15 Mesmerizing Photos of Parents-to-Be Sleeping (Yup, Sleeping)

When photographer Jana Romanova [1] tried to convince young, expecting Russian couples to let her shoot them while sleeping in their bedrooms early in the morning, they thought she was crazy — but a few open-minded individuals agreed to let her into their homes. So she climbed her ladder, held a camera right over their sleeping heads, and photographed them. Over and over again. Each couple portrayed is preparing to become parents in a few months, and the project investigates their attitude toward each other during the pregnancy period.

Anyone who's ever tried to get a good night's sleep while pregnant will no doubt relate to this project. I was instantly captivated, and not just because I could have never, ever shared a tiny twin bed with my husband when I was pregnant (let alone my body pillow), but mainly because each picture quietly represents the deep slumber before the wonderful storm that is having a newborn rolls into your home. So while the snaps pretty much guarantee that I will never let anyone take pictures of me while I'm passed out in my bed, luckily for us, these parents-to-be did allow Jana to creep into their homes and get a few stunning overhead shots of them.

Love what you see? Jana is currently raising money to fund a book of the images: Waiting [2] (and you can also preorder the book and other goodies there too).