A good friend of mine recently welcomed her third baby. When I stopped by to meet that little bundle, she showed me some gorgeous photos a photographer friend of hers had taken the previous month to capture the last few weeks of her pregnancy. My friend looked beautiful, peaceful, serene. So maternal.

As I thumbed through the photo album, it struck me that I hardly have any photos of me during either pregnancy. I didn’t take weekly progress photos. There are no silly candids where I playfully showed off my bump. I don’t have any intimate maternal portraits, my hands resting gently on top of my belly as I looked down and smiled. Really, aside from the obligatory baby shower photos, and one last minute pic of my husband, son and I the night before my daughter was born, neither pregnancy was well documented.

Without really realizing it, I had shied away from the camera when I was pregnant. With my son, I’m sure it’s because I gained a whopping 70 lbs during my pregnancy and was very self-conscious and embarrassed about how I looked, as vain as that sounds. I didn’t feel radiant or glowing. Instead, I felt swollen, enormous, tired and completely and utterly uncomfortable. The last thing I wanted to do at that time was pose in front of a camera and have that image recorded for posterity. And this was in the days before Facebook.

Even though I gained far less with my daughter, and physically felt much better, the idea of posing for maternity portraits simply never occurred to me. And now I feel a pang of regret.

I’m not planning on having any more children, so I know I missed my opportunity. Pregnancy is one of the most special and meaningful times in our lives, and it goes by in a flash. I wish I’d had the confidence back then to embrace my pregnant body, ignoring that little voice in the back of my head warning me about my double chin and cankles. I wish I could share some pictures with my children of what I looked like — really looked like — when they were in my tummy. I wish I had the photographic evidence that could show them just how much love I felt for them, even before I had laid eyes on them.

My mom has one photo from when she was pregnant with me: her face lit up in a beautiful smile as she cradled her belly, and I used to love looking at it as a little girl, imagining me all curled up inside her. Photos have the power to trigger feelings, memories and emotions. They can help you remember.

As I get older, the memories of walking around with these amazing little people growing inside of me will fade. How wonderful would it have been to have captured those precious moments by documenting – and celebrating – my big, beautiful belly and how it changed my life forever?

Did you have pregnancy portraits?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Your Pregnancy Week by Week

Keeping a Pregnancy Journal

Birthday Cake Ideas for Tots

Every year I put tons of thought into my holiday card (see past photos here). I come up with a theme, I get props, I go all out. My friends have begun to expect, even anticipate what I’ll put out every year. So when one of my friends was telling me that she couldn’t have a fun holiday card because she could never get her girls to sit still for a photo I thought, “But why do they have to?”

My favorite photos of kids are always the ones where they have cake smashed on their face, where they’re playing on the swing set or holding out their sticky hands toward the camera. Kids are active and messy, so why do they have to sit still for a posed photo?

So I proposed a solution: let’s let the girls throw flour all over each other to capture the holiday spirit. The girls got really into it, and we all had a blast. And I think the result was pretty close to perfection.

Are you sending out a holiday card this year? What fun ideas do you have for family photos?

Cute holiday card ideas from The Bump

For our latest Instagram Challenge, we want to see your Halloween pictures — whether you’re dressing up baby or decorating your bump!

The best part? One lucky Bumpie will win four tickets to her local Bring Your Baby Matinees! This month, we’re showing the movie Fun Size on Tuesday, November 6th at AMC Theatres across the country. If you’re not familiar with our matinees, they’re a great way to spend a fun day out with other parents in a breastfeeding-friendly atmosphere, a theater with brighter lights and lower volume, stroller parking and crying babies allowed! (Find out if there is a participating theater near you here.) We’ll select a random winner from all of the entries and contact them on Instagram.

How it works:

From today until midnight EST on Thursday, November 1, upload your favorite Halloween photos on Instagram with the hashtag #TheBumpHalloween. Make sure you include both the hashtag and @thebump so we can see it. (Need some inspiration? Check out these adorable pictures of Bumpies’ best-ever Halloween costumes!)

We can’t wait to see your photos!

For the official rules, click here.

Here are the pictures that have been submitted so far!

Wondering why your photo isn’t appearing here? Your Instagram profile might be private. Instead, you can upload a photo directly from your computer with the green “Add Photos” button on the top of the page (and you don’t have to change your privacy settings). 

Plus, more from The Bump:

Wild Ways Moms-To-Be Decorated Their Bumps

Best Halloween Costumes for Baby

Bumpies Share: Cutest Halloween Costumes

Last week, we asked you to upload your favorite summer baby pictures to Instagram using the hashtag #thebump. We received tons of adorable submissions–pictures of your babies at the pool, on the beach, decked out for the Fourth of July, and more. Here are 25 of our favorite photos from the challenge (stay tuned — we’ll have another one soon!).

Don’t forget to follow The Bump on Instagram (username: @thebump).

Plus, more from The Bump:

Most Hilarious Baby Pictures Ever 

Best Baby Videos of All Time

Ridiculously Cute Baby Animals