Expectant mom Page Miller, 24, wasn’t interested in a Beyoncé-style maternity shoot. She’s not perfect, she doesn’t always have time to comb her hair, she eats cheese balls and she’s “Pregnant AF.”
According to her, she’s a “Target Mom.”
So, at 35 weeks pregnant, Miller told TODAY that she and her best friend Heather Pippin, who is a photographer, walked into a Target where she lives in Arnold, Missouri, to have some “mom-life fun.”
Pippin, the 27-year-old artist behind Inspired by a True Story Photography, thought of the photo concept. But the very pregnant Miller and the easy-going Pippin didn’t do much planning.
“If you know me, you know I have a huge love for Target. It’s where I do 90 percent of my shopping," Miller told TODAY. "Other than the sitting on the floor, everything we did in the photos we’ve done before.”
The images beautifully capture Miller and her 3-year-old daughter Avery at their most free-spirited.
“I let Avery go a little crazy that day because, well, life gets crazy and we should all have a little more fun I think,” said Miller of the shopping expedition.
Despite the lighthearted nature of the shoot, the day took a more meaningful turn when the group veered into the baby aisle.
Miller is now 39-weeks pregnant with her rainbow baby, Malin.
In September of last year, Miller lost her second child, Clarke, to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
“Pretty much anything we do we try to incorporate Clarke. He’s our Clark Kent. He’s Superman,” Miller said.
Miller and her fiancé Brad Fincher chose not to find out the sex of their third child, so when Miller found two Superman onesies, she bought them both.
“After Clarke passed away, Superman really became our sign. It always reminds me to take a deep breath. Whenever I see it, I think of Clarke saying to me ‘Mom, I’m here… it’s OK,'” she said.
Miller treasures these maternity photos not just for the fun she had with little Avery but because they remind her to savor every moment.
Malin – a unisex name Miller and Fincher chose for their third baby – will arrive any day. "The name means little warrior, " according to Miller. "And the symbol for Malin is an arrow. It means you have to be pulled back to move forward.”
Miller, Fincher and Avery are excited to move forward and also continue remembering their angel Clarke.
“Life’s hard. Avery is at a hard age. This last year has been hard. Being pregnant and huge … It’s all hard," she said. "These photos remind me to value the moment. We can’t take everything too seriously."
