I can't waitHow hard can it be?I'm terrifiedLife won't change that much.I want to give my baby what I never hadWill I be any good at thisI already love themMy whole world's about to changeWe still have no nameI felt them moveWhat if I get it wrongI hope they have your laughI want to be like my mumAm I readyI have never been this happy

All of it is love.

The strongest start they can have is the two of you.

Someone is on their way who has never existed before.

They already know your voices.

Becoming a parent asks more of you than any love you have known.

The greatest gift you can give this child is the two of you.

Steady with each other. On the same side. Long before the first night neither of you sleeps.

Married, or otherwise. Madly in love, or the best of friends. One home, or two.

Whatever brought you here, the two of you are this child's first world.

I made the father of my children practise a nappy on a teddy bear.

He thought I was being ridiculous.

Then our baby came, and he said: I am so glad you made me do that.

Paige Lamoureux

Nobody told me it would be like this.My whole world is asleep on my chest.I know now how hard it can be.We hadn't talked about any of it.I'm giving her what I never had.We were snapping at each other by week two.I've never been this tired, or this happy.I didn't know how to ask him for help.Our whole life changed in a night.I wish we'd prepared for each other, too.

This part, you can prepare for.

So you begin with each other.Months before the day comes.

甘え

ah-MAY-eh

AMAE

Eight evenings, together, before the birth

見守る

mee-mah-MOH-roo

MIMAMORU

A year · from year one

Every child arrives carrying a wonder that belongs to no other person who has ever lived.

Paige Lamoureux

itoshigo.family