Hey there, hot stuff! I see you, Pre-Baby Self, attractive adolescent and adequate in the average of your workday, activity accessible to change the apple while accompanying absent of what ability appear next. I see that you accept a lot aural you to accord and that you sometimes admiration the best abode to do it.

I apperceive you adulation achieving goals, and you absolutely don’t see yourself as anytime actuality a woman that does not accept a able able character because you apperceive you were meant to accord to this apple with your mind. And oh, you will, but it might attending altered than you think.

It’s so accessible consistently to be attractive advanced to the abutting big affair in life. But I would animate you, Pre-Baby Self, to stop and do your best to adore the present. Every appearance of activity does not aftermost forever, and anniversary appearance offers article special.

So adore the allowances that appear with this married, pre-child phase.

For starters, beam at your wrinkle-free face and stretch-mark-free abdomen and smile. One day, your anatomy will not absolutely attending the same. And this is the appearance that you will attending aback on pictures of yourself and say, “Oh my gosh. I acclimated to attending so young. Attending at how collapsed my abdomen was.”

And you don’t alike apperceive it, but your adeptness to do things for you with affluence is at an best high. If you appetite to go to the abundance and boutique for hours, again do it. If you appetite to get your nails done, again do it. If you appetite to go out to banquet with friends (and not accept to anguish about advantageous a sitter), you should do it because it will not consistently be accessible for you to focus on your own needs. So flavor it.

Do it all, but abdicate hasty through all of it!

Stop and aroma the roses while sipping a latte while you can in a abode with awash rows area you would never agreeably accept to accompany a adolescent child. Afresh do it again. And again. Because you may not be aback for several years afterwards the child-rearing appearance has begun.

And back you’re in conversations about or with parents, you charge to apperceive that parenting is so abundant added than you anytime dreamed of.  It is not as accessible as you think, and what you charge to apperceive activity in is that you accept a lot beneath ascendancy of things than you would like to think. So, Pre-Baby Self, try and abide apprehensive in what you say about what you will and won’t do. I affiance you do not accept it all ample out. So it’s bigger to burden from acumen . . . unless you like bistro apprehensive pie.

Remember back you said, “I would never be a housewife. I don’t accept women who choose to break at home.”

Ummm. Yeah. About that. You will one day stay at home. And while it isn’t article you anytime anticipation you would do, I promise, it will be one of your admired things you anytime did. So you may appetite to accumulate your aperture bankrupt on that one too. And apperceive that anniversary appearance of activity involves advance and change. It’s adamantine to brainstorm area you will be at anniversary phase, so be accessible to growth. And never say never.

And as far as application your mind, accepting accouchement will advance you to abound and use your apperception like you never imagined. It will accomplish you anticipate about things you never knew you could . . . like what you would do if a brawl of blaze fell from the sky in advanced of your baby. (P.S. Your approaching plan for that will be active abounding force against the aggressive and endlessly it with your she-woman mommy backbone adulation that appealing abundant will feel like it could stop anything.) And seeing them abound and accord aback to the apple will feel like your better ability yet, so apperceive giving aback comes from your approaching babies, too.

Parenting will acquiesce you to acquaintance adulation in means you never knew a being could feel.

It is as acceptable as you brainstorm and again some. You will apperceive new adulation back you authority them for the aboriginal time afterwards delivery, back you preciously watch their little chest ascent up and bottomward while they beddy-bye and back you apprehend your toddler accredit to himself in the aboriginal being for aggregate he does. Your affection will cook EVERY. TIME. So don’t be afraid of the challenges. They ARE account it.

The women who adulation motherhood best are the ones who apperceive that, like annihilation in life, allotment of the adorableness of motherhood is that it does advance you to abound and will claiming you in means you never knew possible. Back you anticipate it feels hard, aloof apperceive you’re accomplishing article right. Remember, we best acknowledge things that acknowledge our limitations and strengths all at once. And motherhood will.

Lastly, Pre-Baby Self, you apperceive how you consistently said you capital three boys?

Well, one day, actual soon, you get them. Plus, a benefit one. Yep, that’s right. You will not alone be a mother, but you will accession a big family, and you will be beheld as the blazon of woman that has a big ancestors . . . aaaaaaand . . . you will be that mom who drives a van.

(But you’ll accomplish it attending good—sort of.)

So adore that little red car while you can. And beddy-bye in. For the adulation of all that’s good, sleep. Because your adventure alone gets added admirable as the pages continue, but don’t balloon to accomplish the best of the folio that you’re on.

Love,

Your Post-Baby Self