"[Bees] came into my life in a time that we had just suffered a miscarriage. It was our second miscarriage and we were trying to get pregnant," she said. "I wanted to find an outlet for that emotion. That's where everything fell into place for me - when honeybees entered into my life."
Mueller, 33, enlisted her friend, photographer Kendrah Damis, to take the photos which rapidly accumulated more than 2 million views and 5,000 shares on social media.
"I am actually very shocked," Damis said. "When she told me that I didn't get overly excited. It didn't really hit me that it could be something big. But now, 2 million people have seen photos that I took."
Mueller said she consulted with three different doctors before the shoot, but didn't expect any issues as she was aware of how her body responds to bee stings.
She was stung three times during the shoot when she unknowingly sat on a bee and accidentally crushed bees on her lip and arm.
"None of the bees intentionally stung me," Mueller said. "It was my own fault. I didn't realize there was one on my arm."
Mueller also hoped the popularity of her maternity photos would highlight the importance of honeybees.
"Honeybees are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat," she said. "If we don't have bees, we don't have food and we die."
