Women's Health

Melanie Brown Sings the Joys of Motherhood

Mel B on Being a Mom

There are many reasons Brown, who does everything from cooking and playing Scrabble with her little ones to carting them to the Kids' Choice Awards, loves being a mom. "It teaches you not to focus on yourself.  And you have an instant, built-in 'truth panel,'" she says. "Your kids will tell you exactly what they think of you or if they're upset. It's a big responsibility, but fantastic. It sort of makes you grow up and appreciate what you have and where you are in your life."

Have the responsibilities of motherhood slowed the jet-setting star? "I have a 12-year-old, so I really can't imagine life without kids," says Brown, who compares the last Spice Girls tour in 2007 to a "traveling circus." "I had Angel and Phoenix with us and all of the other girls had their kids with us, too." She laughs, then turns serious. "I guess, before kids, I could just pick up and leave whenever I wanted to, but now I pretty much do that anyway: I just bring my kids."

Brown does, however, admit that kids make life more stable. "With Phoenix in school, you can't just take off for a month at a time without considering school and homework, and you want to make sure your kids have a certain amount of consistency. But I've always said that kids should enhance your life, not hinder your life. So I just try to make the most out of being with my kids. You have to have a life for yourself somewhere in the mix of being a wife and mum. 

"It's a juggling act," Brown adds."I juggle stuff on a weekly basis, between time by myself, time with my husband, and good, well-spent time with the kids. I do that every single week and if I didn't, I think I would go insane. I just do it week-by-week, and it somehow manages to get done."

'With the Second and Third Baby…You're More Relaxed'

As for whether she's having a boy or girl, Brown is letting herself enjoy the anticipation. "I didn't know with Phoenix or Angel, and I don't know with this baby. There are so many things you have to be prepared for that I think it's nice to have a little bit of surprise. As long as the baby is healthy, I mean, who cares?"

Brown's attitude toward pregnancy hasn't always been so happy-go-lucky. Like most moms, she's mellowed over the years. "With your first baby, you watch all the shows, you read all the books -- you kind of terrify yourself because you realize how many things can go wrong. You over-research it. It isn't a bad thing, but it makes you a little bit nervous, which is what I did with Phoenix. But with the second and third baby, you're a bit more of an old hat. You're more relaxed about everything."