Mum shares before-after shots of herself on loo – “40 weeks in vs 40 weeks out”
Back in May blogger and mum, Clemmie Telford shared a photo of her pregnant self. She had just hit the due date for her third child and looks – to the naked eye – extremely blinking fed up.
A different kind of before and after
The photo shared in May was taken by photographer Lara Downie in Clemmie’s bathroom, as she sat on the loo willing her labour to begin.
She told the BBC her second child was born as she sat on the toilet, so she wanted to capture this image as a nod to three-year-old Woody. Clemmie’s also mum to five-year-old Bertie and a nine-month-old baby girl named Greta who she’s just brilliantly mirrored the OG fed-up photo with. This time Greta’s not tucked inside her exhausted mum’s belly, but cheerfully sitting on her lap in all her chunky baby glory.
The contrast between the two photos doesn’t stop there. In the pregnancy photo, Clemmie looks exhausted and at capacity. In the postpartum shot? She’s brimming with confidence and holding her equally chipper bouncing baby girl.
“You can’t imagine”
Clemmie told the BBC she hoped to “capture the stark contrast and how different my demeanour is” by posting both images online.
“My mum put it really nicely,” she continued. “She said: ‘We didn’t even know who Greta was in that first picture’. But now we can’t imagine life without her.”
“It was a real reminder that when you’re at 40 weeks, you can’t imagine having a nine-month-old on your lap, and all of the joy to come. It seems like the biggest miracle ever that Greta was in there.”
Read more about new mum life:
- 7 exercise mistakes mums make after having a baby
- Beyond the baby blues: The dangerous mental illness that is postnatal psychosis
- Night sweats, hair loss, low libido: The post-baby hormonal crash
Pregnancy lasts “sooo long”
People on Instagram are loving this insight into what a difference nine months OUT can make.
“You look super confident in the second photo something I know you mentioned you are struggling with, they are both fabulous photos,” one follower posted.
“This is real life and because of its honesty so much more beautiful than most 40-week pregnancy photos,” someone else observed. “In its own way, it celebrates being a woman. Boy, I remember the last sprint of pregnancy it lasted sooo long. And the after photo is wonderful.”
“Currently 34 wks and this is giving me life on an otherwise tired/overwhelmed/tearful day,” a bolstered mum commented.
“Love the juxtaposition of the 2 faces,” another fan wrote. “Sums up both experiences pretty nicely!”
