Aged 19 and wearing braces, Alex Nation's pregnancy photos emerge.

There’s no denying that baby bumps are the best kind of bumps.

And we’re happy to report that Alex Nation’s is no different.

Having been announced as the winner of Richie Strahan’s heart on Thursday night’s finale of The Bachelor, it was naturally only a matter of time until a serious trawling of the 24-year-old mother of one’s Instagram account began.

Cute! Alex and Richie after the finale. Source: Channel 10.

And deep dive we did, eventually stumbling upon a beautiful picture of a then 19-year-old Alex pregnant with her now five-year-old son, Elijah.

The Bachelor's Alex pregnant with her son, Elijah. Post continues... 

A photo posted by alexandra nation (@alexandranation) on May 28, 2013 at 3:44pm PDT

"I absolutely loved being pregnant," the Victorian-based mum wrote in a caption alongside the image of herself wearing a bikini.

"It was such a special time in my life, carrying my little man. Here I was 35 weeks, 5 weeks off meeting Elijah for the very first time. I remember being very eager, excited and impatient at this stage!"

Speaking about her son at length throughout the Channel 10 series, Alex says that despite winning three months ago, Richie is still yet to meet her son, who is now in primary school.

“I don’t think there is any reason to rush into something like that. Even though the show has finished and ended, that relationship would only be starting out in the ‘real world’,” she said.

“There’s definitely no rush to introduce them. It’s about us being together and laying those foundations first.”

For now, the pair says they're simply happy to have their relationship out in the open, with family meetings and long-term plans set to be made down the track.