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.
mavs_girl07
member
Re: Girls like race cars too, ya know (vent)
DD -- 5YO
DS -- 3YO
Isn't it funny how everyone else has imposed ideas of what a certain gender should like? My ds is as boyish as they come, but if he gets to pick from treasure box at school and there's a princess wand in the box, it's his. Every. Single. Time.
We are doing a construction themed bday party for ds next weekend. I told dh I was giving out mini Caterpillar machines as their goody bag item and dh wanted to know what I was going to give the girls. Um...the same thing.
I'd get her the shoes and the underwear.
I would totally put DD in these
from the Disney store, if she were into it. I have a VERY girly girl though.
Or these...don't know where they are from though
That first pair is adorable!
Those are super cute. May have to look into getting those!
I like those first pair of shoes. My dds would wear those. They have a couple pairs of diego boys underwear. They fit fine but they have other favorites they wear more. It's not just cars2. I wish we could see more girl clothes with cars/race flags/trucks etc.
When DD was 3, she went through a Diego phase (not Dora). We gave her a Diego birthday party 3rd birthday party at a bounce hot. She got a lot of Diego toys which works out because we had 2 boys also. That I know of no one gave her a hard time but the phase was still short lived, once she was into the princesses, she kissed Diego good-bye. Not sure what role peer influence had on it.
I'd buy the shoes but I would have her try them on first, as they may have a different fit (therefore don't purchase them online). I thought Wal-Mart had girl car shoes at one time. I'd do some internet searches
FWIW, my DD was the same way with Toy Story, and I couldn't find cute girl TS stuff anywhere. I ended up buying her boys TS underwear because she really wanted them. Honestly, I thought they were cuter on her than her regular underwear. I don't see the issue with it, but my mom was horrified that I would buy her boy underwear.
I have no problem getting her boy shoes, if I can't find a girly pair.
ETA: You do have to be careful with the underwear though, because I bought 2 different brands in the same size, one pack fit perfectly, but the other pack was huge. Super huge!
I can check and tell you the brands later (DS is sleeping and they are in his dresser now), if you want. I bought all of ours at Target too.
I haven't seen them in a while, but bought DD some Pixar girls underwear from Target that had Jessie, Nemo, Wall*E, and Cars (which are pink, w/ McQueen on them, very cute). This was probably last spring?
DD was really, really into Toy Story too, especially Woody (she was Woody for Halloween, and DD2 was Buzz) and she has several boys t-shirts and pj's with Toy Story stuff, since I couldn't find girls ones, other than a few with just Jessie. I try really hard not to overload on girly stuff, but she's really gravitated towards it recently (we're in princess overload.) DH blames preschool.
DD had these too, but Woody and Buzz were her favorite.
My DD's BFF (a girl) looooovves Lightening McQueen and has the backpack and the sneakers. I just asked DD if LMcQ was for boys or girls and she said "It's for boys and girls".
I say buy anything she wants!
You inspired me to ask DD that same question and she said "McQueen's for girls!" lol I asked her who princesses were for, and she said girls. I asked her who spiderman is for, and she said boys. I asked her again who is McQueen for and she said "Girls!!" haha
Iron-on transfers.
A couple bucks, some plain white undies and a few minutes at the iron and she could have the panties of her dreams.
I have the same problem with DS. He LOVES Dora. Deigo is ok, Dora is his one true love. And I avoid the shoe section of stores so he won't fall in love with those purple sparkly shoes again... I just can't seem to do it. He does however have Dora sippies and a blue Dora shirt (which is still obviously girly, but whatever).
Ohhh, great idea with the iron-on transfers! Definitely looking into this.
My DD is also totally obsessed with Cars and Lightning McQueen. LOVES it and would probably watch the movie all day, every day if she could.
One thing I found for her at Target are super cute Lightning McQueen slippers. She loves them and wears them around the house constantly. I haven't seen shoes, but might have to start looking for them. I'm pretty sure she'd wear them every day!
I would get them. Dd is currently wearing a pair of green shoes from stride rite that came from the boy side. The worker even showed her girl shoes saying that those were for princesses. Dd said No, I want green! And the guy turns to me and asks if I want her to try on the pink ones instead. Um, no, get the green.
She also loves her car slide and Thomas trains. I can't wait to see her grow up, she's a fun girl!
I love this post!
DS and I were at Macys yesterday getting a new pair of rain boots - they had navy blue, green, black/red, and pink. Of course DS wants the pink ones...I didn't make a big deal about it, just told him that I wasn't going to buy him the pink ones, he chose the green, we moved on and haven't heard a word about it since.
However, I definitely feel a bit guilty about it. I have rationalized it by telling myself that I would've done the same thing if he had wanted the black/red ones because I just didn't like them as much, but I still feel badly for propagating the gender stereotype!
"You reach deeper until you can find the strength. That's all life is, one big fight after another."
Angel babies: 9/19/07, 10/08/09, 1/05/11
Well we went shopping this weekend and DD fell in love with these
I think they're hideous, and they make me laugh every time I see them. But she absolutely adores these shoes. We had a hard time getting them off of her last night to get in the bath, and this morning as soon as she woke up I went to get her out of her room and she had already put them on herself, lol. She loves them.