Ashley Graham is pregnant, she announced her pregnancy in mid July and revealed about three weeks ago that she is expecting twin boys. I know she’s not people’s favorite person, but I like her and enjoy how open and upfront she is. She always gives a good interview too. Ashley, 33, also has son Isaac, he turns two in January, with her husband of 11 years, Justin Ervin. It’s sweet that Ashley and Justin got to be together for so long without kids because they’re about to get slammed with babies. Ashley knows this, and she talked about it in a new interview with Access. Ashley is in her third trimester. She said that she’s tired of being pregnant and having heartburn, that the postpartum period is gross and that she plans to have a home birth again even though she’s expecting twins. Ashley is promoting a coffee table book called Life After Birth, which is published in conjunction with her sponsor, the cosmetic company NYX. It tries to normalize the postpartum experience and also features stories from Amy Schumer, Gabrielle Union and Sarah Michelle Gellar with proceeds to go to charity. Here’s some of what she said and the video is below.
On being pregnant and having heartburn
I am taking way more Tums this time around. The heartburn is out of control. I’ve had to give up coffee it’s so sad. I’m in my third trimester. I’m ready for it to be over. Everybody’s saying ‘it’s going by so fast.’ That’s what everybody that’s not pregnant says.
On the prospect of having three babies at home
I’m going to have three kids under the age of two for about a month until Isaac turns two in January. It’s going to be fun. Everybody has their unsolicited advice. The way that I did it with Isaac is the way that I’ll do it with my little boys. We’ll just take it as it comes. I’m so excited to meet them.
On if she realized there was a potential for twins
My grandfather is a twin and they also say that twins skip a generation, but none of my cousins or my sisters have twins. I actually had a friend that had a dream that I was gonna have twins. I was over the moon. I’ve always wanted three kids. Justin was in pure shock. He’s definitely come around now.
On postpartum, which the book tries to normalize
There’s this gross side of postpartum where you’re bleeding for possibly six weeks. You’re wearing a grown diaper. There’s not much glamour in postpartum.
On the “bounce back” culture
Instagram is fake it is not real. You can’t compare yourself to others. I kept 25 pounds on after Isaac was born and then I got pregnant again. I haven’t even gotten on a scale this time around because I just feel like I don’t need to know how much weight I have to lose.
On her plans for her birth
We’re gonna stick to home birth. I’ve got an amazing team around me, my midwives, my doula, my husband. I’m really excited about it.
Although it sounds risky to have a homebirth with twins, it’s her decision, she’ll have medical help, and the hospitals are still overrun with covid patients. Plus so many poor pregnant women are getting sick with covid, with many having contracted it before the CDC recommended that they get vaccinated. (I hope Ashley and her husband are vaccinated but I could not confirm that they are. She has not posted anything pro or against and she has worn masks in public.) Later in the interview she said that “every body is beautiful,” which has been her message all along. She also said she and Justin have names for their babies and that they sing the names to them, which is sweet. Oh and I related so much to her heartburn story! I’ve only had one baby, but I needed Tums constantly when I was pregnant.
Here’s that interview:
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