It takes all kinds of strength to be a professional athlete – physical strength, mental strength, determination. That is double for athletes who are also mothers, like the Washington Spirit’s Casey Krueger.

But strength isn’t the only thing Krueger realized mothers have in spades. She learned quickly that motherhood meant opening herself up to new depths of love she didn’t know were possible.

Krueger, now in the second trimester of her second pregnancy, knows her heart is about to expand even more.

In the final installment of Most Valuable Parent presented by Bobbie, Krueger talks about what she learned from her first pregnancy, helping her 3-year-old son, Caleb, adjust to the idea of being a big brother, and the importance of a pelvic floor therapist.

First of all, congratulations. How are you feeling?

Thank you. I'm feeling great now. I'm in my second trimester, so I'm cruising along. I’ve got my energy back, not nauseous anymore. I'm enjoying it while I can before I get super big.

How would you say soccer has prepared you for motherhood?

To be honest, a lot of things translate. The number one thing probably is patience, just learning that. Results don't come right away in soccer, and I think that translates into motherhood, just learning how to react calmly to the daily challenges and knowing that things won't always be perfect right away and adjusting my expectations. Another thing was resilience. You find a way to keep going no matter what. I always say “mom strength” is real. You just find a way. The final thing I would say is being a part of a team. It really does take a village. I learned that pretty quickly, to lean on my village.

When it comes to motherhood or parenthood, what would you define as a win?

It's not some big, grand picture-perfect moment. It's all the small moments. It's when he smiles at me. He’s a picky eater at times, and so he'll finally try something and realize that he likes it. He's a night owl, so just getting him to bed on time for once. It’s the small things, those are the big wins, and you have to count those.

What's been the biggest food win lately?

Oh gosh. He’s the only toddler that doesn't like fruit. I don't know. It's so weird. He's finally open to trying oranges. That was our big recent one this week.

Soccer moms have a stereotype of orange slices, minivans. How are you redefining what it means to be a soccer mom?

All the moms in the league are kind of redefining it because we're not on the sidelines. We’re still out there playing. We're showing that we can chase our goals, and we can still also be really present as a mom at the same time. Thankfully, the NWSL has really come a long way supporting moms. We don't have to pick one or the other. The biggest thing is wanting to show Caleb and the future baby that they can grow up seeing that both things can exist side by side. That's something I'm really proud of.

NWSL parents are in a unique position because you have a whole locker room of built-in aunties. What's been the best part about introducing your son and having your son hang around like the locker room and your teammates?

It's honestly so nice. Free babysitting! It's a second family for me. It's nice to have a whole room of aunties who just adore him and are ready to step in and help out. His favorite part is coming out on the field after the game. He doesn't understand whether we win or lose. He just wants to celebrate with the girls. He always makes them play these games and gets them to chase him after they just played 90 minutes, which is ridiculous. Seeing how much they care about him and naturally include him in things, it's really special. It's cool to know that he's surrounded by all these strong women.

Who is your number one babysitter in the locker room?

It's changed. I go by Caleb's favorites, but he's got two pretty clear favorites this year – Trin [Rodman] and Tara [McKeown]. They're always willing to run around with him after they put in a 90 minute shift, which is nuts. It goes a long way. We'll be watching the games from up in the stands and he'll pick them out. It's really special. I'm so thankful to have them around. Even when I was traveling and playing, when we were in the airport, they would carry him, which helped so much. They would entertain him while I would go to recovery. Those are the top two babysitters.

You got Caleb to help break the news to your teammates. Can you tell me about that moment?

I wanted to do it in a special way, so I knew I had to include Caleb in that. We got this shirt that says “Big Bro” on it. My mom helped out too. She walked him out to the field, and he ripped off his jacket and proudly wore this shirt. As soon as he saw me, he was grinning ear to ear and ran over to me, and the girls were like, “What's going on” at first. As soon as they saw his shirt, they exploded and came around and hugged us. It was really special. Caleb loved every second. Granted, I don't think he had any idea what was going on, but he was happy to be around the girls and running around the field, which is his favorite thing. It was just one of those moments I'll never forget, being able to celebrate with my second family.

How is he handling the idea of being a big brother?

He's starting to warm up to it, but we told him kind of late. He just found out in the last few weeks. We waited for a while because, honestly, he has a big mouth. (laughs) I thought he would probably blab it before we were ready to share it. Once it was public, we told him, but now we're trying to help him understand what being a big brother really means. We've been talking about how mom's growing a baby and showing him my tummy, letting him know he's got a special job to help out. We’re trying to make him feel as involved as possible, hoping he'll take ownership, but his world's about to get rocked.

What is something that you learned from your first pregnancy that you're taking with you the second time around?

The biggest thing I learned was probably to trust my instincts. I'm such a planner. I read so much literature, watched all these videos, and did these online seminars just trying to get as much knowledge as I could. At the end of the day, you just have to trust your instincts. You know what's best because every kid is different. They're not by the textbook. That was definitely a lesson that hit deep. I knew I was going to love being a mother, but you can't anticipate the depths of the love. With Caleb, I learned how deep that love runs. It’s nothing I could have ever imagined. That love's gonna grow when we have two. Even though I'm nervous, that love is just going to multiply. Then just learning how strong you are in motherhood. Mom strength is real. It doesn't matter how many hours of sleep you're on, you just find a way to get the job done.

You've done a lot of incredible things in your career, but I think you're right. Mom strength is an entirely different thing. I'm just curious if anything surprised you about what you were capable of.

I was really nervous about trying to find the balance. Not sleeping was the number one thing that scared me most just because of how important it is as an athlete for recovery. You literally find a way to figure it out. You find strength that you didn't know that you had, and you push on. It does get better, and it does get easier. Those first few months, I was just like, “How am I going to do this?” And then I blink and I'm like, “Okay, I did it. I can do it.”

There's a physical toll of giving birth, but your career is also incredibly physical. What did it take for you to feel ready to get back on the pitch the first time around?

It was definitely a process both physically and emotionally. To be honest, I found the emotional part a bit more difficult. Having to leave him and the balance of that, but as far as the physical part I had a really incredible medical team guiding me. At the head of it was my pelvic floor therapist, and that's who I recommend to everybody who's giving birth and trying to come back and play. You need a good pelvic floor therapist before, during, and after. It really changed the game for me because she really showed me how to rebuild strength safely and confidently. It took a lot of patience and kind of tested me. After I gave birth, she said, “You're not going to jog for 12 weeks.” At the time, it felt like an eternity. I was like, “Are you sure? This feels like a long time.” Once I was cleared and able to ramp things back up quickly, I felt better than I did before giving birth. I felt stronger. I felt fitter. I felt just better overall. It just showed the patience was worth it. The work I had put in was worth it, but having her guidance was what made all the difference for me.

You've now been a mom for a couple of years, but how have you made yourself proud since becoming a mother?

Showing up every day for the little things even when it's hard, which is daily. It's exhausting, but it's the most rewarding job that I've ever had. I'm proud of all the lessons I've learned, the patience that I learned, and the balance that I'm finding between being a mom and a soccer player and all the hats that I wear. Seeing Caleb be supported in the best way possible and growing up in such a unique environment while also being able to pursue my career, that's what makes me feel proud.

What's a soccer moment that you can't wait to show your kids from your career?

Probably winning the gold. Caleb was there for all of it, which still feels so surreal to think about. He was there for the entire tournament. In the moment he probably had no idea what was happening. But one day, I want him to understand the pure joy of reaching a dream we worked so hard for. Hopefully, we can show that to both of them – that feeling of dreams becoming real. It’s a memory I’ll always treasure, and one I hope will inspire them both someday.

What does it look like to make your kids proud?

It’s not about the big achievements. It’s about showing up for them in the simple things. Working hard, teaching them to be kind, and continuing to chase my dreams. Showing them that I can keep going, even when it’s tough, but also finding joy along the way. That’s what makes me feel like I’m doing things right.