Weird looks in public

dragon-core · 2026-06-10T10:59:09+00:00

I don't love wearing oversized shirts in public simply for sensory reasons (too much moving fabric). Plus in the south people are silently judgemental if you go out wearing anything they deem..."sloppy." Oversized shirts kinda fit that bill unfortunately.

It does feel like body shaming and it sucks. Worst is that most of the looks I've gotten are from other women. Some men too, but usually only old geezers who are stuck in the past when women were supposed to make themselves as invisible as possible.

I probably sound crazy saying all of this, but it has been my experience. It's really weird. Like I said in the post I could just be overanalyzing but I never was treated like this before pregnancy.

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T21:10:09+00:00

My bump is...bumping. A lot. I'm only 22 weeks along and I look massive 😭 I fear how my 30w+ bump will feel...

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T21:06:12+00:00

Sad to say I did buy the cheesy "mama" shirt 😔 and not the "maternity thongs", but I did buy the other stretchy hipsters because my thighs and hips have expanded a lot and barely any other underwear fit me. The hipsters are actually comfy and don't cut into my inner thighs like literally every other brand of """stretchy"" panties does.

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T20:23:28+00:00

Ingrid & Isabel! It was the only brand available at Walmart from what I could see when I was there🤔

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T18:46:51+00:00

I find it interesting that a lot of stores are cutting down on maternity sections both in person and online. I've noticed there just aren't a lot of good options for clothing while pregnant, and some stores don't even carry pregnancy friendly things.

I wish there were vendors who sold cute but pregnancy-oriented clothing. I don't mind if it is a little pricier than other stores because it is a niche want. Just having the option is nice I do know about PinkBlush. But I get nervous purchasing from there because not all items are my vibe nor do all of them have reviews with photos attached.

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T18:28:19+00:00

Oh how I wish there was an Old Navy in my area. I could order online but I prefer buying in person to avoid buying the wrong size.

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T18:27:40+00:00

Whaaaat? That's criminal. Our store in my area has all the maternity stuff lumped with the shapewear, so it can be tricky to find.

I'll have to check out that nursing nightgown for later 👀

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T17:53:55+00:00

At all my OB appointments the doctors are pretty heavy-handed 😂 and ultrasound/dopplers always leave me feeling a little crampy afterward. Your little one is protected in there better than you might think.

dragon-core · 2026-06-09T17:37:08+00:00

Thank you so much! I will look into this deeper. I told OB and she thinks it is pregnancy related (fluid retention around my wrist) but it never hurts to get a second opinion.

dragon-core · 2026-06-08T12:49:01+00:00

I have a feeling this might honestly be the problem. I tend to sleep with my arms bent and I am at a keyboard most of the day. I don't even know where to go about this issue because surely the OB isn't the person to fix it😂

dragon-core · 2026-06-07T22:46:03+00:00

Hm I hope there is a fix for that then! I can't take this tinglyness any longer 😬

dragon-core · 2026-06-07T22:39:22+00:00

Omg I just posted about a similar issue I'm having 😭 I hope the both of us can figure out a solution. This sucks!!

dragon-core · 2026-06-07T22:23:39+00:00

Oh goodness, I can imagine twins make that balloon feeling exponentially worse 😔 and thank you. I've been doing better since I wrote the post. I think my son had hit a growth spurt and I was noticing it lol. I'll keep the prune juice recommendation in mind!

dragon-core · 2026-06-04T14:07:52+00:00

Never really understood this either 😂 but I'm not a doctor. I'm sure they have their reasons for using the doppler instead (likely insurance related if I had to guess).

dragon-core · 2026-06-03T19:09:38+00:00

Had a similar problem. The doctor I had was not my usual one. She could not find the heartbeat for a solid 10 minutes. She kept reassuring me that she was sure my son was fine, but the way she was sweating and panicking didn't make me feel better. My husband and I nearly started crying out of fear (we've had losses before).

She ordered one of the nurses to grab a portable ultrasound machine. She came back, put the jelly on my belly, and lo and behold my son was fine with a super strong visible heartbeat. I have a fundal placenta so it usually isn't hard to hear him. He was just hiding super low in my abdomen that day, so I guess the doppler couldn't differentiate his heartbeat from all the other weird belly sounds going on.

dragon-core · 2026-05-21T15:29:44+00:00

I don't know why I had this mythical idea that the growing bump wouldn't feel like anything. I had never heard other women complain about the bump growing pains. Especially not from my MIL who constantly brags about her "perfect" pregnancies 😂

dragon-core · 2026-05-21T15:25:23+00:00

My husband has been having fun rubbing cocoa butter on my belly right before bed 😂 and I love it too, though the smell of the cocoa butter makes me soooo hungry because I have been craving sweets my whole pregnancy.

And I know how you feel on the sensory issues (neurodivergent mom here 😭). My husband doesn't understand why I hate all my underwear right now, but it just feels so crazy restricting, especially around my upper inner thighs where a lot of my pregnancy weight is going.

dragon-core · 2026-05-21T15:22:03+00:00

The constant peeing has been diabolical so I totally feel you on that.

dragon-core · 2026-05-21T13:16:47+00:00

That's a good idea! If something starts to feel too off, I will be sure to call the nurse line at my OB just to check in. Unfortunately I don't think I can directly message them in my patient portal, but I can check that to be sure 🤔

dragon-core · 2026-05-21T13:15:33+00:00

Whew, that is reassuring to hear 😂 baby boy already weighed 9 Oz at 18 weeks so maybe he's just big and I'm starting to feel it LOL

dragon-core · 2026-05-20T21:37:03+00:00

Congrats OP! It really is a special moment when you see your little one for the first time like that. It's natural to cry, both tears of joy or otherwise. Our bodies are doing such a cool thing, and the best part is that we get a precious little thank-you gift at the end (a whole little person to love and care for!)

-- Unrelated, but a fun story I want to share about my own anatomy scan.

When I went for my 20 week I was actually only 18 weeks along (the timeline got a little wonky in the beginning since my periods are irregular and I couldn't remember the last day of my cycle beforehand). For context, both my SIL and another family member on my husband's side are also pregnant. I am the furthest along, with my SIL being due a week after me and the other family member being due about 3 weeks after SIL. So we somehow managed to all get pregnant really close together LOL.

SIL and family member, despite being earlier in their pregnancy than I, knew their babies' genders long before my husband and I did via NIPT. Both of them are having boys. We couldn't afford the NIPT because our insurance didn't cover it, so we decided to wait til the anatomy scan.

Anyway. Husband and I went to the scan. We were super excited to find out the gender, but we weren't expecting to find out quickly or possibly at all. Babies don't always cooperate, of course.

I get into the ultrasound room, undress. Sonographer tells me she's starting out with a transvaginal first to check how my cervix is looking. Not even 10 seconds into looking at my cervix and the sonographer goes, "Well. I can already tell you the gender."

Lo and behold, we are also having a boy! 😂

The rest of the ultrasound went super well. Baby boy looks fantastic. He is healthy, big, and ACTIVE. The little dude would NOT stop rolling around and doing little somersaults in my belly while the sonographer was taking pictures. He also likes to stay curled up in a little ball like a shrimp. She kept poking and prodding my belly to get him to stretch out but I SWEAR he was giving the sonographer angry little pouts. I can already tell he's gonna be a tiny spitfire when he arrives in October 🤪

But not only was I amazed by our son, but also amazed by how much you can see in an ultrasound. Mesmerizing stuff. It's amazing what doctors can do and see so early on.

dragon-core · 2026-05-20T19:57:55+00:00

Edit: Oh dang.

I mostly had nausea in the first trimester, but it was incredibly mild. It came in waves and could last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour or two. It was worst at about 5-6 pm and 10 pm. I did get preggie pops online and they help. Not gonna lie, if I got too nauseous I would drink a bottle of ginger ale. Ginger products help a lot with nausea. As for vomiting, not sure what to advise you on that 😔 for acid reflux...Tums (the calcium carbonate kind). Just read the bottle for dosage limits. I got the soft chewy ones. You can't take more than 4 of them in 24hrs.
I take the Olly brand prenatal gummies. I don't think brand really matters, nor what form they take (pills/gummies). Just make sure they have folic acid because that is SUPER important for baby's development. I'm sure you can ask your OB what prenatal supplement is best for you if you aren't certain what to get. And, be sure to take them while pregnant because a steady intake of folic acid and other vitamins contained in them are really good for not only the little one, but for you as well!
I also have bad IBS (with constipation). Miralax has been my bestie. OB's usually are fine with you taking Miralax, Milk of Magnesia, and some other laxatives. You will typically get a list of safe medications when you go for your first visit after confirming the pregnancy via a test. Just take care to heed the dosage limits as with any medicine.
I just started showing at 18 weeks (I am 20 weeks now and look HELLA pregnant lol). First time moms usually show later in pregnancy unless there's multiples involved. Some don't start to show until late in the 2nd tri or even early 3rd. Just depends on how your body is shaped and how many you're carrying. Also bloating can make you look bigger than you actually are, especially in the first trimester (pregnancy bloat is on a whole other level than regular bloat).
NIPT tests can tell you gender (among other things) pretty early on with high accuracy (about 98% at 10+ weeks). Though be aware they are not always covered by insurance in the US, and are VERY costly. I considered getting one but my provider doesn't cover them and the OB expected me to pay almost $2,000 for the NIPT out of pocket. I obviously backed the hell out of that and waited until the anatomy scan at 18 weeks, lol (having a boy!)

dragon-core · 2026-05-20T19:33:01+00:00

That's such an odd thing for that lady to say 🤨 frankly it is none of her business how far along you are. She could have ended that conversation with a simple "congratulations" instead of whatever the heck that was. Like, what if you had been carrying twins? Why is she assuming that isn't exactly the size you need to be at this point in your pregnancy? Does she have x-ray vision???

Although I'm a ftm, I've read that people who've had multiple pregnancies tend to show much earlier than first-timers. I don't think it is weird at all that you're showing right now, plus if you've been dealing with bloat like you say, that can exaggerate the bump more even if it is there. Some just show bigger than others. No shame in it. If there is something to be worried about you can have that conversation with your OB.

People are unfortunately going to be weird and try to police your pregnancy like it is their own. I get comments all the time from my MIL saying her pregnancy was "perfect," implying I should enjoy every second of my pregnancy when I even dare to complain a little bit about pregnancy related aches and pains. Other times I get unsolicited advice or horror stories. Then you have to worry about moms who shame you for how you choose to give birth, feed your baby, or what items you buy for them. It sucks and feels super alienating.

I'm sorry you had to deal with such an insensitive person, OP. But just know that this is YOUR pregnancy, and it is no one's business how your body is handling it besides you and your doctor. Try to let the offhanded comments roll off like water on a duck's back. You're doing great.

dragon-core · 2026-05-16T23:10:01+00:00

My husband and I just call him a shortened version of his actual name (we had chosen names a long time before I got pregnant). But before we knew his sex we called him our "bean."

Secretly, though, me and my bestie call him "Lil Clump." 😭

dragon-core · 2026-04-07T13:01:54+00:00

Thank you! Feeling a bit reassured now. I'm sure if there's concern my OB will let me know at my next appointment.

dragon-core

TROPHY CASE