With a near-constant feeling of a full bladder, crazy-making hormones, and a rapidly-growing body, pregnancy isn’t a magical, glowing time for every mother-to-be.
Yet despite the aches, pains, and cravings, New Jersey mother-of-two Maya Vorderstrasse was able to keep her sense of humor throughout her second pregnancy, documenting the final week with a series of funny photographs.
Maya used a letter board to create cute signs about what was bugging her from 27 to 40 weeks, from the fact that her shoes no longer fit to the idea that she was almost ready to push something the size of a watermelon through something the size of a hole in a doughnut.
The real deal Maya Vorderstrasse has won fans for her pregnancy picture series
Funny lady: Throughout her second pregnancy, the New Jersey mom took photos of herself in front of a letter board, which explained how she was feeling
Truth: She complained about achy body parts, an overactive bladder, and cravings
Honesty: Sometimes her husband joined her in the funny pictures
Maya didn’t shy away from the less-than-glamorous aspects of pregnancy, shouting out to her aches and pains, wild emotions, and cravings.
‘Honestly, I was so tired of seeing motherhood portrayed as perfect, flawless, and effortless on social media, because I never felt like it was like that for me,’ she told the Huffington Post. ‘So I embraced my chaotic life, and decided to share it with everyone in the hopes of helping other mothers realize that it’s OK to not have it all figured out.’
Maya, who has since given birth to a baby named Hazel and also has a one-year-old named Zoey, knew what she was getting into this time around — but that didn’t mean some of it wasn’t unpleasant.
At 27 weeks, she uploaded a snap of herself smiling down at her belly, while the sign behind her reads: ‘Flaring sciatica. Wild bladder. Totally worth it.’
Life’s not perfect: Maya explained that she was tired of moms who make everything look perfect on Instagram
Cute: She wanted to show a more realistic take with her snaps
It’s tough: She ’embraced my chaotic life’, showing how much she craved naps
Bright idea: In one, she punished her husband for calling her ‘irrational’
They love it: Her relatable images have earned her internet applause
At 29 weeks, she posed with a hamburger and wrote, ‘Can’t stop eating. Can’t fit in my shoes. Couldn’t be happier.’
At 31 weeks, she lamented that she couldn’t see her feet and often needs to pee, and at 33 weeks she roped her husband into a picture to joke that ‘when your wife is this pregnant, you don’t eat the last of anything.’
She showed her cravings for ice cream, her desire to walk around without pants, and her need to nap. She even ‘punished’ her husband for calling her ‘irrational and hormonal’ by taping his mouth shut and sticking a watermelon around his midsection.
Finally, at 40 weeks she held up that watermelon and a doughnut, pondering simply: ‘How?’
New little one: Earlier this month, she welcomed baby Hazel
She joked that despite her size and a previous image, she looks ‘nothing like a watermelon’
Exhausting, basically: She has continued to document what it’s like to have two babies
Chores: She even got real about the discomfort of breastfeeding
Pulling back the curtain: In fact, she hasn’t shied away from showing her postpartum underwear
Despite the complaints, though, Maya always seems to have a smile on her face — and her other pictures are, actually, quite glamorous.
She’s also continued the series since giving birth earlier this month, showing followers the stressful, funny, and exhausting parts of motherhood.
‘I just try to translate my symptoms into words, but in my brain everything comes together in a funny way, because I’d rather laugh at my own misery than cry about it,’ she said.
‘I’ll keep laughing my way out of diapers and screams because when I look back at my life, I’ll want to remember it as fun, light and filled with love,’ she added.