Becoming a mother before 25 was never part of my “plan.” Being a meticulous person, my goals and plans were laid out and written down. I assure you that nowhere on my color-coded, bulleted list was “become a young mother” written. Honestly, I would’ve laughed in the face of anyone who told me they anticipated me becoming a parent before I graduated college and got married. Life often does not go as planned, and thank God it doesnt. My life forever changed for the better after seeing “Pregnant” on the screen of a digital ClearBlue test.

We were scared before we were excited, and that’s how I imagine most young parents start out. We had no experience raising a child, and we were basically still children ourselves. What if we couldn’t provide for you? What if you grew up wishing you had better parents? Would you be happier with another family? We had every doubt imaginable. That faded rather quickly as we became overwhelmed with excitement. Each appointment made us increasingly anxious to meet our little person. Your great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone we knew were excited by the news of us expecting you.

We waited nine long months to meet you: the love of our lives. Every moment until your arrival was spent imagining what you would be like, looking at the ultrasound pictures, and preparing for you. When the moment finally came to welcome you into the world, all of the people who already loved you most were there. You were born surrounded by love. You were loved from the moment we knew of you, but the moment we first saw you, our hearts changed forever. You are our heart outside of our body. I remember embracing you for a few minutes after you were born, but for me, it felt like time stopped. I examined every feature of your face. I held you on my chest, tears streaming down my face, for what felt like an hour but was maybe three minutes. I felt as if time froze when I finally had you in my arms. My heart had never been more full. I will always cherish the feeling I felt in those moments

Every single day I love you more. I thought I loved you more than anything when I heard your heartbeat. I thought I loved you more than anything when I saw the little bean on the screen. I thought I loved you more than anything when I first saw you and heard your sweet cry. Truthfully, each day I love you more than the last. That will never change. Watching you discover the world, learn new sounds, reach milestones, and smile at everyone you see fills my heart with joy and amplifies the love that I have for you. The love between a mother and her baby cannot be described; it can only be felt. There will never be words strong enough for me to explain how much I love you, but one day, if you have a child of your own, you’ll understand just how powerful that love is. It is a love so pure and beautiful.

You fixed everything that was broken. Before you, I was hurting. I was lost. I was in a low place. I remember being pregnant with you and seeing a quote about God giving a baby to someone when they need a reason to live, and I thought of that every single day because you were my reason to keep going. Even before your birth, but especially after, you brought happiness to my life in a way I have never experienced. You took me, a girl very disconnected from her family, and you made family the center of my life. You brought two families together and now have two huge groups of people that are crazy about you. You have given me a purpose. You have changed the way I look at the world. You changed my definition of happiness. You mended the pieces of my heart that were broken. You teach me patience daily. You show me how simple it is to find joy in small things. You are the light of my life. To me, you are doing more than existing each day. You are giving me a reason to exist, and you continue to heal wounds that I never thought were repairable. My heart is whole again thanks to you

Thank you for allowing me to be your mother because you have saved my life and shown me what true love is. There will never be a day that I don’t love you more than the sun, the moon, and all the stars. Thank you, sweet baby, for restoring pieces of me that I thought I would never get back and for filling every part of my life with love and happiness. You are my saving grace.

I love you, B