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.
KathrynMD
member
Re: if your LO is in FT daycare/preschool - do you extra stuff at home?
My oldest? Yes. He LOVES to sit at the table and do "homework" like his older brother. Who am I to say no to that? Work book type stuff amuses him so we do it while his younger brother is sleeping.
The youngest? Not so much. He's just not into focused type learning like that so we don't push it.
What we DO do with both of them is reading and working on sounding out words. The older one loves it, the younger one will do it but does not have the same attention span for it. So we've bought BOB books, etc and do focus time with them on sounding out words.
Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
The best thing you can do with your kids at this age is to play with them and read to them. Surround them with print and authentic opportunities to learn about their world.
Educational videos might be fun for kids, but any TV time limits face to face time. Overly focusing on learning can make kids hate "school" stuff. There are some kids who love those activities, but some may develop an aversion to it.
You can learn what topics they talk about each week in school and incorporate those topics in daily games, experiences, but kids this age need creative play.
Perfectly said. DD loves "workbooks" so she has a couple in her drawer that she will pull out on her own. I don't believe in educational TV as a tool. I read several studies in grad school about Baby Einstein videos, etc doing more harm than good. Help your DD love learning by following her lead- let her pick what learning activities to do and when. Even if they are too easy, encourage learning in general.
How to tell my boys apart
The different types of twins and triplets
Jack, Sydney and Carynne, Annaleigh, JW, Eden...forever in our hearts.
My blog * We made the national news!
DD -- 5YO
DS -- 3YO
I don't do anything "formal" with my daughter, either. But, she's very curious and enjoys learning so I take advantage of that. I buy things that are fun but educational and whenever I can take a few minutes to do one of those activities with her, she really has a good time. For Christmas, she received a dry-erase board from Crayola. It teaches her how to write letters and shapes. Since she always wants to play with it, I usually sit with her and help her practice her writing.
She loves to put money in her bank so I use that to teach her about the different denominations of money and how much they're worth. It's a work in progress but just exposing her to things like that is "teaching" to me. If I tell her enough, eventually, she'll get the concept. (At least, I hope...LOL!)
We have work books and I do activities with her at home. We do the work books sometimes on the weekends. She loves to do them. We dont practice her letters or numbers, only if she asks to write things.
I did flash cards with her when she was younger. Most of the learning stuff we do at home is in Russian ..DH is Russian and we are teaching DD the language and alphabet as well.
I also incorporate it into our conversations -- or at meal time, we count, add, subtract things. When we are reading -- I stop on the words I know she knows so she can read them.
TTC #2 since June '08
~*DD 10.21.07*~
dx unexplained
IUI #1-4 BFN
IVF#1 June 2011 BFN
IVF#2 Dec 2011
Beta#1 12/21 : 812 Beta#2 12/23 : 1634
EDD 8/25
*PAIFW/SAIFW*
My DD attends a 3 year old program full time. I love her school, but they stress that they do not teach the alphabet or teach them to write....it is all learning through play. My DD loves drawing and was the first kid in her class to write her name. In working with another student, she learned a few more letters.
So to support her interest in letters, I bought some workbooks and even a new ipad game to teach her to write and recognize letters. We also read together and discuss books, or anything she wants.
I live in a big city with huge concerns surrounding education. Most parents I know do some sort of supplementing, because although we love our pre-school, we know that we have many bumps ahead leading to kindergarten!
We don't use videos but we do a lot of other things. I am a teacher so it could be because I teach other kids all day that I MUST take time to teach my own. I also know that he is such a sponge at this age that he will soak it up. Also I prefer to know what he knows/ doesn't get than have someone else tell me.
Just pick a few things that you would like to focus on or follow a educational blog for toddlers and you will have a bunch to do with your lo.