Worth the wait: The first public pic of Michelle Bridges' son Axel.

It’s here folks: the first pictures of Michelle Bridges’ new baby.

We suspected her elusive Instagram presence had a magazine deal behind it, and we were right.

Bridges, 45, posed with little Axel, who was born in December, for the latest issue of the Australian Woman’s Weekly.

Behold:

In the accompanying story, Bridges calls Axel, her child with fellow fitness guru Steve “The Commando” Willis, “the best thing I’ve ever done”.

“I’ve got this mother instinct that people always talk about,” the proud, sleep-deprived new mum says. “It’s quite fierce and protective.”

The couple spent Christmas with their new son as well as Willis’s three children from two previous relationships.

Bridges faced lots of criticism for her intense workout regimen while pregnant; now she’s facing more over her post-partum exercising.

She posted a her post-birth workout online to followers who asked her about how she plans to get back into shape.

#MBactive only available @bigwaustralia

A photo posted by Michelle Bridges (@mishbridges) on Jan 11, 2016 at 4:35pm PST

New mothers are advised against high-impact exercise like running in the first three months after birth, so of course, she was castigated.

“If an individual decides to jog soon after giving birth, this is their choice,” Women In Focus Physiotherapy posted to its Facebook page in response to Bridges advice.

“However as a public figure encouraging women who’s [sic] body types, birth and fitness histories are unknown, to start jogging is quite frankly concerning. It could potentially cause a woman more harm than good in these early stages, especially to the pelvic floor and the ligaments that support the bladder, uterus and bowel.”

Bridges acknowledged the criticism in AWW, noting “a lot of people were freaked out that I was exercising”.