How to hide my baby bump at work?! Post Reply

[sw11_]

Hi all. I'm 6 weeks pregnant with baby number 3, and having had a miscarriage at 12 weeks previously I'm keen to keep my news a secret till the full Nuchal scan has been done at 12/13 weeks. However being baby number 3 (or 4 if you include the miscarriage) I already look very pregnant! How on earth am I going to hide a bump that's already this big - and growing - for another 6/7 weeks?

I'm most concerned about hiding it at work where I wear office type clothes - suits, smart dresses etc. I'm not so worried about outside the office as when I'm not at work it's easier to wear looser fitting clothing which hides the bump better. Any tips from people that have recently gone through this at work? It would be so nice to hold off on telling people at work until I'm ready!

Thanks

[daisydaisy]

I wore a long scarf so it dangled over the bump. Talk loudly about looking forward to a glass of wine when you get home- it's a good diversion. Hope all goes well and you can happily reveal all in a few months. X

[Bodders1]

Really sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I wore a long scarf too but it didn't really fool anyone - when I did announce I was pregnant with no 2 after 13 week scan no one was surprised (well perhaps a few of the older guys but no-one else)! Honestly speaking I think it is really hard to cover up the bump but best of luck and hope your pregnancy goes okay.

[rooting4tooting]

always take a bag to donuts to work with you....
on a serious note, good luck with your pregnancy, hope it all goes well

[sid_seal]

It depends - I work in a mostly male environment and some colleagues wouldn't probably have realised at the end of my pregnancy if I had not told them
Ok, seriously - I cannot think of anything better than a scarf either; moving to soft lines if until now you have been a pencil skirt kind of person would be telltale enough!
Hope everything goes well!

[this_is_cat]

The shops are currently chock full of pleated skirts, which will help. Easily dressed up to be work smart.
Also, those long leather belts that you tie in a knot/bow
Head to toe black with a very bright scarf
I sympathise - I show very early as well.
Another slightly different answer - could you pay for a private scan at 10 weeks at somewhere like the Fetal Medicine Centre? The statistics show that if you get to see the heartbeat at 10 weeks, the chances of a healthy pregnancy and birth are the same as if you wait until 12 weeks

[this_is_cat]

The shops are currently chock full of pleated skirts, which will help. Easily dressed up to be work smart.
Also, those long leather belts that you tie in a knot/bow
Head to toe black with a very bright scarf
The less structured 'boyfriend' Blazers perhaps with a belt over the top at your waist to make the bottom of the jacket kick out at bump height
I sympathise - I show very early as well.
Another slightly different answer - could you pay for a private scan at 10 weeks at somewhere like the Fetal Medicine Centre? The statistics show that if you get to see the heartbeat at 10 weeks, the chances of a healthy pregnancy and birth are the same as if you wait until 12 weeks

[cocomama]

Go for tunic dresses, look for straight or a line cuts to skim over your tummy. Darker colours will of course help and prints will help to disguise any shadows caused by a bump!

Avoid drawing attention to tummy area- belts, tucked in tops etc, dresses with waistband will draw the eye right to your middle.

Try to draw attention elsewhere- shoes/necklace -depending on what's appropriate in your workplace but drawing the eye with something away from your tummy will always help.

I write a style blog for mums (http://cocomamastyle.com) so you should find some more useful outfit ideas on disguising tummies there which apply during early pregnancy and after!

Wishing you the very best with your pregnancy

[NYE31]

Wearing dark colours, scarves & longer layers all help, I'm 19 wks & 6 days, having my 20 wk scan today & we've waited until the 20wk mark before telling most people, my boss knows but I've been hiding it at work for weeks & this is my 5th pregnancy, we have a 3 year old but I've had 3 miscarriages.

Although I have to say I am quite looking forward to not having to hide it for any longer! Most people probably jusy think that I have been overdoing it on the Easter eggs having given up chocolate for Lent

Very best of luck to you x

[mats03]

This is great website...my wife used it a lot
www.nineinthemirror.com/

[NYE31]

Great website, thanks

[sw11_]

Thank you SO MUCH everyone!

NYE I hope all went well with your scan today x