Happy Mama = Happy Baby

I've seen a complete flip in the way people react to me pre-pregnancy vs. now. Before it was all rainbows and butterflies, happy thoughts about motherhood, and reassurance that your life will never be complete until you experience having a child of your own. That's it's the greatest experience on earth. Now it seems so many people focus on how much I'm going to miss out on because I chose to become a mother:

1. That we should have waited since we've only been married 2 years.
2. That we haven't had all the travel experiences that we should have pre-children because now we'll never get the chance.
3. That our newlywed phase is going to be stripped from us the moment two become three.

This mind-set just baffles me. Kevin is the love of my life. I'll never stop getting butterflies when he's around. I'll never stop loving date nights with him. I'll never stop seeing the cute boy across the hall when I look at him. And I'll definitely never stop thinking of our wedding day or the day that we met as two of the best days of my life. Instead of stripping those memories of their magic, I am just going to add to the pile: the first time I hold my baby, the look on Kevin's face when he first sees her, the day she takes her first step, says her first word, and her first day of preschool. Those will be magical moments too. And I'll still be a newlywed...just instead of only being head-over-heels for my husband, it will be for my baby girl and the daddy that gave her to me.

I know there will be moments when I want to pull my hair out. I know my chances to go on a date night or to a movie by myself will be few and far between. I know there will be times when I have to call my husband for back-up or my mom to come over to hold the baby so I can just make a dent in the laundry piling up or beg my mother-in-law to come up for a visit to help with the little lady. And I know that things will get tough from time to time but won't the happy moments trump those? I choose to believe so. Everything that is worth doing is hard. I'm going to have a daughter. A part of my heart is going to be walking around outside my body. I'm going to instantly love someone the moment I see her. And, even better, I get to share this experience with my best friend of 8 years and watch him become a dad. How is that not life-changing in a positive way?

So my plea to the world is this (are you listening, coworkers?) - please don't rain on my parade. The mind is a very powerful thing. If am stressed and worried, then my baby will be stressed and worried. If I am calm and content, then my baby will be calm and content. It's that whole think happy, be happy mentality. And I'm just choosing to focus on being happy. I believe this will be a beautiful experience and that I will truly love being a mother. I appreciate all the positive experiences and uplifting stories you can pour at me. All the rest is better left unsaid.