'A friend of mine died': New mother Grimes shows off her baby bump for Italian Vogue cover shoot as she discusses how 'demanding it was to be pregnant during a pandemic'(16 Pics)

Grimes gave birth to a baby boy with Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this week and the singer also appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia. 

The singer, 32, shows off her bump as photographer Ryan McGinley shot her during the ninth month of pregnancy, immersed in California with Gothic outlines. 

During an accompanying interview, Grimes discussed how demanding it was to be pregnant during the coronavirus pandemic and said her friend had died. 

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'A friend of mine died: New mother Grimes showed off her bare pregnancy bump for Vogue Italia cover shoot as she discussed how 'demanding it was to be pregnant during a pandemic'

Talking to the publication recently, Grimes said: 'It is certainly very demanding to be pregnant in the middle of a pandemic. It's hard not to be able to see friends and family. 

'A friend of mine recently died and it was a nightmare not being able to be close to her loved ones. It won't be easy in the hospital, I don't go into details but I feel very empathetic with those who are going through this phase. 

'And I trust what the maternity wards are doing to manage the situation, I have great respect for the work of the doctors.'

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She said: 'A friend of mine recently died and it was a nightmare not being able to be close to her loved ones. It won't be easy in the hospital, I don't go into details but I feel very empathetic with those who are going through this phase'

Grimes said she is taking a positive look at the future post-coronavirus. 

She said: 'I wonder if there will be a reduction in consumerism. If people fly less, it can only be good. The same goes for petrol cars and everything else. 

'This is an opportunity to start thinking about how we live, even if it is painful. We are already observing an interesting change in consumption habits and I see more and more people walking in my neighborhood. It seems to be like the 90s (laughs).'

Announcing her Vogue shoot on Instagram, Grimes wrote: 'I was having a baby this week so I literally didn’t realize my Italian Vogue cover came out!!

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Happy: Grimes gave birth to her first baby with Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this week

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She wrote on Instagram: 'my brain is mega fried right now' as she spoke about motherhood 

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'This is an honor of the highest order': Grimes wrote about the cover shoot on social media 

'Simulation feels like its at level 10 atm. Might be offline for a bit as of today, but this is an honor of the highest order! Thanks so much I want to write more but my brain is mega fried right now. Love G.' 

Her partner Elon shared the first pictures of the baby, his sixth son and her first child.

One showed him cradling the baby in his arms while in the hospital and the other showed his son lying in bed with a tattoo filter applied. 

Elon, 48, had taken the decision to post the image after a fan wrote: 'A pic of you holding the baby would break the internet ... please share one.'  

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Happy arrival: Elon Musk shared the first pictures of his newborn son with singer Grimes on Twitter on Tuesday - her first child and his sixth 

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Bizarre: Musk shared a tweet saying the baby boy's name is X Æ A-12 Musk

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Unusual post: Grimes shared this picture of her angelic newborn but added a strange tattoo filter to the baby's face

Playful: He had jokingly written to a fan the above post as he had a little fun on social media 

You would break the internet: Elon had posted the image of his newborn after this fan begged him to do so 

And he had also responded to a follower who had like the tattooed image, writing: 'Thanks :) Never too young for some ink haha.'

The Tesla CEO had announced the happy news of his baby's arrival via Twitter, tweeting on Monday evening: 'Mom & baby all good'.  

In response to a user's Tweet that read: 'We need the name we literally need it,' Elon replied, 'X Æ A-12 Musk.'

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The latest: The Tesla CEO, 48, tweeted: "Mom & baby all good," after Grimes, 32, delivered the child

It was not immediately clear if the new dad Musk was having fun with his followers with this tweet, which could be partially inspired by one of the songs from 32-year-old Grimes' last album - 4ÆM.

Still, fans were figuring out how to pronounce the very nontraditional moniker.  

One Twitter user theorized that the name is pronounced 'X Ash Archangel,' as 'Ash' is how the Scandinavian letter Æ is pronounced.

A-12 would then refer to the Lockheed A-12 aircraft used by the CIA, which has been nicknamed 'archangel.' 

And though Musk offered no confirmation, he did endorse the tweet with a 'like' - suggesting the tweeter could be right.

One Twitter user had another idea, suggesting: 'X for SpaceX, AE for After Earth and A-12 for the original SR-71 designation which was the first reusable vehicle to go to space.' 

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What's in a name? One Twitter user suggested the name was pronounced 'X Ash Archangel' because Æ is pronounced 'Ash' in Scandinavian alphabets and 'Archangel' is the nickname for the Lockheed A-12 aircraft

The unusual choice immediately had fans guessing what it might mean, and how to pronounce the series of letters and numbers

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Another shared links to pages explaining the unusual stream of letters and deduced it would mean the name is: 'Ash Lockheed Musk. Final Answer.'

But while some tried to decipher what it means, for many the name was just too confusing. 

One Twitter user joked: 'Musk: We name our baby X Æ A-12 Midwife: Sir our bracelet printer won't print that Musk: Let me fix that for you, have this Midwife: Sir that is a submarine.'

Another said: 'But pronounced “Musk” because the X Æ A-12 is silent.' 

One replied to Musk: 'That’s gonna be tough on the teacher' 

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And one user suggested: 'It’s pronounced “Rachel”.'

One fan said: 'That awkward moment when all names are taken, so you smash all the keys on the keyboard.'

The tech mogul is father to five sons from his previous marriage. Tragically, Musk lost his first child Nevada in 2002 at 10 weeks old as result of SIDS.

Grimes publicly revealed her pregnancy with a social media shot of a baby bump in January, and later openly speaking about her pregnancy with followers. 

The So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth artist wrote: 'I’m sorry I haven’t been promoting my album properly or on social media more. This whole thing has been a bit of an ordeal.'

Confirmation: The Tesla CEO announced the birth of his sixth child 

She added that she 'had some complications early on,' and completed 'a decent second trimester' but was aching at the 25-week mark.

'I feel like I was woefully ill prepared cuz I dunno if pregnancy is as visible or discussed as it should be,' she said. 'I just didn’t [really] understand what I was getting into.'

In March, she said to Rolling Stone of her romance with the SpaceX innovator, which began two years ago this month: 'I do actually just really love my boyfriend.'

In the chat with the publication, the Canadian beauty said that she 'just did not understand what I was getting into at all' in dating the famous businessman.

'No one believes me about this,' she said. 'Not that I’m mad about it. I just didn’t think it would be a thing. The s*** that’s happened with my boyfriend this year has overwritten so much of my life’s work.' 

Grimes in February said she wants to let her baby choose their own gender identity.

When asked whether she's expecting a boy or a girl during a YouTube live stream  (which has since been made private), the musical artist said, 'I don't want to say the gender of the baby ... because I feel like their privacy should be protected. 

'I don't think they can consent to being famous or being in public.'

Grimes also revealed she doesn't want to 'gender' her baby, saying they can 'decide their fate and identity' on their own accord.

'I don't want to gender them in case that's not how they feel in their life,' she said. 'I don't know, I just feel like it doesn't need to be known ... They may decide their fate and identity.'