Tummy stretching at 31st week?

I am only at my 31st week pregnancy, and I already felt my tummy is stretching and it seems like the baby is getting much bigger, and there's not enough space for him to move around.

Moreover, I can just walk for short distance, and I started to feel pain. I didn't experience these in my first two pregnancies this early, I usually felt that when it's at the last month. I know every pregnancy is different, perhaps I am older or perhaps this baby is really bigger.

Do your stomach start feeling pain this early? Do you do any exercises to help reducing the stretch?

I think you should complain to your doctor about the pain. My stomach started stretching at 29 weeks and my navel area would hurt so bad. All I did was rub some shear butter cream on it which made me have lesser stretch marks after delivery.
You could just rub the belly from time to time and your baby is filling up the space inside, the reason why the movement is restricted.

darkchild said:
I think you should complain to your doctor about the pain. My stomach started stretching at 29 weeks and my navel area would hurt so bad. All I did was rub some shear butter cream on it which made me have lesser stretch marks after delivery.
You could just rub the belly from time to time and your baby is filling up the space inside, the reason why the movement is restricted.

Thanks for your suggestion. I just told my doctor during the pregnancy checkup last week, and she said it's very normal, as the baby is getting bigger. My body size is quite small. But, as long as the baby is actively moving, then it should be fine.

I don't have stretch marks for my first two pregnancies and until now, but perhaps it's good to rub some shear butter cream as well. Thanks.

I started feeling like I literally wouldn't have any room either at that point - I'm pretty petite by nature so it was like the baby didn't have anywhere to go but out! I remember just being very achy and I felt like my skin hurt, my muscles hurt, it all hurt. Those last weeks are tough!

I found that making sure my belly was lotioned up all the time helped, at least a little. I know it's tough - but the discomfort will be over soon and you'll slowly but surely start feeling like your normal self again.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

Amelia88 said:
I started feeling like I literally wouldn't have any room either at that point - I'm pretty petite by nature so it was like the baby didn't have anywhere to go but out! I remember just being very achy and I felt like my skin hurt, my muscles hurt, it all hurt. Those last weeks are tough!

I found that making sure my belly was lotioned up all the time helped, at least a little. I know it's tough - but the discomfort will be over soon and you'll slowly but surely start feeling like your normal self again.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

Yes, just a few more weeks to go, and I told my children just to let me rest for these few weeks (and a few more weeks after baby is born), then I can play with them again. Because I really can't spend too much time playing with them, as I don't like to have more movement now, but I can't sit for long and sit comfortably as well, I always need to adjust myself to find a position that I feel comfortable with.

But, I am glad the baby is actively moving as well, though it makes me not so comfortable, at least I know he's active and healthy.

Aw... I hope you're okay! I only had one pregnancy and my tummy didn't get so big until the 5th or 6th month. From then on, I almost doubled in size. It's not the baby's fault though, it's my excessive eating. Lol. Plus, my doctor said that he seems to be in enough amniotic fluid so we didn't need to worry even though I did gain so much size in my tummy. My baby was born with a normal size though, not overweight nor underweight. So yeah, the excess tummy size was due to water. And the excess weight was just me gaining weight.

Hmmm... Did your OB-GYN check if the amniotic fluid was enough for the baby? And did she check if the baby is growing faster? Lastly, did she check if the baby has enough space on your tummy? I think all these can be checked by the OB-GYN so you can be reassured that the baby is in a good condition.

As far as my ability to move back then, I was pretty much fine. The only problem I had was that I was so big and my tummy is so big that it gets me breathless. So that's the reason why I didn't become so active during my pregnancy which again, added to my weight. So as much as you can, try to move and walk around for an easier labour.

For exercises, try pregnancy yoga. That has helped me with my back pain and breathing issues. There are tons of YouTube videos and blogs with such exercises. Good luck!

missiemouse said:
Aw... I hope you're okay! I only had one pregnancy and my tummy didn't get so big until the 5th or 6th month. From then on, I almost doubled in size. It's not the baby's fault though, it's my excessive eating. LOL. Plus, my doctor said that he seems to be in enough amniotic fluid so we didn't need to worry even though I did gain so much size in my tummy. My baby was born with a normal size though, not overweight nor underweight. So yeah, the excess tummy size was due to water. And the excess weight was just me gaining weight.

Hmmm... Did your OB-GYN check if the amniotic fluid was enough for the baby? And did she check if the baby is growing faster? Lastly, did she check if the baby has enough space on your tummy? I think all these can be checked by the OB-GYN so you can be reassured that the baby is in a good condition.

As far as my ability to move back then, I was pretty much fine. The only problem I had was that I was so big and my tummy is so big that it gets me breathless. So that's the reason why I didn't become so active during my pregnancy which again, added to my weight. So as much as you can, try to move and walk around for an easier labour.

For exercises, try pregnancy yoga. That has helped me with my back pain and breathing issues. There are tons of YouTube videos and blogs with such exercises. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience with me, and mentioning about the pregnancy yoga. I always wanted to do that, but I am just so lazy. I really need to go and check it out soon!

My doctor said the baby and I are in good condition, the weight is still fine. The baby is actually not too big, and it's even okay if he grows a little bit bigger. It's just that my body size is quite small, and my two older children are actually considered quite big size when they were born, and this baby seems to be slightly bigger too. But, the doctor advised me to monitor if the baby is actively moving constantly, to make sure he's healthy. My baby is always moving actively now, especially when he hears my two children's voices.

It's all about doing the daily rub, religiously!!!

It's way too easy to forget or just not be bothered. So set a Belly Rub alarm on your phone!! x