“That’s my world.” Carrie Bickmore on her iconic “Instagram versus reality” parenting snapshot.

When Carrie Bickmore did the unthinkable on Instagram earlier this year, many considered it a public service for new mums all over Australia.

Sharing an “Instagram verses reality” snapshot of parenting, The Project host’s raw glimpse into life as a new mum struck a chord with her 626,000 followers. Thousands praised her for her “realness” and refreshing honesty, something we rarely see in the #blessed realm of mummy blogging.

The post featured two photos – one, a superbly candid shot of her dozing in a straw hat with a perfectly peaceful expression as though birds had sung her and then-four-week-old Addie to sleep, and the second, Carrie fast asleep, legs splayed on the couch, with the tiny child tucked under her arm. Looking happy – albeit exhausted – and like we’d expect any new mum to look.

 

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INSTAGRAM verses REALITY (swipe right) ???? 1st pic was taken on a flattering angle, with some props, some casual hand positioning, some clever cropping and a nice little filter added. The 2nd was the real moment captured without my knowledge a couple of weeks after Adelaide was born before I woke up and suggested we take a nice shot. ????

A post shared by Carrie Bickmore (@bickmorecarrie) on Feb 11, 2019 at 2:16pm PST

“First pic was taken on a flattering angle, with some props, some casual hand positioning, some clever cropping and a nice little filter added,” Carrie wrote in the caption.

“The second was the real moment captured without my knowledge a couple of weeks after Adelaide was born before I woke up and suggested we take a nice shot.”

Watch Carrie speaking to Charlie Pickering about the post on The Weekly. Post continues after.

The post rightly garnered a flood of praise. This is what we should be seeing on Instagram.

“God bless you Carrie for your honesty,” wrote one fan.

“I can feel the newborn tiredness through the photo,” commented another.

“Motherhood sheer exhaustion! thanks for sharing this real life pic … can def relate! You are the best,” shared another.

Her fellow Project co-host, Gorgi Coghlan and Christian Hull – the video producer for her radio show with Tommy Little, Carrie & Tommy – have also praised the journalist for her frankness.

“Oh this is gold Bickmore x,” wrote Gorgi in the comments.

“THIS. IS. GOLD! I’m loving Adelaide just living her best life tucked under your arm,” shared Christian.

Speaking to Charlie Pickering on The Weekly last night, the mum of Oliver, Evie and Adelaide opened up about what really happened before the iconic photo was posted.

And it’s all-too relatable.

In between juggling two (now three) children, her very busy job and keeping her mind and body in check, Carrie Bickmore is very busy. She tells us how she does it all.

“When Chris, my partner, took the original photo I was asleep,” Carrie shared when Charlie asked “why ruin the fairytale?”.

“When I woke up … he said to me, ‘I took the most beautiful photo of you and Addie just then’,” she continued.

“I had in my head how it was going to look and then when he showed it to me I was like, ‘Oh my god, is that what I look like?’ I was mortified. I was pale, I was drained, I was exhausted. I had a four-week-old baby, that’s what I should have looked like.”

She asked Chris to “take another one” – an all-too familiar phrase.

This, she says, is when she realised she was trying to produce a moment that had already been captured in its finest form. Raw, real and honest.

 

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5 and a half months. I want to push pause! She has teeth, is tasting food and soon she’ll be in high school ???? life really does whizz past so damn quick. ????

A post shared by Carrie Bickmore (@bickmorecarrie) on May 17, 2019 at 6:42pm PDT

“But then when I looked at it I realised there was not a single bit of the emotion of the original moment, and I think I felt disappointed in myself that I hadn’t liked the first moment because that was me and my newborn baby girl in a moment together,” she explained.

“That’s my world most of the time.”

Carrie, who was in London recently to receive her OAM for her service to brain cancer awareness, is set to return to The Project desk on July 8 after an eight-month maternity leave break. Adelaide – her second child with partner Chris Walker – was born December 9 2018.

 

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Welcome to the world little ADELAIDE (or Addie as your siblings have already started calling you ????) We are absolutely besotted with you ????

A post shared by Carrie Bickmore (@bickmorecarrie) on Dec 8, 2018 at 7:59pm PST

During her time away from The Project, the 38-year-old has been very truthfully sharing the ups and downs of parenting her newborn, from painful mastitis flare ups, to broken sleep and conversely, the baby cuddles.

Her social media presence is an all-important reminder that in the glamorised world of Instagram – which can so often make us feel inferior – things aren’t always as they seem.