When I first found out we were pregnant with Charlotte after struggling with secondary infertility, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. But like many women who struggle with infertility, I was scared to celebrate. We had been through such a roller coaster, I couldn’t let myself fully accept I was pregnant, and I was scared to say anything lest something should go wrong. Even after hitting the three month mark, the time when most people share the news and the threat of miscarriage has dramatically declined, I wasn’t ready to tell people. I just kept worrying the ball would drop and something would go wrong. We actually waited until I was six months pregnant to tell people about Charlotte, including some of our closest friends and family, and that was mostly because I couldn’t physically hide my baby bump any longer. Unfortunately, with your second pregnancy, you start showing a lot earlier and by three months, most of my pants weren’t buttoning, and in certain outfits you could def see something was going on. But since I wasn’t ready to share the news, I had to get creative with my wardrobe to hide my pregnancy and I got good at figuring out how to hide a baby bump.
When we finally did spill the beans, I was surprised at how effective I was at hiding it for so long. In fact, for my pregnancy with Brooks, we ended up waiting until I was almost six months pregnant to spill the beans once again. I go into why in more depth in this post and this post, but after experiencing a miscarriage and undergoing more fertility treatments, I couldn’t shake the paranoia that if I uttered the words “I’m pregnant” I’d jinx us and we’d lose the baby. I was also pregnant during a pandemic the third time around, so I wasn’t seeing as many people, I was working remotely, and was busy chasing after two other kids and running multiple businesses, so it also felt like less of a thing I needed to announce. With that said, it really turned me into an expert on how to hide a baby bump. Even people we saw regularly didn’t know until I told them, and trust me, I’m not one of those people who you can’t tell is pregnant. My bump was pretty visible from early on all three times.
Needless to say, three pregnancies later, I’ve figured out some good tricks for how to hide a baby bump that I’m excited to share with you. I did a lot of googling, and found no stories on this topic, and so many bloggers and people I follow on Instagram were showing off their bumps so much earlier than me, that I couldn’t even lean on them for help. It’s totally up to you if and for how long you hide your pregnancy, and a very personal decision, but if you’re trying to keep your pregnancy under wraps, here are my favorite styling tricks for how to hide a baby bump.
Peplums
This peplum top and drawstring pants set is not only super comfy but also a great answer for how to hide a baby bump.
This wrap style peplum dress also had a busy pattern so was great for disguising a five month bump.
This Zara top was under $30 and such a steal. The peplum cleverly disguises a baby bump and it’s a little oversized so it actually worked as my bump grew. I’m six months pregs here and you can’t really tell.
This dress has a smaller peplum but it also offers a boxier fit and was a go-to to hide a baby bump at work (or NYFW in this case).
Jackets
Especially as I got bigger, my answer to how to hide a baby bump was to wear lots of jackets. Luckily, my office tends to be cold, so it wasn’t that weird that I’d wear them inside the office too, or on my shoulders during a meeting.
Dresses with Strategic Waistlines
I assumed baggy dresses would work better when figuring out how to hide a baby bump, but I actually found dresses that nipped in right below your rib cage and offered wider skirts were better at disguising my mini bump in the first and early second trimester.
Busy Patterns
A busy pattern is key to camouflaging a bump.
Stripes
Stripes work well to distract the eye so they’re a great strategy for how hide a baby bump.
Layers
Layering is one of the best tricks for concealing a pregnancy.
Here, I’m wearing a turtleneck over a dress and a blazer over that.
Strategically Placed Ruffles
Ruffles are a pregnant woman’s best friend in the first few months when figuring out how to hide a baby bump. Here I’m six months pregs, but you can’t find the bump under all those layers and polka dots.
Vests
Again, layers are your friend if you’re trying to keep your pregnancy under wraps and vests are a great alternative to bulky jackets for evening or every day.
I think I wore this vest over dresses at least three times a week during my first six months of pregnancy with Charlotte.
Oversized Sweaters
I lived in oversized sweaters for as long as I could. They also made it easy to continue wearing my regular jeans with a bellyband and we’re a great answer for how to hide a baby bump.
Blazers and Jackets
Like jackets, blazers are a key way to conceal a baby bump, especially in the early stages.
Adesuwa says
I searched the whole internet for a topic on this but couldn’t find. Thank you so much for these tips.
krismkoch says
I”m so glad this was helpful. I looked for it when I was pregnant too!
Nicole says
Ditto! Why is no one writing about this? Thank you for the post and the suggestions! Going through Florida summer means I’ll need to tweak some of your suggestions, but this gives me a fantastic starting point.
krismkoch says
right? i couldn’t believe i couldn’t find any help or advice on this when i was pregnant and not ready to share the news. hopefully this was helpful. congrats and have a great summer!
Toria says
Hey! I live in Florida too and was thinking a lot of these wouldn’t work in our heat! Please share any Florida adjustments you found work for you, if you don’t mind!
krismkoch says
i can totally work on one for warmer weather – definitely more of a struggle when you can’t hide under a coat! thank you for the feedback and idea!
unknown user says
hey I’m 15 and pregnant I don’t know what to do or even tell my mum me an my mum aren’t in a very good relationship at the minute so I don’t really want to tell her btw this helped alot
krismkoch says
Hi, thank you for sharing. i’m sure it’s really scary and it feels hard to tell your mom. you are not alone though and it will be ok. sending lots of love.
Julia Fordham says
Thank you this is really useful! I feel like there’s a real gap between not-pregnant and very-pregnant in clothing availability / advice and this really helped. I am now trying to find that cardigan, it’s so cool and really looks like it subtly covers the bump! 🙂
krismkoch says
I know! It’s hard to find those clothes to wear when your regular clothes stop fitting but your bump isn’t really big. Maternity clothes are all designed for really the third trimester but personally, by then, I’m not really wanting to buy any new clothes to just wear for a few months.
Marie says
I love the polka dot tiered ruffle dress. Where is it from?? Also great advice, thank you.
krismkoch says
It’s from Ganni. It’s old so I don’t see it at any retailers now but maybe you could find on the Real Real.
Gayu says
I want to live your life. Here we have so much hot so not able hide bump. No woolen cloth needed hear even in winter . You home background weather all I needed to enjoy before I die
Newmom says
Great information for people with similar concern!
Monica Shukla-Belmontes says
I had my little ones 3 years ago and 1 year ago and have such a bad diastasis recti that I permanently look 7 months pregnant, and everyone asks when the baby’s due. Until I can find the right time to get the surgery done to correct the issue, these tips have been so helpful! Thanks so much!
krismkoch says
so glad they were helpful. my friend had really bad diastasis recti after her second too and she finally got the surgery and was so happy after it was all done.
TC says
So helpful!
krismkoch says
so glad. thank you!
Haya says
I don’t know what to do… because I’m studying in university and don’t wanna to tell anyone…can you please help me by wearing abaya because I’m muslim