Before-and-after birth photos are always beautiful and mesmerizing, but one mom's recent side-by-side snapshot has left the internet with its mouth agape. (Quite literally.) In it, Lindsay Hay can be seen pregnant with her quadruplets at 30 weeks and 4 days — next to a more recent photo of them "on the outside," at 30 weeks and 4 days old. The stunning visual is pretty remarkable; but it's also an incredible reminder of just how much mothers go through to bring a human life (or four!) into the world.
The side-by-side photo was actually something Hay got an idea for early on in her pregnancy.
"It was something I had envisioned doing during my pregnancy should I get the opportunity to bring four healthy babies home but I never anticipated it to gain viral attention," Hay told Good Morning America this week. "For me it was a celebratory way to acknowledge the time I was able to spend growing them and comparing that to how much they’ve grown since."
The New Jersey mom proudly shared the photo February 22, where it's since racked up more than 78K likes.
"IN & OUT DAY!" she wrote in the post caption. "Full hands, full heart is an understatement! They have surpassed every hope and dream I had envisioned during my pregnancy and even though time is passing quickly I know the best is yet to be."
Of course, carrying one baby (let alone four) is a physical feat in and of itself. One that leaves behind "battle scars" moms often struggle with.
In her post, Hay acknowledged that although her body may never look quite the same again, she's made peace with what that fact — and stands in awe of what she's been able to accomplish.
"Behind these babies are new marks, rolls, and skin you can’t see but they also came with new strengths I didn’t have before either," she wrote. "We have been so BLESSED and I won’t ever let myself take this life for granted."
After the photo swept Instagram, the New Jersey mom opened up to 'GMA' about the journey she and her husband took to get here.
Hay, who also has a 4-year-old son named Carson, told the show that she conceived her quads after three rounds of Follistim, which she describes as "an injectable hormone and timed intercourse."
"I suffered from recurrent pregnancy loss and was diagnosed with poor egg quality," the mom explained.
But a little over six months ago, she and her husband happily welcomed four healthy babies to their fam: three boys — Caiden, Lucas, and Grayson — and one girl, Madison.
Adjusting to life as a mom of five -- and watching her older son grow into his big brother status -- has made these last six months pretty magical.
She's also opened up with her Instagram followers about her painful fertility journey, which involved several miscarriages before she and her husband, Syman, embarked upon fertility treatments in October 2018.
"Our first day of injections started on Halloween and I remember trick or treating with Carson and Syman feeling so hopeful that this would finally be it," she reflected in an October 2019 Instagram post.
Sadly, there would still be more hurdles in their way.
"I went on to have two more unsuccessful pregnancies after that," she continued. "The pain became suffocating and I wanted to talk about it publicly but didn’t know how. Flash forward a year later and I’m sharing footage with all of you from the day the darkness finally lifted. The day our not one, but four rainbow babies were born. It’s still so hard to believe they’re really here and that they’re mine."
Hay admitted to 'GMA' that she has received some negative feedback on the photo.
"We’ve had some rude responses like people calling it 'grotesque,' or saying 'they’d end it all if that was them.' We don’t let it get to us," Hay said.
She isn't letting a few rogue comments get her down — especially when most people have been giving the mama a virtual high-five, and congratulating her on her four healthy babies.
"We actually read through those comments and laugh because to us we hit the ultimate jackpot," she told the show.
(Sounds like the best way to react to the haters, if you ask us.)
