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.
Re: Relocating to Warren, please tell me about the area!
I personally would not move to Warren. It's an older city with older homes. I would look for a home more north of there and the commute will still be easy for your husband. I would look into Sterling Heights(the part in Utica Schools), Troy, Clinton Township, or Macomb Township. All of the cities/townships I listed have good public school districts. You should be able to get a good price for a home since Michigan's housing market really took a hit in this economy.
Macomb Township is in the Chippewa Valley school district which is a very good district. It has parks, a large recreation center with a fitness center and indoor water park/pool. It has all newer homes.
Whats your budget for the house and how long of a commute your husband wants?
I would also recommend Troy, excellent school district and community center although the library is closing. Rochester is also a nice area with a downtown and great schools.
I live in Sterling Heights which is about 2 minutes from the GM Tech Center in Warren.
I absolutely love it. We have tons to do, nice area in general, parks, great library and library activities. We also have LOTS of city events.
I am a little biased because not only do i live in Sterling Heights but my DH is also on City Council
If you need any info on SH please let me know I would be happy to help
I'm in the west suburbs, so can't help too much, but from what I've heard from my parents, I wouldn't pick Warren, but a surrounding area better.
My friend lives in Troy, their library is closing this summer & she said they are having other municipal problems, so keep that in mind if you look there, she's not too happy living there right now.
I would post on the Detroit Nestie board too, they may not be able to help w/kid things, but area, etc. I'm sure they would love to help out, plus they're really friendly. I would just include: budget for house & how long of a commute DH could have.
GL!
This. And I live in Macomb Twp too.
Born 7lb, 15oz, 21-1/4, 2 mo - 12lbs, 14oz. 25", 3mo - 14lb, 4oz 26in , 4 mo - 16lb, 1oz, 26 3/4 in, 5 mo 18 lb, 4oz 27-3/4 in, 6 mo 28 3/4 in 19lb, 14oz
I agree with everyone else. You really don't want to live in Warren. You pretty much want to go north. Sterling Heights isn't a bad area, although it's not my first choice. The area is a little older, so it's very developed (aka- traffic!). I love the Shelby Twp/Macomb Twp area. It just seems quieter, so it's perfect for a family. You get away from some of the congestion, but yet you're still close to everything. The area seems to attract a little more affluent group of people, especially the northern part of Shelby and Macomb.
I agree with the other's would not recommend moving to Warren....move north to Sterling Heights or even Troy. The commute won't be bad at all.
Good Luck!
My DH also works at the Tech Center. Funny thing is we'd love to live in Austin!
I ditto not living in Warren. Royal Oak has a cute/fun downtown. Not sure about the schools. Rochester is nice but would be more than 30min commute. And like the p.p.s said Macomb Twp, Clinton Twp, north Sterling Heights (make sure it'd be the Utica school district not Warren's) and Troy are all nice.
I live right next to Warren in Madison Heights. We are looking to move soon. The area is not terrible, but it is definitely older and I feel like the population is kind of going downhill. My neighborhood is full of renters who are constantly being evicted, the people just house jump. We have trash pickers that come through our neighborhood at night. Lots of door-to-door salespeople. This stuff just doesn't happen in some of the nicer cities.
I agree with those who say to check out Troy. I grew up there. I am biased toward the west side of Troy, but the whole area is great with excellent schools. The Sterling Heights and Macomb Township area are nice, but I have a hard time with the fact that there is no real quick expressway nearby. Van *** (north/south) moves, but has tons of lights. M-59 (east/west) gives me nightmares with the amount of traffic. The same goes for Rochester Hills (no easy highway access). Honestly, I have lived in this area my whole life and I still haven't figured out where we are going to live because DH and I both work along the north/south I-75 route, just in completely opposite directions.
You might want to consider Royal Oak and Huntington Woods. Royal Oak has a nice downtown and a lot of young people. I just saw some gorgeous houses on Vinsetta. Huntington Woods has really nice older houses and people who live there tend to stay. Grosse Pointe also isn't far.
I just realized I didn't answer your questions about family friendly activities. Troy has a great community center with Parks and Rec programs. I don't live in the city anymore, but I still use their excellent classes. There is also a swim center during the summer months. The library in Troy is phenomenal, but may be closing due to funding problems. Honestly, I don't see it actually happening. I think they will figure something out because it is well-used.
Royal Oak also has a really nice library with storytimes. Royal Oak has a lot of little parks scattered through the city. The downtown has kidcentric type stores and activities (just did pottery there). Their parks and rec program is also nice.
There are a lot of other activities for kids, but you have to look for them. The Detroit Institute of Arts has a monthly focus culture with crafts for kids. In the summer there are festivals and concerts downtown. There is a Children's Museum and a Science center. Right now is the Winter Blast and there is ice skating all winter. A lot of people are still nervous about going downtown, but they are missing out on a lot. Sporting events are a ton of fun. Ann Arbor has a great hands-on museum and the Arboretum is a great way to spend a summer day.
Also, two other cities to think about are Clawson and Berkley. Older, bungalow style homes, but nice communities and good schools.
I don't know if you are still checking this but wanted to add a little something. A lof of the cities that people are mentioning (Macomb Twp, Sterling Heights, Troy), although nice, are basically cities made up of subdivisions and strip malls with no real downtowns (not that they aren't nice).
I don't know if coming from Austin you may be looking for more of a city with neighborhoods. If so, you can look at Royal Oak, Berkley, Birmingham and Rochester. In these cities you can find really nice homes walking distance to downtown and coffee shops, bookstores, movies theatres, etc. Just wanted to throw that out there. They also have good schools, great parks, libraries, etc.
Couldn't agree more. I grew up in Warren, and while my family still lives there, we decided to move to Royal Oak to start our family. The houses have a lot of charm, the schools are great and the downtown is fantastic. There is always something to do here.