Hello, let me introduce myself first..
For the first 30 years of my life, everything was smooth and worry-free. I was my parents’ most beloved child, found my true love in college, and happily married him after graduation.
At work, I was my boss’s most valued employee. Whenever I was in charge of a project, colleagues would inevitably say, “Oh, then I’m totally at ease.” I was constantly named “Employee of the Year,” with generous bonuses every year.
Later, I started my own business. Within just three months, I had broken into the market and started making money. By the fifth month, I was earning twice my previous salary. Growth was steady month after month. Right when the business needed more hands, I serendipitously met an amazing partner, and the company reached a whole new level.
Really, it seemed like at every step, whatever I needed, a pair of hands would always place it right in front of me, just in time.
My Two Girls: Ellie & Mia
Meet Ellie, My Firstborn
In 2020, my husband and I decided to have a child. After trying for over a year, we finally got the news in 2021 that a little one was on the way. In 2022, we welcomed our first child, Ellie. She made me a mother.
She is utterly adorable—big eyes, rosy skin, chubby little hands. Every time I look at her, I can’t help but give her a kiss. She is pure joy, and I love her more each day.
But as a first-time mom, I faced unprecedented difficulties. The postpartum tearing wouldn’t heal, and the pain was excruciating. Clogged milk ducts made my breasts hard as rocks. The severe sleep deprivation… And what was even more crushing was that, with zero parenting experience, I was clueless when faced with her unexplained wailing, night terrors, refusal to nurse, constipation, diarrhea, fevers… I desperately searched online, longing for one accurate, truly useful answer!
It was during this time that I thought, once I make it through this “dark” path, I must leave a light on for other new moms.
And Then Came Mia
Ellie had just turned one when I got pregnant again. In 2024, we welcomed our second daughter, Mia.
Completely different from Ellie, Mia is a great eater and sleeper. Although she had her fussy moments in the first two months, starting almost from month three, she became super easygoing. She feeds on schedule, gradually sleeps through the night, loves her solid foods, and adapted quickly when I had to stop breastfeeding due to mastitis.
This made me realize just how vastly different babies can be! It made me even more determined to write about my experiences.
Why I Had to Start This Blog
The Catalyst: A Life Pivoted
After Mia was born, my business also began to decline sharply. I had no choice but to close it and become a full-time mom. My work no longer involves Excel and Word, but instead revolves around changing diapers, washing bottles, making baby food, and managing household chores…
This has been a monumental challenge for me. All my past achievements seem irrelevant now. Managing two young children has brought me a sense of frustration I’ve never known before.
The Daily Reality
They are always fighting over things. When one is in my arms, the other immediately demands to be held too. When I try to cook, Ellie wants me to read her a book. When I attempt to load the washing machine, Mia has a diaper blowout, and I must drop everything to change her…
By the time I finish all that, I see the cup of hot coffee on the table has gone cold again. And it’s not until evening that I remember, “Oh my goodness, the clothes are still in the hamper, unwashed!”
Of course, being a mom is filled with happiness, but that doesn’t negate how hard it is.
My Promise to You
Because I’ve walked this path myself, I won’t just tell you how joyful motherhood is, like many websites do. I want to share my real, unfiltered experiences so every new mom can find a “companion” here.
I want to tell you: you are not alone. What you’re going through, I’ve been there too. Your breakdowns, your helplessness, your moments of losing control—I’ve had them all. You don’t need to feel guilty. This is just a small, necessary stretch of the journey for every mom.
My Hope for This Space
I really want to share my parenting experiences—not just the warm, glowing moments, but to honestly document the pitfalls I’ve stumbled into, the tears I’ve shed, and the “survival wisdom” I’ve scraped together in utter exhaustion.
The Goal: A Mom’s Toolkit
I hope this blog becomes a “mom’s toolkit,” filled not with vague theories, but with:
- Practical Tips: Like how to quickly figure out why a baby is crying, tried-and-true methods for dealing with clogged ducts, or how to efficiently manage the daily grind with twins (or two under two) solo.
- Pitfall Avoidance Guides: Sharing the baby products I regret buying the most, and those “game-changer” parenting hacks. Letting you know which parenting anxieties you can let go of, and which principles are worth holding onto.
- A Community for Moms: I hope my stories connect me with more moms like you. We can cheer each other on in the comments, share our own tricks, turning the storms we face alone into a journey we walk together.
The Bigger Vision
My previous career taught me to analyze data, solve problems, and optimize processes. Now, I’m applying all those skills to this new “position” of Mom. I want to prove that a mom’s value is absolutely not confined to the home. The mindset, resilience, and creativity we built in our careers can shine just as brightly—perhaps even brighter—in this more complex, long-term “project” of raising humans, and can even be transformed into a force that helps others.
My hope is simple: that every mom who opens this blog can let out a sigh of relief and say, “So it’s not just me.” Then, she can find a bit of practical info, a dose of comforting solidarity, and return to her sweet, chaotic mom-life with a little more confidence and a little less weight on her shoulders.
This road? Let’s walk it together.
sleepingbeauty825
member
Re: TKPS: Apparently David's Bridal sucks?
Could be. I bought my gown off the rack at a bridal show, so it was even cheaper than some of the David's gowns. I was all about going the cheap route on that!
I don't think there is anything wrong with it, but of course its lower end store....just like any cheaper retailer is.
I don't say that in a judging way....heck, I shop at goodwill all the time.
I think it has to do with the customer service rather than the actual dresses. There's no way of telling where you bought your dress anyways, so who cares. My veil was $8 and I bought it on Ebay!
ghetto? i think not (this is totally an excuse for me to AW my wedding pictures)
Trying to be price conscious for my bridesmaids I chose my bridesmaids dresses from there. I don't know about it being ghetto but the service everyone received was terrible. My maid of honor had to bring her dress somewhere else to be altered because they couldn't find the time to do it before my wedding. This was after multiple calls to set up appointments.
Overall, we were not happy with our experience. I didn't buy my dress there because I thought that the quality was a little lacking. I purchased my dress from a private bridal salon and was so happy with it. It was the best decision I ever made because I felt really good in it and really that is all that matters.
I didn't get my dress there, but it was where I found it. And they were petty nice to me when I ordered a bridesmaid dress, which I had to return because I ordered it in the wrong color (oops!). They took it back and re-ordered the right color and no hassles.
We had a few service issues there too. Nothing major, but enought be annoying during such a high stress time.
I got my dress there and had a great experience. My dress arrived in under 4 weeks. No issues with anyone there.
For my BM dresses, I did use a "high end" boutique because they were the only ones close by who carried the line. THAT experience was terrible! The worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life. The owner even called me to tell me I was a b!tch and that her employees didn't have to be nice to ME, cause I was not their customer, my BM's were.
I think bc David's Bridal is one of the few places that has locations all over the country, they get more complaints bc they have a higher volume of buisness.
I got my dress there and love it! The service was great too! I think my whole wedding was @ $2500.00 and I wouldn't change a thing about it!
and just to be an AW, here's my dress:)
My dress was $350 and I loved it! I got great service at the location I went to. I wasn't treated like a pretty, pretty princess and fawned over but I didn't feel like I needed that kind of treatment anyway. They helped me find a dress and that's all I wanted.
I never understood the need to pay thousands of dollars for a dress you are wearing for only one day. Sure, it's a really special day, but there's no need to go overboard.
Hummm...around here, you go to David's Bridal to have the biggest selection of dresses. I almost got my dress from them but found a very similar one in my town which was more convenient for fittings.
Seriously, even though I'm less than 1/2 hour away from Des Moines, there's only one store that's even as close to as big as David's and it just started specializing in wedding stuff a little more within the last few years. Otherwise, it's mom and pop dress shops where they might only have 5 or 6 dresses in your size (if you are out of the normal range, that is). So you go to places like David's to get an idea of style in case you have to order your dress based on the looks of one that doesn't fit you right.
So, I guess we are just not classy as a state. LOL
I bet people over there would say I was ghetto for only paying $150 for my wedding dress! I actually found the style I wanted at DB and they didn't have my size in stock so I went on the internet and found a girl who had bought the exact same dress in my size and didn't wear it - she ended up finding another dress. So she sold it with tags on it, in perfect condition for over $300 off the DB price.
My DH's shirt actually cost more than my dress (Tommy Bahama). I still tease him about it to this day. We got married in Mexico so we didn't need a tux or suit.
I absolutely loved my dress from David's Bridal. It was a discontinued dress on the clearance rack and was beautiful (in my opinion). I looked at a lot of dresses, but it was the first one I tried on and it fit perfectly without any alterations. My mom is great at sewing and all we needed was to add the loops for the bussle so the seamstress from David's showed her exactly what needed to be done at no cost. We didn't deal much with customer service since we weren't doing alterations and didn't need to order the dress, but from the experience we had they were great.
IVF #1 - BFP (6dt)
Unassisted Pregnancy #2 - lost at 15w6d due to T21, severe heart defects, and fetal hydrops
I think they suck!
My sister and I picked one day to go and try dresses on. We started with Alfred Angelo and was amazed by their customer service and interest in helping me. We had an appointment and the lady who was assigned to me went above and beyond. I ended up falling in love with a dress. The dress was $1200.00 base though! They fitted me with shoes, veil, dress, did my hair up (tiny bit) and walked me around the store. I felt like I should feel for this moment. Then we moved on.
We left and went to our second appt at DB. When I arrived it was a mad house. People, dresses, and accessories were everywhere. There were people at the front door trying to sell make-up packages and photography packages, all while associates were no where to be found. I let someone at the counter know I was there for an appt and she replied "go ahead and look on the racks for the dress that you want and then come back". My sister and I started to browse the racks and found some dresses. We reported back to the counter where we waited for about 30 minutes for some assistance, then another 10 minutes for someone to give us a dressing room, and then that was the last I seen of anyone. My sister had to help me in and out of the dresses. When I asked for help with something I never received it. All and all my experience sucked.
Here is the thing I get. DB is a warehouse type store, a ROSS type, you get what you pay for. By the way, there is nothing wrong with this. Although the experience would have been much better if they were more organized the dresses are inexpensive. If I didn't end up with my dream dress I probably would have sucked it up and went with a dress from DB
In the end I did buy the Alfred Angelo dress, but not for $1200.00. I lucked out and found it on Ebay for $400.00. Yes, on Ebay. It was a store front dress that they decided to drop the price on and sell. It made my extremely happy and I actually felt really bad as the AA people were so nice.
Ugh. I remember this when I used to use TK. I can explain: some of these chicks are so desperate to be superior to someone (anyone) that they'll knock the insignificant choices of internet strangers.
Incidentally, I received excellent customer service at the DB near me. I went on a Saturday morning, too, and I was doted upon by the staff.
I wear dresses all the time, and I can honestly say that I feel just as good about myself in a $30 dress as I do in a $150 dress. In fact, one of my favs is a black A-line dress that I bought for $20. I got compliments on it every time I wore it.
I decided WTH and went to try on dresses there when I was shopping for a gown, and yeah, I think ghetto pretty accurately describes my experience in that store. It was dirty, people were unhelpful, and everything was disorganized. There was absolutely nothing special about trying on dresses in that store, and despite how pretty some of their dresses look online and in their ads, once I got them in my hands the low quality was really obvious. Clearly, not everyone has that experience, but I don't think mine is all that unique either.