Seeking Advice About Third Pregnancy

C.,
What you are going thru is 100% normal.
When I was in my third pregnancy, I too was showing way too soon (I thought),but my doctor told me the more times a women expects a baby the sooner she will show. I was showing around 8 weeks with my third. I remember thinking I was so fat, but its not that way at all. In a few months I looked like any other person who was expecting. I just showed first.
Its nothing to worry about.
Good Luck with the little one
L.

Hi C.,
I showed at 8wks for my second baby. I was told that previous pregnancies make the uterus and stomach muscles more inclined to stretch and that was why we show so early. I also noticed that the rest of the pregnancy was more of a gradual change versus my first pregnancy when I suddenly ballooned at 36 weeks! So don't worry, showing this early doesn't mean you're going to be larger than the time before. Take care. Congratulations!
-R.

With this being your third child I would say that its normal. Also it usually takes a woman a complete year for her body to get back to its normal shape. This includes inside and out. So this is probably partly due to the fact that you got pregnant again less than a year later.

Hi C.,

I too, was like you in having 3 of my 4 sons right away. Due to the fact that your body still has not had a chance to recoop from the last pregnancy, it IS possible to start showing as soon as you have. I know its hard to do, but try to take time for yourself everyday. This will make you more relaxed with the pregnancy and will make it more enjoyable.

As for the friendship and time away...have I got a great deal for you. E-mail me at ____@____.com and i will give you details for a free Mom night out. No strings attached and guarenteed for you to enjoy. I know with 4 boys ( ages 21, 20, 18 and 2) I needed this as well.

Feel free to contact me if you just want to talk too. I would love to just do girl talk since I live in a house full of males.

C.,
Congratulations on your next baby! With this number 3, I'm surprised you don't look like you're pregnant constantly (and I mean this in the kindest possible way, as I've had 2 boys ages 5 and 2 1/2, and while I don't exactly look pregnant, I am still wearing 10 pounds of "baby weight.") This is especially normal when you look at the age range of your kids, since they are fairly close in age. Your body hasn't really had a chance to return to its former proportions. Be well, be healthy, and enjoy your family--they grow so fast.
K.

Everyone is different but I would have to agree with the other moms your children are so close that your body has never gotten to return to normal. My daughter is 16 months and i am just back to my normal before I had my son who is will be three nov. 20 and they are 20 months apart so it takes a while to change back good luck and congrats

It definitely happens sooner the more babies you have. That can be due to stomach muscles that are stretched out and/or split down the middle (diastasis recti). Check out maternalfitness.com for information on the Tupler Technique. You can do these exercises during and after pregnancy to pull your stomach muscles back together and prevent lower back pain as you get bigger.

For every pregnancy after your first you will start to show earlier in the pregnancy. That is completely normal. I have had three pregnancies. My third one being twins. However, when I was pregnant with my second child I asked the doctor why I was showing so quickly and they said that is just how it happens.

I've only had 2 pregnancies, but I definitely showed a lot faster with my 2nd - some because my body had already stretched for the 1st, but also because I had a diastasis which is really common. Here's an excerpt:

"Pregnancy naturally separates a mother’s outermost abdominal muscles to make room for her growing uterus. Called a diastasis, this separation does not close up in most new moms. With each pregnancy this separation gets larger, which is why women show earlier with each pregnancy."
(taken from http://www.maternalfitness.com/education/lose_tummy_semin...)

Most OBs don't ever mention the diastasis to their patients, but a large majority of women have a diastasis of some size. I had the diastasis after my 1st (OB never mentioned it), but didn't know it until I was pregnant with my 2nd (self-diagnosed, confirmed when I specifically asked about it at my appointment!). So I ended up going to postnatal physical therapy to correct my diastasis (mine was 3-4 fingers' widths wide which I got down to 2 fingers' widths wide during therapy, and probably could get it down to 1 finger wide if I did my exercises with any regularity). But I never would have known about it from my OB - I had to figure it out on my own and then ask about it. A diastasis may not be what's happening in your case, but it's worth asking about. It's also easy to check yourself for one.

For more info, check out Julie Tupler's maternalfitness.com - she even has some good exercises for during pregancy:
http://www.maternalfitness.com/baks_basics.pdf

Congrats on your 3rd - hope it's an easy pregnancy that ends in a lovely, gentle birth!
http://pregnancytoday.com/reference/articles/childbirth.htm

C.,
I am part of the family network and we are having a mom's night out next week in the centerville area (I think). You can email me if you would like more info. Yeah, I think "the pouch" is normal. I noticed that after every child, I showed a little sooner and my stomach was more stretched out. I think situps would have helped me a lot but I am too lazy to do them. I give my kids all the energy I have. They are 4, 2 and 6 months. I wouldn't worry about it.

God Bless
J. F.