For the past few weeks, I’ve been making like a pregnant sitcom star—hiding behind huge handbags and ensuring I’m only photographed from the waist up. That’s because I started showing WAY before I was ready to share my pregnancy news.
I’d heard that bellies pop out a lot sooner with second pregnancies, but I had no idea I’d be smuggling a soccer ball at 10 weeks. Apparently, early bumps are also more common in older moms (me) and in women with weak abdominal muscles (also me, but really insulting!).
The upside of showing early is that there’s been almost no awkward period of looking puffy but not pregnant. I am so clearly with child. However, this proved problematic when an acquaintance ran up to me in the supermarket yelling, “Congratulations on the baby!” in front of my 3-year-old daughter, whom I had not yet told. Luckily, she was very engrossed in a box of cheddar bunnies and didn’t catch on.
When I was pregnant with my first kid, I didn’t spill the beans until 17 weeks because I was waiting for the amnio results. This time around, I was able to take that new MaterniT21 blood test and be reasonably confident at 12 weeks that it was okay to share our good news. That’s when I had about a dozen conversations that went like this:
“Friend”: Congratulations! How far along are you?
Me: 12 weeks.
“Friend”: Really? I would have guessed about 6 months. Are you sure you’re not having twins?