No one ever told me...
How long stretch marks would last, or that my body would be "different," even after getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

No one ever told me...
My milk would let down at the most inopportune moments ... while at the grocery store or pharmacy, at the bank, or at work.

No one ever told me...
I'd learn to function with 3-1/2 hours of intermittent sleep or that I'd quickly learn the necessary skill of juggling things like calming a screaming baby, taking a telephone call, picking up a toy strewn house, quieting a barking dog, and starting a load of laundry, all at the same time.

No one ever told me...
It would take 3 times as long to leave the house, that simple errands would become major chores, grocery shopping would become my definition of "an outing," taking a drive at 2 a.m. to get the baby to stop crying could be acceptable, and eating dinner while it was still hot would be considered a luxury.

No one ever told me...
About varicose veins, hemorrhoids, aching arches or insomnia.

No one ever told me...
There would be so many self-proclaimed experts, continually telling me what to do with my child, pointing out everything I was doing wrong.

No one ever told me...
I'd be very likely to cry at the drop of a hat.

No one ever told me...
I'd learn all the words to the Barney, Wee Sing, Disney and Raffi songs, or that I'd know all the characters' names on Sesame Street, Arthur, and Blue's Clues and at what time and channel the programs could be watched, any given day of the week.

No one ever told me...
That hearing the words "I love you too Mommy" would make a bad day turn good in an instant, or hearing "I missed you mommy" would make me feel so happy to be home.

No one ever told me...
How fun a trip to the zoo, a movie, or even the grocery store could be when seen through the eyes of a child

No one ever told me...
How the smallest things, such as a child first noticing the dust floating in a ray of sunlight, or the raindrops dancing on the windshield, could bring me so much happiness, or that they'd be the first things I told my husband when he got home from work.

No one ever told me...
I'd struggle at times to maintain my own identity. Or that I'd need "alone" time only to find that about an hour away from my child, I would be ready to go home again.

No one ever told me...
I'd burst with joy as my baby reached her earliest milestones ... or that I'd secretly grieve over those same accomplishments, as they signified the departing of my baby's fleeting infancy.

No one ever told me..
I'd have a second shadow, following me around everywhere.

No one ever told me...
That before I knew it, my littlest shadow would be independent of me.

No one ever told me...
That time would move so fast. No one ever told me...

I'd appreciate my mother so greatly. No one ever told me...
I'd come to the reality of my own mortality.

No one ever told me...
I would be so overwhelmed, so awestruck, so excited, and so nervous when I brought my baby home.

No one ever told me..
My husband and I would reach a new level in our relationship: something better than we'd ever experienced.

No one ever told me...
I could love another being so fully, so completely, so selflessly and unconditionally.

On becoming a mother,
No one ever told me I could feel so fulfilled.