Allison Cooper

There is no way around it, whenever you find yourself in a fashion rut, it’s pretty difficult to get out of. A fashion rut puts us in a place of comfort, where it’s very difficult to break free and expose ourselves to any newness that might be out there in the fashion world to explore — because we are too content with where we are.

The last thing you want to do is turn baby-making into work. At least for the first three to six months, make this a special time with you and your partner before you become obsessed with ovulation kits and the numerous gadgets and such on the market.

I know these kids need both parents in their lives to learn to grow to be successful human adults, but some days, I’d like to be remembered as the fun parent.

There are days when you look in the mirror at yourself, nights when you looks at your husband, and moments when you squeeze your son that you wonder if you have anything left to give. You have given so much to being a mom that there are moments when you lose sight of it all. Don’t lose sight of me, the person that you were before and the things that made your happy. Don’t let me disappear.

Just like anything else in the world, the struggle is very real. It’s my struggle and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. Every day I get to experience my joy, my downfalls, and my life — and no one can really judge unless they have walked my path.

When I brought my son into the world, I thought that he would be an awful lot like me. He had to be, right? He grew inside me; I nourished him; I was the one home with him day in and day out during those very impressionable years, while my husband worked a grueling military schedule — yet there are few similarities to be found.

I've noticed that some moms include some pretty wild descriptors on their Twitter profiles. While some are out-there and some are just plain boring, reading them has left me scratching my head, wondering that they would waste their 140 characters on these terms.

Pregnancy changes more than just your body and your emotions: it changes the “stuff” that you need on a daily basis, too. I didn’t realize just how much I needed — or how the packing game had changed — until I needed to place it all neatly into my (now) overflowing suitcase.

Body-shaming exists, but we shouldn't accept it as just another sad and simple fact of life. Model Ashley Graham is on the front lines of this fight for body positivity.

For so long, I’ve defined myself as nothing other than a mom, and I think that was beginning to be a toxic thing for me. I’m so much more than “just a mom,” even though that’s one of my favorite titles.