Nicole Richie showed what INFDaily, the agency that took these pictures, called a “healthy little pot belly” while out shopping in LA yesterday for BBQ supplies with Mischa Barton and her sister, Hania. When I saw these pictures I thought “Wow, Nicole sure looks pregnant.” She has the belly in all of the pictures where you can see it, and it’s not just a slouchy trick of the wind.

She’s normally very skinny and I don’t want to bash a girl for gaining some essential very much needed weight, but would she also get a little psuedo baby bump like that? I’m not sure. She looks like she’s in the early stages of pregnancy to me.

My husband says she just has that bloated tummy that people who don’t eat for a long time get, while my mother-in-law, who we’re visiting for the holiday, says she would be carrying higher up. I thought she was right, but then I found a picture of a seven weeks pregnant woman from her blog and she had a lower tummy just like Nicole’s. (In case you were wondering the pregnant tummy woman had a healthy baby named Michael – link has automatic music – in February.)

Nicole is said to have broken up with Joel Madden recently. Is she pregnant with his baby too? Is that why she detoxed for a few days in rehab and disappeared? She still might go to jail for her second DUI. This would make for interesting gossip if it’s true.

Nicole also visited with Paris Hilton over the Memorial Day weekend, and was seen out going to her house on Saturday.

Update: Most of the commentors are saying that’s the type of belly you get when you don’t eat and can no longer digest food properly.

Thanks to INFDaily for these images.