Moms: Put down the cup of coffee, grab an empty mug and get ready to take a swig of cuteness.
A new online photo trend called "baby mugging" shows coffee mugs filled with adorable little munchkins instead of ever-so-wonderful java. The pics are so cute, you'll (almost) forget how much you need a real cup of coffee.
Ilana Wiles, mom blogger behind Mommy Shorts, started this trend when she put her 5-month-old baby on the floor and held a coffee mug close to the camera so it looked like the bottom half of baby Harlow was "inside" the mug, she explains in a Huffington Post article.
"The result was what looked like a miniaturized baby actually hanging out in my morning cup of coffee," Wiles writes. She posted the photos to her blog, Facebook and Instagram, and the trend took off from there.
"It's super easy and works for kids of all size – and pretty soon my feed was full of hundreds of people posting #babeinamug pics," she says. People have taken pictures of kids of all ages, dogs and even other adults, she adds.
Want to try taking one of these "mug shots" at home? Here's how:
- Grab your favorite mug from the kitchen cupboard and your camera, iPhone or smartphone
- Lay your baby on the floor or on a bed, or have your older child lie down themselves
- Hold the mug sideways and close to the camera over your child, so it looks like half of their body is "inside" the mug.
- Snap the pic!
Note: For parents of older kids, have them make a funny face or put their arms up in the air for fun results.
Then, join the craze online. Post your pics on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #babeinamug or #babymugging. Just want to browse other cute baby mugging shots? Search the hashtags on Twitter or Instagram to look at more mugs full of kiddies. They're sure to make you smile!