You’re the center of the universe: When your little one arrives, you’ll be the sun and the moon to him or her. Your voice will soothe, your arms will comfort and it will be your loving embrace that seems to magically lull your babe to sleep.

Everything is new again: As cheesy as it sounds, having a baby around forces you to look at life with new perspective. Your son or daughter will be mesmerized by the swirling blades of a ceiling fan and – lo and behold – the way it spins and sends your curtains aflutter is suddenly incredible to you too. Neighborhood dogs, a clear blue sky, a stranger’s kind face – everything ordinary is now fascinating again.

You’re insanely productive: Give this one a few weeks. Heck, give it a few months. Once you hit your stride as a new mom, you’ll find you get more done than ever before. When baby starts sleeping through the night and you have a chance to rest up, you’ll use daytime naps to cross items off your to-do list like it’s going out of style.

You’re a kinder person: Having dealt with your own inconsolable newborn, you’re more apt to shoot a mom of a screaming kid a sympathetic look than the eye roll you may have afforded her pre-baby. Welcoming a little one into the world enters you into the mom club, where your heart swells and bleeds for every triumph and sadness a fellow mom goes through.

You (finally) love your body: After growing a miniature human and then laboring and delivering said human, your body could not be more amazing to you. While new motherhood comes with its share of stretch marks, stitches, extra pounds and more, you can’t help but marvel at your own strength and the beauty of it all.
The small things seem important again: Two words – morning snuggles. Sure, you may be  waking up at 6 a.m., but padding to the nursery to bring your warm and wiggling baby back to bed with you makes it all worth it. In the same vein, hiring a sitter and sneaking out to dinner with your partner is a total treat. Let’s not even talk about how indulgent a long, hot shower can be.