If you’re wondering how to hide a pregnancy bump for 9 months, keep reading. Whatever your reason for wanting to hide your baby bump, there are definitely a few ways to go about it.
As exciting as finding out you’re pregnant can be, you might not want to share the news with everybody just yet. In fact, you might not even want to tell people about your little bundle of joy until after the birth – which is perfectly fine!
Your pregnancy journey is such a special and sacred time in your life, so it’s not unusual to only want to share it with a few close friends and family. After all, your loved ones will have to deal with all the other changes that come with the pregnancy.
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1. Avoid wearing tight tops
The quickest way to unintentionally reveal your pregnancy is by wearing tight tops – so don’t do that. Tight tops are a dead giveaway because they showcase your bump as it is, which means that people would be able to track its growth over the months.
2. Accessorize
If you were the local fashion icon before your pregnancy, great, but it’s time to take it up a notch if you really want to hide your bump! Experimenting with fashion and accessories is one sure way of hiding your bump. For example, versatile pieces such as scarves or ponchos can easily hide your pregnancy.
If you wrap a long scarf once around your neck and then let it hang, it will do a good job of concealing your bump.
3. Wear darker colors
We’ve probably all heard it being said before that black is slimming, right? So, another great way to hide your bump is by wearing darker clothes. Yes, even if that means getting a whole new wardrobe!
Although, if you’re known to be someone who enjoys colorful clothes, it wouldn’t be wise to make any drastic changes. Gradually incorporating darker clothes and accessories would be a better way to go about it.
4. Stock up on flowy, layered or fit and flare dresses
If your second and third trimester happen to fall in the warmer months, then you may be in luck. It gives you room to play around with flowy and layered dresses and clothing pieces. Layered or flared dresses, for example, are great at creating a barely-there aesthetic. Your bump could get lost in the layers and won’t be so easy to pick up on.
5. Find things to hide your bump around the office
Hiding your bump around the office could prove to be quite challenging at times. However, if you’re mindful of your movements, it’s possible to be strategic about it. For example, you can use your office tools to hide your bump, such as a file or laptop when you’re going to a meeting.
By simply placing them in front of your tummy, either one of those things can hide your growing baby.
6. Avoid touching your bump
I know, sometimes you touch your bump without even meaning to when you’re pregnant. It’s almost as if your body starts controlling itself and before you know it, you’re rubbing your bump and giving it away.
This is exactly why you need to be more self-aware when pregnant, to ensure that you really do hide your growing baby and aren’t constantly touching it.
7. Don’t completely change your lifestyle
If you’re known to enjoy a glass of wine or a few drinks on a night out with friends or colleagues, you can hide your pregnancy in the earlier months by occasionally posing with a glass of your favorite drink. That way, people won’t be quick to notice that you’ve stopped going out or ordering your favorite drink entirely.
Although, if you want to know how to hide a pregnancy bump for 9 months, the short and sweet answer is that you mustn’t put yourself in situations that may give it away! So, at some point, you might have to reconsider those Friday sundowners with colleagues.
8. Find a good cover-up for your morning sickness
One thing that comes with pregnancy that you can’t avoid is morning sickness, so you’re going to have to come up with a pretty good cover-up story. To hide your pregnancy, you could make it known that you haven’t been feeling too well or that you suspect you ate something that didn’t quite agree with you.
This is a good way to avoid pregnancy speculation in public or at work.
9. Become a very good storyteller
In addition to your morning sickness cover-up, hiding your pregnancy may require a bit more lying (let’s call it creative talking) from you. Of course, there’s more pregnancy than just a growing bump that you need to hide, there’s also the emotional side of things.
You might even find yourself crying or getting emotional about something at the office without meaning to, which means you must be able to think on the spot to justify your reaction. You could bring up an emotional personal story or attribute your reaction to how it reminds you of a series or movie you’ve watched before.
10. Be aware of your body language
If you’re wondering how to hide a pregnancy bump for 9 months, you might be surprised that there are certain gestures and movements that pregnant women make without even being aware of it. Apart from the belly rubs, pregnant women typically drag or shuffle their feet when walking (otherwise known as the infamous pregnancy shuffle), and in some cases, stretch or complain about backache. Those are dead giveaways.
Yet again, being present and mindful of the things you do when you’re around people will make it easier for you to keep your secret. For some, getting this right may require a bit of training in order to develop a habit.
11. Highlight some of your other features
The best way to draw attention away from something, is to draw attention to something else! This applies to pregnancy too. In order to keep people from looking at your tummy area, guide them by highlighting what you do want them to look at.
If you’re not too shy to flaunt your “new” breasts, which tend to be more apparent in your second and third trimesters, you could draw attention to your upper body. You could do this by wearing tops that are flattering to your bust area, or a simple necklace or pendant that guides people’s focus to your upper body.
Another trick is to wear your hair up. So, find a new favorite updo and make that your go-to hairstyle for a few months in order to avoid having your hair falling on your chest.
12. Acknowledge your weight gain
You can address the elephant in the room by openly joking about it. When you’re pregnant, you’re quite likely to find yourself eating more than usual and gaining weight in the process, over and above the baby weight. Before people comment and ask you about it, you can break the ice by doing it first!
That way, it could come across as regular weight gain that you’re working hard to lose in the next few months. You could even take it up a notch by flaunting your new gym membership and moaning about how you haven’t been consistent in your workouts.
Anything to sell the story, right?
Read more:
9 Pregnancy Diet Essentials (Your Complete Guide)
Special thanks to author: Sannie Nkosi is the founder of Four-Leaf Consulting. After a few years in journalism, she ditched the newsroom to write about things that really matter (like family, finances and travel). On a regular day, you can find her creating content, listening to podcasts, or engaging with small business owners.
