I am exhausted. My body aches more than it ever has before. My pelvis could be breaking and the skin on my stomach is stretched and sore. Walking is painful now and my mind is also tired, like I'm living life in a cloud of mist. Creating and sustaining a new life inside your own body is hard. Especially this time.

My baby is due to arrive in two weeks and these are the memories of the last days of being a mother to one. I wanted to dust away every line and stretch mark plaguing my body but I resisted and now I'm sharing my less than perfect body exactly as it is. August is in many of the photos. We tried to avoid it but I'm glad now that he is present in so many. It truly is how we live life now. Always a little chaotic and awkward with a little boy climbing on me whenever he can, putting his hands down my top to touch my breasts that nourished him for so long. Sitting in my lap, nuzzling at my chest is a place of comfort for him and soon he will have to learn to be nurtured without so much closeness to me.

Be kind, these images are scary to share. They are personal and honest and I love that I have them for that reason but it's still daunting. Taken by my Rasmus and directed largely by a bossy little boy.