To have exchanged the voucher

[HemelHan]

DM bought me a voucher for a maternity photo shoot. Honestly I find them so cringe and it’s really not me so I contacted the photographer who agreed to exchange it for a newborn photo shoot with me paying the difference.

DM said she would have happily paid for a newborn one too and it’s a shame etc etc. but surely it’s better than wasting the voucher?

YANBU. No point in keeping a voucher you won’t use, and daft to use a voucher for photos you don’t want.

There’s no way I’d do a maternity shoot and there’s no way I’ll ever regret not doing one in the past so I’m with you 100%!

A maternity photo shoot? A photo shoot of Op pregnant? I can say in the 25 years since I was pregnant I have never once regretted not having professional photos of it. Never even thought about it.

YANBU to not want a maternity photoshoot. I also find them cringey so I can see why you wouldn’t want one.

YABU (in my opinion) to have changed the gift without giving your mum a heads up. Just would have been the polite thing to do, I think.

I think your reasons are totally fair but I'd probably have let her know before I contacted the photographer.

Maternity shoots ARE cringe and a little bit tacky, IMHO.

She won't 🙄

25 years on and there's nothing about my pregnant self I need reminding of, beyond the existence of my children!

Why do you think this? Do you know the OP?

Or do you actually think that deep down, most women regret not having had themselves professionally photographed during pregnancy?

It probably would have been good to give MIL a heads up, she clearly interpreted it as you thinking it was one or the other.

I think it’s a thoughtful gift, the photos could have been as posed and styled or as relaxed as you wanted and often even though some women don’t feel their best during pregnancy they do have an appreciation for it after and c can enjoy seeing how their body changed.
Neither is right or wrong though.

It was thoughtful of your dm but not to your taste so you’ve done the best thing in swapping it. That way the gift doesn’t go to waste.

2 years later and I still don’t regret not going a pregnancy photo shoot.

Why would you regret it?

Yet another cringey tacky thing to add to the list, along with baby showers and gender reveal parties.

I’d have done the same, OP!

Really????

From my pov...
3 kids, no maternity photoshoots.
No regrets

Totally not unreasonable

No regrets here.

If it's not your thing then it's not your thing.

I don't think I have any photos of me (obviously) pregnant at all.

No newborn photoshoots either, plenty of photos though and no regrets there either. Just in case anyone is wondering...

Don't be ridiculous, how can you possibly know what the op will or won't think. She's not you.

Why. So glad I never had a photo of me pregnant

I had normal pics taken of me throughput my pregnancy. Never once have I wished I'd gone to a photoshoot

It's a bizarre gift to give someone if they haven't requested it. I would be horrified at having my photo taken, posing in a studio with a stranger while heavily pregnant. It just looks so cringe!

And I can't stop envisaging Demi Moore and all her copycats posing naked while pregnant on a magazine cover. If she can't make it look good, nobody can, haha!

It's good you exchanged it for a newborn one. Then you'll still have photos of that time, just there's more point when you can actually see the baby! Hopefully your husband can understand your reasons.

If you'll let him, he could take a few arty pregnant pictures of you if he really loves and wants to capture that look.

I can guarantee you I won’t 🤣

I have plenty of “bumpdate” photos to look back on for myself. I absolutely do not want to pose away with my belly out in front of a random like I’m a B list celeb in Hello.

I think it’s tacky, cringey, and I would never display or have use for the photographs.

also - I am going to give my DM a photo of the baby to put up in her house, so she will get benefit too. I would NO WAY let her put up or have a maternity shoot one 😂

I don’t think DH really gives a shit either way 🤣 If I wanted to do it all I think he’d go along with it but he really doesn’t get all of the stuff that people do (gender reveal/photo shoots etc/baby showers..)

but we went to a baby shower and he said “but the baby isn’t here yet?” Haha

I agree

@HemelHan I'm so sorry, I misread your OP and thought it was DH who bought you the voucher. Lol @ the baby shower comment though!
The rest of what I said still makes vague sense though hopefully! 🤣

People said this to me about having a wedding video, they were wrong :) If the OP doesn’t want it she doesn’t want it.