Dear Pregnant Self

Stop worrying! You will only get one tiny stretch mark on your hip. You'll call it "Ayden's Mark" and you'll love it.

Buy nice new bras early on in your bigger size, it will be totally worth it.

All the hard work you are putting in with healthy eating and exercise will pay off! You will feel AMAZING up until the very end.

Though 29 pounds seems like a lot, you'll lose it all, and then some, in just 2 months. You'll look almost like your old self in 3.

Take the naps that everyone keeps telling you to, even if you feel good.

Your labor and delivery experience will change the way that David sees you and the way you see yourself. You and your body are amazing!

Read a couple of sleep training books BEFORE he comes...

You will be very emotional for the first couple of weeks after you bring Ayden home and will cry a lot.  This is normal! It will peak at 2 weeks and by 4 weeks you will feel completely like yourself again.

Don't let yourself, or anyone else, expect ANYTHING more from you for those first 4 weeks than to rest and take care of Ayden.

Ayden is going to have a couple of VERY fussy weeks that will be very hard.  You'll figure it all out and looking back, you won't remember it as being so bad.

Sleeping on your stomach again will feel as glorious as you remembered!

Speaking of sleep, you are going to be TIRED but somehow you'll make it work.

You know how much you love being pregnant? Well it's absolutely NOTHING compared to how much you will love being a mommy to this little monkey!

Taken today, 4/17/12

~ The mommy version of you :)