It's no secret that pregnancy can put the human body through the ringer. But we're not just talking about a few stretch marks and the occasional bladder control issue. For some pregnant women — particularly those who are carrying multiples — their bodies may change in all sorts of incredible and unexpected ways. Their bellies stretch to sizes previously unimaginable; their joints and muscles ache in places they never knew existed; and their organs somehow magically know to move out of the way in order to make room for their growing babies.
Michella Meier-Morsi knows the rigors of this. The Danish mom of five, who recently welcomed triplets, spent nine months documenting her pregnancy journey on social media — and not just to highlight the fun stuff. Instead, Meier-Morsi has shown photos of her ever-expanding belly (which she admits was in "extreme pain" before the birth), and gave an honest glimpse into the ups and downs of carrying three babies at once. As a result, her story went viral with countless social media users applauding the mom for being a real-life "superhero."
Meier-Morsi goes by @filippaophelia on Instagram
There she commands an impressive audience all of whom seem to be riveted by her journey.
Many of her posts have been heartfelt tributes to her babies.
Some have featured her husband gently kissing her belly, while others have captured the couple's excitement over a 3D sonogram …
But in others, Meier-Morsi let her belly hang *all* the way out
In other words — shirt up, bump out, and skin stretched to the max.
These are the images that seemed to garner the most attention — in part, because Meier-Morsi's bump grew straight out, instead of up and down, over the course of her pregnancy, which is somewhat unusual.
In other images, her bump appears to be covered in dark purple blood vessels, as her body works to keep the blood pumping throughout her growing body.
Most of the comments, which are in Danish, are nothing but positive
Her posts, after all, are meant to be real and empowering — and clearly, for many women, they are.
"Wow … the female body is absolutely amazing," wrote one Instagram user.
"All pregnant women are cool, but you are simply in another league," someone else told her.
Others, however, appear shocked by the sheer size of her bump, with some saying the photos left them "speechless," and others lamenting that she looks "so uncomfortable."
The thing is, by 35 weeks, she really *was* uncomfortable
In fact, Meier-Morsi opened up about her daily aches, pains, and discomforts in many of her posts — along with her genuine fears about giving birth to three babies at once.
"I seriously do not feel ready for three babies," she confessed in one post. "I naively thought that I would get ready at some point – that I would feel a joy that the pregnancy is coming to an end and that we should finally meet our trio."
"But if it were not for the extreme pain, the triplets would have to stay in the stomach for a month or three more," she continued. "It all just feels so overwhelming."
At one point, the mother admitted that she wanted to "curl up in a corner and sob" over how unimaginable it all seemed, and in a video posted just one day before the birth, she confessed to feeling "insanely scared."
But at the same time, she also felt incredibly proud of herself for growing three healthy babies in her womb and making it as far as she did into her pregnancy.
In the process, Meier-Morsi has helped shine a light on the reality of carrying multiples
Because yes, while it's beautiful and amazing and absolutely life-changing … it can also be painful, challenging, and pretty scary at times.
But luckily, Meier-Morsi is on the other side of things now.
She eventually welcomed her three sons — Charles, Theodore, and Gabriel — by C-section at a hospital near her home in Copenhagen. And judging by the updates she posted afterward, she couldn't be more thrilled with their arrival.
The newborns returned home where Meier-Morsi and her husband are now adjusting to their new "norm" — being a family of seven.
At the same time, Meier-Morsi is also adjusting to her new bod
As she boldly shares in one photo, baby bumps don't disappear overnight — especially when they've been housing three little humans for nine months straight.
But in the end, none of that really matters. All that matters is her three little guys, who made every moment of pain and discomfort "worth it."
"There is emptiness in my stomach," the grateful mama wrote, "but my heart and my arms have never been so full of love and happiness."
