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.
CD+AL
member
Re: If we made it to 4yo before buying new carseat...
I know nothing on this subject yet, but realize I need to start figuring it out. Do you know what the height limit on the Boulevard is? DS is also in one and will be 4 in January. But he's only average for height, so I assume we have so more time, but I have no idea. I'll have to dig out the manual.
I just learned on this board (thank you!) that it's when the top shoulder harness slot is below their shoulders and/or their ears are at the top of the shell.
My 5 yr old is still OK in his Britax but we bought the Graco Nautilus for our 2nd car seat (DH's car).
What sold us on it was it's ability to stay 5 point for quite a while then convert to a high back booster using a seat belt and then convert to just the "bootie booster" (as we call them). It's literally the last seat we'll need to buy for him.
Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
This depends on your kid and is mostly a parental decision. There is no evidence that a properly used booster is less safe than a 5 point harness and there is a school of thought that because the harness seats are so restrictive that for a larger child they may keep the torso still while putting all the load of an accident on the head and neck rather than it being spaced through the entire spine the way it would be in an adult seatbelt with a properly fitting booster. So there is no reason to keep a child who has the maturity to ride in a booster properly harnessed IMO. By properly I mean they need to sit correctly, not slouch or lean forward out of position, not unbuckle themselves, not put the seatbelt behind their back. And you need to trust them to do this even while upset even while sleeping.
That said, my 4 year old is in a booster full time. The frontier did not fit in either my only vehicle or my budget. She's ultra tall and all torso and outgrew her radian by height and a nautilus would only have given her 6 months after the radian was outgrown, so wasn't worth it for me. She has been in it for over a month and is perfect in it, so I have no regrets or worries.
Thanks so much! This is my big concern. I can probably make the Frontier work $$ wise, and it will fit in our car. However, I hate to spend that much on the seat when another seat would (in a hypothetical sense) would work too.
FTR, I think he is ready to follow directions and sit properly. The only two times I'm not 100% sure about are on long trips, which we do take every few months or so, and when he's sleeping. We'd definitely have to do some trials before any long trips.
I took him to BRU, and tried out the Frontier. He's already over 1/2 way up in the adjustment for it too. Granted, it goes up quite a ways, but still, it's a lot of money for something that might not be necessary. Grrr...I hate tough decisions like this.
I don't have any other advice to add but wanted to say that Allbee Baby has awesome deals on carseats and free shipping, here are links to convertibles and boosters.
https://www.albeebaby.com/closeout-covertible-car-seats.html
https://www.albeebaby.com/closeout-booster-seats.html
I would say that as long as he fits in his current seat I wouldn't move him, but I might get an inexpensive booster to see how he does. Shortly before my daughter actually outgrew her seat we got a clearance evenflow big kid high back booster for under $40 to test and see if she was ready for the transition. We started out using it for really sort distances and switching between that and her radian then slowly used it for longer trips when she proved she was able to use it correctly.Once we have a second car I'll probably get a "better" booster (meaning better side impact protection and more comfy) for our main car and leave this seat in DHs car, but that this was the perfect way to cheaply see if she was ready.
Just throwing out there an other rec for a seat.
We have a Recaro Prosport and I puffy heart it. It's a 5pt harness, easily adjustable and has a fairly wide seated area, yet doesn't take up a ton of width in the car.
5 Point Harness Usage: For a child 27 to 59 inches tall and 20 to 90 pounds; Booster Usage: For a child 27 to 59 inches tall and 30 to 120 pounds
So this should be the only seat we'll need for a very long while.
This is what we're doing. DD2 is in DD1's old Marathon. Got a Frontier for DD2 this fall. We'll keep DD1 in the Frontier for another 1 1/2 years or so...