Pregnancy

She and husband Nick Lachey are over-the-moon about becoming parents, and that's why Vanessa (Minnillo) Lachey tweeted this new photo of her proudly showing off her bare baby bump with Nick beside her. She even referred to both of "her boys" being pictured in the photo -- what an adorable shot of the "three" of them together as a family!

Vanessa is a very petite woman, but her baby bump is actually pretty huge, which makes it even more awesome that she was willing to put it out there for the world to see.

I'm not sure why, but I was pretty bashful when I was expecting my son. I didn't like exposing my bare belly out of fear that everyone around me would notice the extra weight I'd added to my frame even more. The only time I let it all hang out was around my fourth month, when I wasn't showing too much yet. I did the bikini baby bump thing while we were on a trip to Bermuda, but that was pretty much the last time my belly touched fresh air for the remainder of my pregnancy other than when I was getting dressed.

Of course, I did break down and take one pic of my ginormous self right before delivery -- because my mom wanted to see how big I'd gotten. But I only shared that photo with her (not that anyone else would've even been interested since I didn't have Facebook at that point).

I'm fairly certain that quite a lot of other pregnant gals feel the same way I did -- but seeing photos from women like Vanessa who dare to bare just proves even further how beautiful pregnancy is, and how it's something we shouldn't be afraid to show off. The changes that happen to our bodies during that time are natural, amazing, and should absolutely be celebrated instead of hidden.

Are you shy about showing off your belly?

Image via Twitter