nice PCOS belly (it used to just be a low pooch, like every woman in my family, but now it starts right below my boobs) so i think i will be able to hide my pregnancy from coworkers for awhile, and alternately stick my belly out a bit (maybe give it a rub) & hopefully get a seat on the bus when i'm feeling queasy! i do look forward to having an actual baby belly, and not to be creepy but i love to look at the belly pics of other chubby ladies to get an idea of what mine might be like! 

[Knitting Mama]

PCOS belly? Does PCOS cause the rounding outward from just under the boobs? Because I have PCOS too...

[~Demeter~]

If you've had babies already, it's not unusual to have a bit of a pooch below your breasts... I would not call that a "PCOS" belly. I have it and found that it was more abdominal separation than anything. :)

[Knitting Mama]

Yeah, that is something that I mentioned above-- I never thought that I had rectus diastasis, but the more I look into it, the more I realize that I might. There was just fat over it after I gave birth so I didn't realize it!

[eleuthia]

I've never been pregnant before, so my belly isn't from that! From what I understand, PCOS can cause upper abdominal weight gain - it's not something I had before I started having other PCOS symptoms. 

[Willovia]

I'm obsessed with belly shots. I'm trying to figure out a way to document the bump. This is my favorite so far...so simple: http://simplybloomphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/b16.jpg

This was also cute...http://www.howtobeadad.com/2011/7632/0-baby-sixty-seconds... though I'm not so technically inclined.

I haven't found anything too flattering yet to wear, or a location in the house with sufficient lighting. Right now, with winter, all the clothes I am wearing are super bulky and every picture I've taken looks like I ate too much pizza, and my skin is super washed out - not really pictures I want to put in an album or anything.

DH and my sister keep saying that I'm showing, but I tell them it's just the increase in appetite and a few extra lbs. Soon enough, I'm sure!

[Thebyr]

oh Willovia - thanks for sharing.. I WANT something like the first link. I need to find a flattering spandex dress STAT, hunh? lol

[Willovia]

Originally Posted by Thebyr 

oh Willovia - thanks for sharing.. I WANT something like the first link. I need to find a flattering spandex dress STAT, hunh? lol

Exactly! And one that will grow with your belly?!  Hence the wardrobe dilemma!

[andaluza]

Cool finds, Willovia. But I am crying after watching the video you linked. Can I blame things like that on hormones? After seeing that, I hope my dh can come up with something creative, but so far I just took an initial mirror shot last week in the bathroom.

I think I´ll take my 2nd pic tomorrow, since that´s officially when week 5 starts.

[isras1]

With my first pregnancy, I took my pictures myself, in our bedroom AND the mirror was dirty for the first 15 weeks or so. Sheesh! I was too busy trying to not puke. So, my plan is to have my DH take them and we'll be creative with it. I like the idea of making a small sign for number of weeks and have DS hold it by my belly

Willovia, tips I learned:

The washed out is due to your flash, use natural lighting from a window, plus you get great shadowing that way. An hour or two before sunset lends a nice sun-kissed look (more noticeable with outdoor shots).

Also, wear something tight and stretchy. The whole point of the shoot is to see the gorgeous belly, right? Tight, stretchy clothes will best accentuate all your great curves. Never wear maternity clothes, since their primary objective is often to feel good on, rather than flatter your shape. Try something fitted or tank tops in solid colors or neutrals instead.

Skip the florals, plaids or really stylized clothes because you want to be able to look back at these pictures in 10 or 20 years and still think the photos look great.

Hope that helps

[intime0]

I usually take one every month, after a shower.  LOL. And one the day I'm in labor.