Our Underwater Maternity Shoot: The Unfiltered Truth About Pregnancy Photos at 8 Months

There's something surreal about watching your very pregnant wife get naked in public while a stranger circles in the water nearby. But that's exactly what happened during our maternity photoshoot last week at Currumbin Beach.

Let me back up.

When Baby Stops Kicking: A Morning Scare

The day started with a scare. Amy woke up and realized she hadn't felt our baby kick through the night, which is unusual since little one typically makes their presence known multiple times during sleep. For non-pregnant partners reading this, here's something I learned: when you don't physically feel every movement, you don't think about it. But for the person carrying the baby, those kicks are constant reassurance that everything's okay.

Amy spent the morning trying not to panic, drinking coconut water, eating, walking around - all while I was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the worry she was managing alone. This is the invisible mental load of pregnancy that doesn't show up in the Instagram highlight reels.

Thankfully, baby started moving again, and we were cleared for our 6:30 AM photoshoot.

The Maternity Photoshoot: Artistic Vision Meets Public Beach

We'd been planning this shoot with photographer Beni Creative for weeks. She specializes in underwater beach photography, creating these beautifully artistic maternity images that capture the raw, powerful beauty of pregnancy. Think: ethereal, tasteful, magazine-worthy shots.

The plan was to start with some walking shots on the beach, then move into the water for the underwater magic. What we didn't account for was just how busy Currumbin Beach would be at 6:30 AM on a weekday morning.

Queensland is genuinely a fit state. Everyone and their dog was out doing morning walks and runs along the beachfront. Which made things interesting when Beni asked Amy if she wanted to do some nude shots in the water.

"Do You Want To Do Some Nudes?"

For context, Amy has always been hesitant about nude photography, worried about being recognizable with her distinctive blue hair. But Beni's work is incredibly artistic and tasteful, and in the moment, with the beautiful clear water and perfect conditions, Amy decided to go for it.

The process was simple: swim out, get some shots in the bikini, then Amy would remove it underwater, and Beni would capture these stunning floating shots where the pregnant belly is the focal point, with no bikini strings interrupting the natural lines.

It sounds beautiful and artistic because it is. But here's where things got weird.

The Beach Creeper

While Amy was out in the water doing the nude shots, I stayed on shore. Partly to have someone outside the water (you know, in case anything happened), and partly because if there were any legal issues with public nudity, one of us needed to be in a position to help.

That's when I noticed him.

There was one guy in the water, and unlike literally every other person swimming at a beach, he wasn't facing the waves. He was facing directly toward Amy. Just... staring. Circling. Dead-set obvious about it.

I started filming him because it was so blatant. He wasn't trying to be subtle with side glances or pretending to look elsewhere. No sunglasses to hide behind. Just full, direct staring at my naked, eight-months-pregnant wife in the water.

Look, we were at a public beach. Amy was nude by choice for artistic photography. I get that. But there's a difference between someone accidentally seeing something and someone deliberately positioning themselves to watch. This guy was the latter.

The Reality of Third Trimester Movement

After we wrapped the shoot (which, weird beach guy aside, produced what I'm sure will be stunning photos), we grabbed sandwiches and I got to swim in the beautiful clear water. Win for me.

But the day highlighted something Amy's been dealing with for weeks now: movement is genuinely harder in late pregnancy than people realize.

Amy can get on a stationary bike and do intervals. She can lift weights, push sleds, and break a sweat in the gym. But walking? Walking is her kryptonite.

It's not just the forward motion - it's the hip rotation, the waddle (yes, there's a waddle now), the oblique twist with each step, and the pelvic pain that comes with it. We went to Stradbroke Island this week to show our American friends the Australian wildlife (they saw dolphins, a shark, turtles, a wild kangaroo, and a wild koala - absolute win), and the gorgeous gorge walk nearly did Amy in.

So when people say, "Just walk for exercise while pregnant," remember that for many women in their third trimester, walking is actually harder than structured workouts.

Reddit Story: "My Boyfriend Said I Was Embarrassing During Birth"

This week's Reddit story hit different, probably because we're so close to our own birth experience.

A 20-year-old woman shared that during her natural birth last week, her boyfriend repeatedly whispered things like "Can you stop screaming? You're really embarrassing me." He called her vulgar names, told her that her birthing position was embarrassing, and covered his face in shame when she held the midwife's hand for comfort.

When she tried to talk to him about it postpartum, he denied ever saying it and told her she was "being silly."

Let me be clear: this is about way more than one bad moment or immature comments during a stressful situation.

The Red Flags We Can't Ignore

First, yes, they're 20 years old. That's young. Males at 20 are notoriously immature (I know I was). But having a child doesn't care about your maturity level - you're either going to rise to the occasion or you're not.

Second, the immediate postpartum period is when hormones crash, when new mothers are at their most vulnerable, when they need support more than ever. For him to not just dismiss her feelings but gaslight her by denying he ever said those things? That's dangerous territory.

Third, this reveals a fundamental lack of empathy and understanding. Birth is real. It hurts. It's messy. It's loud. It's raw and vulnerable and powerful. If you're embarrassed by your partner giving birth to your child, you're not ready to be a parent.

The update showed she tried to suggest couples counseling, he refused, and she's now staying with her mom while planning to leave him. Good. Because if someone can't handle you at your most vulnerable, they don't deserve you at your strongest.

Lessons for Partners During Birth

If you're a partner preparing for birth, here's what you need to know:

1. Your job is support, not judgment. Full stop. Your comfort level doesn't matter in that room.

2. She will be loud, messy, and possibly throwing up. This is normal. This is natural. This is your partner bringing your child into the world.

3. Hold the damn hand. If she needs physical touch for comfort, give it. Don't worry about what the medical staff thinks.

4. Never, ever make her feel ashamed of her body, her sounds, her positions, or her process.

5. If you have concerns about your behavior or readiness, talk to someone BEFORE the birth. Take a birthing class. Talk to other fathers. See a therapist. Don't wait until you're in the delivery room.

Planning Our Babymoon

On a lighter note, we're trying to plan a babymoon before baby arrives, and we're torn between staying local in Brisbane (which feels gloriously empty during the Christmas holidays) or getting slightly out of town to avoid the temptation of saying yes to social plans.

I'm realizing that my ideal holiday these days is literally doing nothing. Room service, a massage, a pool, a book. That's it. Maybe it's age, maybe it's exhaustion from work, or maybe it's knowing that "doing nothing" is about to become impossible with a newborn.

We're considering the W Hotel (Amy has a voucher from filming a music video there) or Crystal Brook by Felons. The goal is simple: disconnect, rest, and have a few final days of just the two of us before we become three.

Christmas Movie Rankings

Since it's December and we've been watching movies every night (or until Amy falls asleep, which is usually about 45 minutes in), we ranked our top Christmas movies:

Lachlan's Top 3:

1. Elf - Quotable, hilarious, perfect for adults and kids

2. The Grinch (Jim Carrey version) - Iconic performance

3. Love Actually - The intertwining stories, Hugh Grant dancing, all of it

   
   

Amy's Top 3:

1. The Grinch

2. Elf

3. The Holiday (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black)

   
   

We also watched Polar Express, which Amy loves but I found a bit too video-game-like in its animation. Still, Tom Hanks, so it gets points.

Final Thoughts: The Unfiltered Reality

This episode captured something important about our journey: pregnancy is simultaneously magical and mundane, beautiful and awkward, empowering and exhausting.

We're creating art on beaches while dealing with strangers staring. We're ranking Christmas movies while processing serious relationship red flags in other people's stories. We're planning babymoons while managing pregnancy scares.

This is the real couple goals - not perfection, but showing up for each other through all of it. The good, the weird, the uncomfortable, and everything in between.

Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, and let us know your top Christmas movies in the comments!

Are you in Perth for New Year's Eve? Come see Sheppard perform! And if you have babymoon suggestions for Brisbane or Gold Coast area, send them our way.