Forget ‘Heart Hands’ — These Photos Perfectly Capture The Reality Of Being Pregnant

Photographer Danielle Guenther gives maternity photos a whole new twist.

Pregnancy is a many splendored thing, but let’s be honest: it’s also kind of hilarious. Your body stretches to ridiculous proportions, you sprout weird hairs, and if you’re really lucky, you might even pee your pants. Photographer Danielle Guenther wanted to show the authentic, comedic side of being pregnant, so she created a quirky and honest photo series that has moms all over the internet nodding their heads in solidarity.

Guenther’s series — aptly titled “What the BUMP?!” — is a noticeable departure from the usual maternity photos we’re so used to seeing on social media. Rather than lovingly clutching their bellies in the golden glow of a sunset, Guenther’s pregnant moms are hanging out in hysterical, perfectly staged real-world scenarios.

For example, spending quality time with your oldest child while you still can.

Leaning in. All the way in.

Wishing you’d bought diapers for yourself.

Extreme nesting.

And, of course, working on that pregnancy glow while also trying to stimulate your uterus to get that baby the hell out. Guenther notes that this mom actually went into labor a mere eight hours later, so apparently the plan worked.

Guenther tells Scary Mommy this series is based on another popular collection she did that depicted the realities of parenting. “This was a spin off from my first series, ‘Best Case Scenario’ where I focused more on the crazy family life,” she explained, “but what about the process of becoming a family? There’s a lot of humor in that as well.”

While most of the photos are tongue-in-cheek and take things to the extreme, Guenther says they’re also a celebration of motherhood and everything it entails, and a reminder not to take any of it too seriously. “Women are machines! What we can do with our bodies is astounding,” she told Scary Mommy. “Sometimes it’s not perfect, but it’s all worth the pain and challenges… You just gotta find the humor in it, or else you’ll go bonkers.”

We tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have perfect pregnancies, perfect deliveries, perfect families, but as these photos show, there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging the awkward, uncomfortable, and not so glamorous parts of bringing a baby into the world too. After all, so many of us have been there, and you can rest assured we’re all laughing (and napping and taking heartburn pills) right along with you.

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