To my baby

 To my baby

You didn’t ask me to change.
But I did.
The second I knew you were coming, everything in me shifted.

It was my body that stretched to make room for you.
My ribs. My skin. My energy.
It was my mind that started worrying about things I never thought twice about.
My breath that held still until I felt you move.
My hands that rested on my belly like I could protect you from the whole world.

You will never understand how much of me you’ve already rewritten.
How many nights I’ve stayed awake making sure you were okay.
How many moments I’ve whispered to myself that I will not fail you.
How much love I’ve poured into you before I ever saw your face.

People say motherhood starts at birth.
But mine started the day you became real to me.
The day I knew you were growing inside me.
The day I realized my heart would never belong only to me again.

I carry you with everything I have.
And one day you’ll know
just how heavy
and just how beautiful
that kind of love really is.