Week 24: Camera shy

The other day I posted this photo on Instagram. It’s not the prettiest picture, but it made me so happy to see my main squeeze, my goofy dog and my bump all in one rectangle—and all piled up on one couch. That right there is a snapshot of my heart.
After I shared it, a friend commented that she couldn’t wait to see a “real” bump photo, and it got me thinking …
I am someone who would MUCH rather be behind a camera than in front of one. The levels of awkwardness I manage to reach on a daily basis are truly surreal, and that doesn’t need to be preserved on film forever. But when I read that comment, I realized I honestly don’t have many bump pics. Maybe two?
It’s partly because I just haven’t thought to take them. Snapping selfies or being in photos in general is something I avoided prepregnancy, so it hasn’t really occurred to me to focus the lens on my bump. And another reason is because I haven’t exactly felt “photo-worthy” what with the nausea that I thought might never let up and my desire to only wear comfy sweatpants.
But this window of time is so short (I’m already more than halfway through!) and so very precious. Even if I don’t feel like sharing frequent belly shots with the rest of the world, I want to have some to show my bitty babe. These days might be filled with backaches and leg cramps—seriously the leg cramps are killing me—but they are fleeting and special, and they deserve to be remembered.
So I am trying to make a point to document the process and not just the end results … because that’s where we spend most of our days anyway … in the messy middle, where cluttered rooms and wet nose smudges on the windows (if you have a dog, you understand) are just signs of life being lived.

Plus, my camera roll is currently maxed out with pictures of my pup. (Can you blame me? She’s super cute.) If that’s any indication of what the future holds, it will probably be ALL baby in a few months. I want to get in the habit of being in photos now, so that I am in them later WITH my wee one. These are the moments he/she will have to hold and look back on, and I want to make sure that Birdie sees us all together even if we are sporting wrinkled pajamas and messy bedheads.
So consider this my first “real” bump photo—with hopefully many more to come!