The B-Bump. I managed to get through two pregnancies without knowing this terminology, but it’s a thing evidently. The evidence includes a quick Google search and a look in the mirror at my profile. Through the course of my adult life I bounced between a marathon-running size 10 and a less active size 16. In all things I’ve always had a waist that sat a little more trim around the belly button.

I even have a little bit of a b-bump when not pregnant. It’s how my body distributes weight. For me it comes alongside perks like the hourglass figure that I very much like. It’s unclear to me if all body “types” endorse the b-bump or if only certain “shapes” tend to distribute weight with this double curvature around the abdomen. Whatever the case, I’m left coping with a few feelings around the issue.

There’s what I will call the perfect belly media blitz–the preggo version of flat abs. It’s hanging on the wall of your OBGYN’s office, saturated throughout any magazine associated with pregnancy and parenting, and in every store that caters to preggos. It’s that “perfect” D shape— a round, snug, stretch mark-less belly. Don’t get me wrong. Yay for those of you who have beautiful pregnant bellies such as those. Most of the time I think my belly is beautiful, too.

I struggle when I put on clothes. Snug shirts just don’t fit in particularly flattering ways. I can say I am confident and proud of my baby bump, but my wardrobe of mostly flowing shirts rather than fitted tell another story. At 26 weeks, my B is growing out into the more traditional D-shaped belly that adorns advertisements. Many women keep their B through their entire pregnancy.

What bothers me more than the B part is the extra flesh that droops a little below my belly. Further Google searching tells me this is an apron. I must confess there must also be a little fat in there as it jiggles a bit when unrestrained by supportive clothing. For me it’s not a lot. In fact, it’s partly just my body shape and evidence of two previous pregnancies. It’s like a small mommy pooch while also pregnant. It is this little bit of jiggle that makes me avoid below-the-belly maternity pants as they are less comfortable. Those fitted shirts show my baby bump tapering off instead of quickly coming to an end in a D shape.

So there it is. Somehow feeling baby kick as I write about this makes me love my belly, in whatever shape, all the more. She reminds me to keep perspective. It would be most helpful if she would kick around the time I’m dressing and undressing to shower as those are the times that I notice and dwell on such things. Until then, I say bellies unite, no matter what letter of the alphabet you resemble!

Annie is a mom of two boys, ages two and three. She enjoys the finer things in life, like compression socks and a full night’s rest.