What does 4 mos pregnant look like?

[colleency]

How much does a first time mom generally show at four months? I know there is some variation, but is it usually a lot? I have a friend trying to get pregnant who needs to wear a dress to an event. She may be as much as four months pregnant.

It's not a major thing. We're just curious if the dress might fit. There are so many variables, and we have time to pick a different dress if it does become an issue. I just couldn't find any good pix online.

[Melodyam]

With my first I had to go into maternity tops very early because of um, er, um...my expanding chest!!! But with my 2nd I didn't have that problem at all and it was alot later that I went into maternity type clothing. A lot of it may also depend on her body type and shape.

[SueK]

It really depends so much on the person. If they're petite, they might show earlier. See how her mother and sisters carried, although that's not really a great predictor as well. I was able to wear my jeans through my 5th month with both, but shirts were out of the question by the 2nd month because my chest ballooned so much.

I would say plan for a dress with a lot more give in the chest than the waist, since she's only wearing it at 4 months.

[lisas3575]

I agree with Sue-- if she's tall/long waisted, she won't show as early. If she's heavier to begin with, she also won't show as early. FWIW, I'm tall and medium build, and I didn't really "show" to other people until 5 months, but if if the dress is fitted, she probably will. HTH.

[gertdog]

I was heavier to begin with and my belly definitely emerged later than average (IMO). And it was definitely more obvious on top first- I was in maternity tops (or tops w/ more room in the chest, anyway) by 4 months.

[Peggy]

I am petite and when I was pregnant with my DD I didn't wear any maternity clothes until I was 5 1/2 months along. Granted, I couldn't wear ALL of my regular clothes but I still had enough to wear without having to go shopping.

Peggy

[ChristineVA]

I am tall and long-waisted. With my first pregnancy, I didn't wear true maternity clothes until my 6th month. I probably could have made it through the whole pregnancy if I had been more creative with my clothing.

With my second pregnancy, I was in materinity clothes at 4 months.

The 4th months is kind of "iffy". You don't really fit well into regular clothes and the maternity clothes still don't fit well.

I guess I would recommend a regular dress with an empire waist (comes up under the bra line). Nothing real fitted.

[newtricks]

Four months is when you feel really fat but maternity clothes don't fit yet. So I would definitely not go with something fitted because she won't feel pretty in it. And the hormones are raging so we don't want that! :) Empire waist anyone?

[krhm]

I'm petite, and I started showing around 4 months with DD1, around 3 months with DD2. But with both pregnancies, my chest expanded enormously right away, and because I didn't want to have to buy two different wardrobes, I went ahead and started wearing maternity tops pretty early on. I just bought the kind that had a strings around the waist to make them adjustable. Plus, I had terrible morning sickness, so the looser waist felt better anyway.

I agree that something more flowing would work well, especially if it has some way of being adjustable.

[ChristyMarie]

At 4 months I could still wear most of my dresses. I actually found form fitting items to be more flattering because I actually looked pregnant. In things that were loose I just looked fat.

[BeachBum]

Four months is when you feel really fat but maternity clothes don't fit yet.

This is how it was for me. My chest was huge and I just looked fat/thick through the middle.

[Blissful_in_TX]

This is how it was for me. My chest was huge and I just looked fat/thick through the middle.

Yup, me too. At 4 months I either wore something either really tight to show that I had pg belly, or I wore something really loose to conceal it. All my regular, in-between clothes made me look like I had just gained a lot of weight.

[NewMrsG]

I third the just looking fat! I heard from several people that they first suspected I was pregnant because of my enlarged chest - and I've had trouble since very early with empire waist clothes because the "waist" part tends to fall where my chest now is!

[GingerPow]

This is how it was for me. My chest was huge and I just looked fat/thick through the middle.
Ditto that. Good luck to your friend Colleency!

[colleency]

Thanks for the responses!

[SPITFIRE]

Colleen--thanks for posting this question. It has been on my mind recently.

DH & I are planning to ttc beginning this May. Fast forward four months and I will be in my SIL's wedding. She already purchased the bridesmaids' dresses when she ordered her own a few months ago. All I know about the dresses are the color. She just told me that she would like us to get sized in April. That's a month before we ttc, so it seems rather eager of me to tell her I may be a different size in September.

How do I handle the dress fitting issue? I don't want to take the spotlight off of her moment or announce something that hasn't even happened yet. Plus I really would like it to be a suprise when we do announce it.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Colleen!

[clairea]

Colleen--thanks for posting this question. It has been on my mind recently.

DH & I are planning to ttc beginning this May. Fast forward four months and I will be in my SIL's wedding. She already purchased the bridesmaids' dresses when she ordered her own a few months ago. All I know about the dresses are the color. She just told me that she would like us to get sized in April. That's a month before we ttc, so it seems rather eager of me to tell her I may be a different size in September.

How do I handle the dress fitting issue? I don't want to take the spotlight off of her moment or announce something that hasn't even happened yet. Plus I really would like it to be a suprise when we do announce it.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Colleen!

Spitfire, talk to the ladies at the dress shop. They will have dealt with this before, and should be able to help you out. If you are on the fence, I would order a size larger than you need, since it will be much easier to have the dress taken in then let out. I was in DB's wedding when I was almost 7 months pregnant, and SIL had her heart set on me wearing the same dress as everyone else instead of getting something that would actually fit a hugely pregnant body. The dress shop was able to order additional fabric from the same dye lot as the dress, and I took that to a seamstress who worked wonders.

[foodlady]

How do I handle the dress fitting issue? I don't want to take the spotlight off of her moment or announce something that hasn't even happened yet. Plus I really would like it to be a suprise when we do announce it.



I would try to leave a bit of extra room, but not worry too much about it. If you get pregnant, then you can deal with the dress issue. You may get pregnant right away, and you may still be trying in September.

Just my opinion, of course, but I also chose to have non-matching dresses in my wedding since my SIL was 7 months pg, my best friend was a perfect size 8, and my other dear friend is 6 feet tall! Trying to find one dress to fit all would have been ridiculous! They each wore a complimentary color -- burgundy, teal, and navy -- and they all looked lovely!

Some brides are not so flexible.

Good luck!