Just a few weeks into your second pregnancy you realize, “wow, my pants are feeling pretty tight already.” If you don’t remember growing out of your skinny jeans this early last time around, it’s probably because you didn’t. The first pregnancy is almost always the slowest to show. Are second babies just bigger, or are there other reasons for the early “pop?”
One reason you show sooner is your uterus is given a head start if you have already had children. It never fully shrinks back to its original size after the first pregnancy. When you become pregnant with your second child (or third), your uterus begins to grow right away to make room for the baby, just like it did with the first, but this time it’s about a month ahead of schedule in terms of size. But don’t worry, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll look 10 months pregnant when you’re term.
Another factor to consider is the strength of your abdominal muscles. Unless you worked really hard to flatten and tighten up your abs after your first pregnancy, chances are that belly is a little less supportive than it was the first time around. As your uterus pushes everything else up into your belly, your abs will be a little less resistant to the pressure and will give a little bit, giving you a little “pooch” sooner than you expected.
You might grow a larger belly overall as well. For some women (not all), their second babies tend to be bigger than the first. It’s hard to compare your first pregnancy to your second, however. You didn’t have a small child to take care of during your first pregnancy, and that affects everything including your diet, the amount of sleep you get, and your activity level. These all affect how much weight you gain, and therefore, how big your baby gets.