You May Miss Being Pregnant One Day. Here's Why You Should Have the Photos

If you're pregnant right now and counting down the days until you can finally meet your baby, I completely understand. I've been there myself, twice, and I remember how ready you can feel to have your body back by the end.

Pregnancy is such a strange time because you can be incredibly excited about having your baby while also being completely over the pregnancy itself. Your back hurts, you're not sleeping properly, nothing fits quite right, you're going to the toilet every five minutes and somehow everyone seems to have an opinion about how big or small your bump is.

So when someone tells you that one day you might actually miss being pregnant, you might think they're a little bit crazy.

But I'm here to tell you that they might be right.

You may not miss being pregnant right now, and that's okay

I don't think you need to absolutely love pregnancy to have maternity photographs taken. In fact, I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions about maternity photography.

You don't have to be feeling like the most confident version of yourself. You don't have to look in the mirror every morning and think you look amazing. Some days you might feel beautiful and other days you might just feel tired and uncomfortable, and that's completely normal.

But once the pregnancy is over and a little time has passed, it's funny how your perspective can change.

You start to remember the good bits.

You remember feeling your baby move around inside you. You remember those little kicks that would catch you by surprise, or watching your belly move as your baby wriggled around. You remember lying in bed with your hand on your bump and wondering what your little person was doing in there.

And you realise just how incredible that experience actually was.

Our bodies really are pretty amazing

I think when you're pregnant, it's easy to become focused on how your body looks rather than what it is actually doing.

Your belly is getting bigger, your clothes don't fit, your body shape is changing and you might not feel particularly like yourself.

But underneath all of that, your body is growing a baby.

Think about that.

You're creating a whole little human inside you. Your body is providing everything they need to grow, while you're going about your normal life.

And then there is the feeling of your baby moving inside you. I honestly don't think there are enough words to properly describe what that feels like. It's such a strange and beautiful experience to know that the little person you're waiting to meet is already there, moving around inside you.

Having been through pregnancy myself, I know how easy it is to take some of those things for granted while you're actually experiencing them. You're busy preparing for the baby, trying to get through your working day and probably wondering how you're ever going to sleep comfortably again.

But with a bit of distance, you can look back and appreciate just how amazing it all was.

You might appreciate your pregnant body more later

This is probably one of the biggest reasons I think maternity photos are worth having.

You may not particularly love your pregnant body while you're in it, but that doesn't mean you won't look back at photographs years later and feel completely differently.

I've spoken to plenty of mums who look back at their pregnancy photographs and say they wish they could go back and appreciate how they looked at the time.

It's not necessarily about wishing you could be pregnant again. It's about realising that your body was doing something incredible and that this particular version of you only existed for a very short period.

Your bump was only going to be that shape for a few months. Your body was only going to look like that while your baby was growing inside you.

Once your baby arrives, that chapter is finished.

And having photographs means you get to keep a little piece of it.

A maternity photoshoot is also a chance to feel a bit glamorous

Let's face it, pregnancy isn't always the most glamorous time.

You might spend most days in comfortable clothes, hair thrown up, trying to find a position where you can actually sit comfortably. That's real life and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

But it can be really lovely to have an hour where you get to do something completely different.

You can put on a beautiful maternity gown, have your hair and makeup done if you want to, and actually spend some time focusing on yourself rather than everything that needs to be organised before the baby arrives.

I have a collection of maternity gowns available for my clients, so you don't need to go searching for something special to wear. I'll help you choose something that suits you and your bump, then guide you through the posing so you don't have to worry about what to do in front of the camera.

And yes, I'll make you feel a little bit glamorous.

Because why not?

You don't have to wait until after your baby is born to have photographs where you feel beautiful.

Don't forget to get some photographs of just you

If you've already got children, it's lovely to include them in your maternity photoshoot. Those photographs of siblings cuddling mum's bump or your partner talking to the baby can be incredibly meaningful.

But I also think it's important to have photographs of just you.

As mums, we're often the ones taking the photographs rather than being in them. We have endless photos of our children, but much fewer photographs of ourselves with them, let alone photographs of ourselves during pregnancy.

It's worth getting some beautiful photographs of you and your bump without feeling like you need to justify it.

This is your pregnancy too.

You're the one carrying this baby, feeling every kick and going through all of the physical changes that come with it. You should be able to look back and remember what you looked like during this incredibly short stage of your life.

We are incredibly lucky to experience this

I also think it's important to acknowledge that pregnancy is a privilege that not every woman gets to experience.

For some women, becoming pregnant is something they've desperately hoped for. For others, pregnancy may come after a very difficult journey, and for some women it simply isn't possible.

That doesn't mean you have to feel grateful for every single moment of pregnancy. You can be incredibly thankful to be carrying your baby and still complain about your sore back or say you're completely over it at 38 weeks!

Both things can be true.

But when I look back at my own pregnancies, I do feel incredibly lucky that I got to experience it. To feel my babies moving inside me, to know they were growing safely and to have those months of anticipation before I finally met them.

There really is something pretty amazing about that.

Pregnancy goes by much faster than you think

When you're pregnant, especially towards the end, people telling you that you'll miss it can be hard to believe.

But pregnancy really is such a small window in your life.

Before you know it, you're holding your baby and wondering how that enormous bump you carried around for months has somehow disappeared.

Then your baby starts growing, and before long you're looking back at photographs wondering how they were ever that tiny.

That's the thing about motherhood. We're constantly moving onto the next stage.

And sometimes we don't realise how special a stage was until we're already looking back at it.

That's why I love maternity photography. It gives you the chance to stop for a moment and actually document this particular version of your life before everything changes again.

Your maternity photos don't need to be overly posed

When you book a maternity photoshoot, you don't need to know how to pose or worry about looking awkward in front of the camera. That's what I'm there for.

I'll guide you through flattering poses and help you feel comfortable, while also giving you plenty of variety in your photographs.

We can create the glamorous portraits where you feel amazing in your gown, as well as softer, more natural photographs that capture the connection between you and your bump.

If your partner or children are joining you, we'll photograph those relationships too, so you end up with a complete collection rather than just a series of bump photos.

The aim is for you to look back at your gallery and remember not only what you looked like, but what this time in your life felt like.

Maternity photography in Melbourne

If you're looking for a maternity photographer in Melbourne, I would love to help you document this really special stage of your pregnancy.

My maternity photography sessions can take place in my Melbourne studio or outdoors, and I have a beautiful range of maternity gowns available for you to wear during your session.

Whether this is your first baby or you're adding another little person to your family, we'll capture a mixture of beautiful maternity portraits, photographs with your partner and children, and plenty of images of you and your bump.

Because while you might be counting down the days until your baby arrives right now, there is a good chance that one day you'll look back at this time with a lot more fondness.

You may not miss the swollen ankles, the sleepless nights or having to get up three times a night to go to the toilet.

But you might miss feeling your baby move inside you.

You might miss that bump.

You might miss knowing that your baby was right there with you every minute of every day.

And you might look at a photograph of yourself and finally appreciate just how amazing your body was during that time.

So if you're wondering whether you really need maternity photos, my answer as a mum and a photographer is yes.

Take the photos.

Even if you don't feel like you're at your most glamorous right now. Even if you're feeling huge. Even if you're counting down the days.

Because one day, you'll have your beautiful baby in your arms, you'll look back at these photographs and you may just be very, very glad you did.

I know I was.

Stace x