Mariah Carey, Pregnant, Bares Baby Belly

April 6, 2011— -- Now that her bump is out of the bag, Mariah Carey is no longer shy about baring her baby (make that babies) belly.

Days after tweeting a picture of her twin-size belly painted like a giant Easter egg with a red and blue butterfly, Carey struck a Demi Moore-like pose on the cover of Life & Style's latest issue.

"I was feeling very vulnerable about taking pictures at all right now, but then I didn't want to miss this opportunity to document this once-in-a-lifetime experience," Carey told the magazine. "My ultimate goal was to share this incredibly personal moment with my true fans."

Carey is weeks away from giving birth to twins -- a boy and a girl -- with her husband Nick Cannon. But already the girl is showing signs of being her mother's daughter.

"The babies were kicking almost the entire time; it was unbelievable," Carey said. "Especially the girl -- clearly she's a diva in training! We didn't start shooting until 1:30 a.m. because I was in the hospital from the night before until the day of the shoot with contractions five minutes apart!"

Carey is referring to her scare on March 27, her 42nd birthday, when she was rushed to the hospital after having premature contractions.

She later tweeted that mom and babies were doing fine: "They almost came on 3/27- happy anniversary indeed!!! We have a few more weeks 2 go but- wow!!! : ) #soreadyallready!"

A day later, she posted the photo of her painted belly with a butterfly and the words "dem babies" painted on it.

Carey told Life & Style that her pregnancy has changed her view of motherhood.

"Now I have so much respect for mothers everywhere, especially those who've had difficult pregnancies or given birth to multiples," she said. "We need to have Mother's Day once a week!"

In the past, pregnant Carey has lamented about her swollen fingers, super-sensitive nose and unparalleled taste buds while.

The pop diva joins a parade of other stars, including Christina Aguilera and Claudia Schiffer, who have bared their pregnant bellies for a magazine cover. Actress Demi Moore was the first to set the trend, on the August 1991 cover of Vanity Fair. At the time, the star of "Ghost" was pregnant with daughter Scout, now 19.

Cindy Crawford followed on the June 1999 cover of W magazine with a caption that said "Move over, Demi." She was expecting son Presley Walker, now 11.

Mariah Carey Pregnant With Twins

Brooke Shields opted not to take it all off, but still managed to look sexy while pregnant with her daughter Rowan, now 7, and wearing a clingy, wet dress on the April 2003 cover of Vogue.

Three years later, Britney Spears' raven hair was almost as surprising as her nude pregnant pose on the August 2006 cover of Harper's Bazaar. Spears gave birth to her second son, Jayden, shortly after the magazine hit the stands, then filed for divorce from the baby's father, Kevin Federline, a few months later.