Snooki's Toilet-Hugging Instagram Photo Shows Pregnancy Isn't All Bliss & Glow

Ah, pregnancy. Judging by the majority of celebrity Instagram feeds, it's a time filled with blissful bump photos, glamorous pregnancy glow, and the joyful anticipation about meeting this new life you created. But those of us who have been through it for ourselves know all too well this is merely a highlight reel — and that there's a completely different side of pregnancy many women are afraid to outwardly acknowledge. Which is why it's so refreshingly that Snooki's toilet-hugging photo on Instagram shows pregnancy isn't all rainbows and butterflies.

To catch you up to speed, Nicole Polizzi — AKA "Snooki" — recently revealed she is expecting her third chid. Although it isn't clear how far along the Jersey Shore star is at this point, she's apparently coping with morning sickness. This was evident by a photo she shared on Friday, Dec. 14. As E! Online reported, the expecting mom posted an Instagram photo of herself leaning over a toilet, writing, "Happy Friday!#PregnantProblems#JesusTakeTheWheel#CouldI😞." Thankfully, Snooki's Instagram followers were sympathetic to her plight — because plenty have been there, done that. A fellow mom-to-be wrote, "4 months pregnant here too. Morning sickness is horrible!!!! I don't wish it on my worst enemy!"

Another person chimed in with, "I feel girl! This is my first pregnancy and I definitely underestimated how awful sickness can be! Congratulations 🎊."

Yet another Instagram user wrote, "The sickness is real 😭 my first pregnancy was THE WORST I was throwing up multiple times a day til the day I gave birth. It's crazy how every pregnancy is different... take care of yourself and hope you feel better."

Polizzi is already the mom of a 6-year-old son, Lorenzo, and a 4-year-old daughter, Giovanna — both of whom she shares with her husband. Jionni LaValle. (So this definitely isn't her first rodeo with #PregnantProblems.) Snooki announced they were expecting their third child on Thanksgiving Day, according to ET Online. "What I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving ❤️ 🙏🏽 #family," the reality TV star captioned a post featuring photos of her kids holding a framed sonogram.

Then on Dec. 13, she revealed the sex of baby number three with a sweet YouTube video, Cosmopolitan reported. And it's a .... baby boy!

As much as I want to confirm those "it'll get get better once the second trimester rolls around" comments, unfortunately this isn't the case for everyone. (Only about half of women who get morning sickness see it ease up by 14 weeks, according to BabyCenter.) Although I experienced the worst of my nausea and vomiting during the first trimester, it lingered well into the second trimester for each of my pregnancies. Even now — as I'm less than four weeks away from my due date with my fourth child — I still have random days riddled with nausea. So yeah. I definitely empathize with Polizzi.

Hopefully, Snooki continues to hang in there through the worst of her morning sickness. Because from experience, it can be brutal, and it can feel like you're never going to get that pukey feeling to go away. But as the Jersey Shore star already knows, the nausea and vomiting eventually does ease up. And before she knows it, she'll be holding a beautiful baby boy in her arms.

After experiencing a traumatic c-section, this mother sought out a doula to support her through her second child’s delivery. Watch as that doula helps this mom reclaim the birth she felt robbed of with her first child, in Episode Three of Romper's Doula Diaries, Season Two, below. Visit Bustle Digital Group's YouTube page for more episodes, launching Mondays in December.