Plus size and showing

I am plus size and 11 weeks.. several well meaning people have said happily, "Wow you're showing already!" more than once and touched my belly above my belly button. This is fine that they touched me - I know them well but I am not showing! My understanding is that the baby right now is very low, below belly button and the top belly is just my regular fat. I've smiled a few times and said, something like " well I'm just chubby, not baby yet or I'm plus size, its hard to tell." My MIL insisted that the baby is that high already. Maybe I should just let people think its the baby and not bother explaining to them that its just fat? It just feels awkward to me knowing its not a baby bump but people think it is. I wish it was the baby but its early and I'm plus size so I know it will take longer to show... and although I see a difference its still not really a baby bump.

When did other plus size moms here show? Anyone with a 'double belly' - that became one baby belly?

Message edited 7/13/2011 3:15:00 PM.

Re: Plus size and showing

im normally a size 14/16 - for me, i didn't feel like i really started showing a baby belly until around 16 or so weeks.
until then, it was just an extension of my usual belly fat
the way i was able to tell it was 'baby' and not 'fat' was when it started to feel hard, and not just soft like a regular belly

i had one co-worker come up to me when i was around 14 weeks and touch my belly and it felt really weird because to me, all she was feeling was my usual belly fat, just a bit more extended.
As i started to grow, the entire belly grew, not just above my belly button.. and it all sort of became one big lump. i think i grew fairly low at first also

If i were you..let them think they're touching your baby (if you don't mind them touching you in the first place). Don't make excuses for your size at all

Re: Plus size and showing

FYI, at 11 weeks your uterus is still below your pelvis. Not just your belly button, but your pelvic bone! It's not until 12 weeks that if your OB pushes hard around your pelvis, he can feel the fundus (the top of the uterus). I think the top of your uterus reaches your belly button at about week 20 or a little after.

That being said... get used to people touching your belly. It seems to make people really happy. Sometimes it doesn't bother me, and sometimes I'm not in the mood. If it doesn't bother you, just let them touch your belly and say, "yeah, I'm really excited about the baby!" or something non-committal like that.

Oh, and I was definitely "showing" by 11 weeks. It wasn't my uterus, but my stomach was definitely bigger - I think your organs start moving around a bit and pushing out as your uterus expands down there. Plus there's all that extra fluid in your body, which makes you look bloated. My body shape was different by 11 weeks and I was in maternity pants by then. Doesn't matter what's causing it - you're pregnant, and your body is changing, and people are excited for you.

Message edited 7/13/2011 3:48:45 PM.

Re: Plus size and showing

i am 12 weeks today and i look 6 mos. I just wear my maternity clothes proudly and if people try to touch my belly I tell them they're rubbing my fat!

ETA: I'm so happy that for the rest of the world i pretend my belly is really a baby belly

Message edited 7/13/2011 4:05:29 PM.

Re: Plus size and showing

plus size and definitely did not start showing until about 20w and then it was a double belly until about 30w. I just started dressing as if I was showing but nobody ever touched my belly. I think I would punch someone that did especially when I wasnt very far along. I am 38 w now and I never thought I would have a real pregnant looking belly but I definitely do!