This Boss Mom Did Makeup While In Labor

To a lot of women, giving birth is a terrifying and delightful prospect in equal proportion, but this mom doing her makeup while in labor makes the terror part dim somewhat. The mom in question is Alaha, a 27-year-old makeup artist from New York, who had the most fabulous labor you've probably ever seen. She posted pic from of herself doing a full face of makeup mid-labor to her hugely popular Instagram @makeupbyalaha, where she has over 89,000 followers. The talented makeup artist took her full tool kit along to the hospital when she began having contractions, including an expansive palette of eyeshadows (seriously, there are so many colors, what do you even do with that!), one hundred brushes (I'm exaggerating, but as someone who has two makeup brushes, Alaha's brush collection looks immense) and everything else it takes to make a face go from beautiful to a piece of art (because makeup is like painting, a type of painting I will surely never master).

Alaha told BuzzFeed News that doing her makeup while going through labor actually had a calming effect. “I ... love to read and during the first few hours that is exactly what I did. However, reading for a few hours started to give me a headache so I figured I’d pull out my makeup bag and get to ‘baking’. I would actually advise other women to do the same! Don’t make yourself miserable during labour, do something you love! As long as your doctor is OK with it, cake that foundation on and enjoy your day!” she said.

The Internet went wild in support, because going back to the "child birth is terrifying" premise, seeing a woman do it with such fabulousness doesn't just calm the mother's nerves — it calms us down, too! Comments on Alaha's Instagram are filled with support and solidarity, one commenter writing "literally going to be me," and another writing "I love this." Alaha has even become a meme:

Meanwhile, can we please talk about this perfect cat eye? I can't do an even semi-straight cat eye when I'm sitting comfortably with 20 minutes on my hands and nothing like, say, painful contractions to distract me. Alaha over here is pushing a baby out and getting her winged tips so perfect they're worship-worthy.

Even her hubby wholeheartedly supported her:

Alaha is fierce, taking on motherhood while keeping up her passion, something that's often denied to woman (society still largely pigeonholes women in single-serving roles). We can all take a leaf out of her book, and start to live by the rule that being a mother doesn't preclude you from being a human first. And as a human, doing things you love to do. That's a powerful role model for a mother to be: a woman who knows herself and isn't afraid to be herself. Even when she's in labor.

Images: Manu Camargo/Unsplash; makeupbyalaha/Instagram