Having a daughter is pretty much nothing like having a son.

I thought that with two boysI was relatively equipped to handle a girl. I don’t know why I  thought this, I was so wrong.

From day 1 the girl has been different. I’m sure that some of this difference has been me.

I have loved every minute of having a daughter.

I was so excited for a girl, and by excited I mean, I left the ultrasound appointment and went immediately to Target to buy her girl clothes.

I knew a girl with be new and different, but I wasn’t anticipating this difference to manifest itself so early.

Like her brothers, my daughter has a strong personality. She is opinionated, and dare I say smart for  a 12 month old.

She is generally happy, self assured, and content with life, granted she’s 1 so she doesn’t have a lot to be upset about. She takes things slower than the boys did.

While AsthmaMan often makes a decision and considers the consequences long after they occur, the Princess is more measured. She didn’t crawl until she had tested her abilities, explored her environment, and planned her escape route. I’d imagine she will be the same with walking.

She doesn’t explode with anger over every situation like Harry Potter does, she saves her screams for maximum impact (like during church). She seems to understand that sometimes she has to wait, and she is mostly ok with it, maybe it has more to do with being the third child than being female.

She’s mostly ok just sitting on a lap holding someone’s hand instead of running and playing, though this has started to change.

I worry about the boys running into oncoming traffic… no really this is a serious and valid concern, but I worry about other things for my daughter.

I know it is 2017 and that women can do whatever men can, but as an empowered, and educated woman myself, I understand that equality comes at a cost.

There will be things this sweet girl has to work harder at simply because she is female. There will be dangers that she has to watch out for because she doesn’t have a Y chromosome.

She is only 1 and already  I’m worried about her teen years, mean girls, and body image issues. I remember high school, it was awful. One minute Sally is your BFF and the next minute she’s “going out” with your crush. Ok to be honest my friends were awesome, but I’ve watched the movies.

I volunteer with the youth group at our church, and every week I see how hard it is to be a teenage girl. I’m 31 and old, yes there are still hard things. Yes, comparisons still exist, but I also have decades behind me, decades where I’ve learned some of my strengths, developed lasting friendships, accomplished a few things that give me confidence, and accepted that there is more to life than popularity and cute boys.

But my sweet daughter is 1 and hasn’t experienced any of that. How do I help her successfully navigate these things?

How do I encourage her to be both a world class career woman and nurturer? How do I push her to succeed without making her feel like a failure?

How do I help her see that she is beautiful, smart, and important when the world may tell her differently?

How do I help her avoid some the heartbreak and dangers that are just part of being a girl?

And what do I say to her when she’s 17 and hates me? Seriously, I remember myself awkward, gangly, and sarcastic at 17 and I want to hyperventilate, how am I going to help her through it!

I constantly say crazy things like “best daughter I know!” and Mr. Spreadsheets laughs and tells me I am going to make us move to follow her to college. He might be right, she is pretty awesome, but she has some hard things ahead.

Raising boys is hard, partially because I have no idea how their minds work and they are constantly hungry, but raising a girl may be a little bit more frightening simply because I know some of what lies ahead.