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: Weekend Plans?
We are waiting for a smiley face....
Fri: Getting Ky and going home to clean. Probably a movie after dinner when Ky goes down.
Sat: Errands, cleaning, grocery, etc for me and work for Ann. After work Ann may go to a St. Patty's party (depends on O). I have no deisre to go so no babysitter needed.
Sun: Ann's store was remodeled this week and they are finishing construction Saturday night SO everyhting has to be put back into place and cleaned. I told her if my mom would watch Ky that I would help. After that who knows.
Tonight - pack my van with everything that needs to go to consignment, go to dinner (if we have time), drop off everything at consignment.
Tomorrow - L is going to volunteer at the consignment sale at o'dark thirty while I take the kids to swimming lessons. Afterward they are getting haircuts and then I am getting my hair cut. I have no idea what I am going to do with it. I am giving some consideration of cutting some bangs back in through L says is makes me look 12y. Humph. L is going home to wait for the a/c repair guy since it isn't working and with the 82 degree day yesterday our upstairs was about 80 thanks to the late afternoon sun and tons of windows. In the evening, we are going to drop the kids off at Parents Night Out and go to PF Changs for dinner, go to the Apple Store to see if we can get L's iPhone repaired, and look for L's birthday gift.
Sunday - Recover from Saturday. Hopefully do some stuff outside, go grocery shopping, grill, and get ready for the week. I don't know if L has school stuff/work that she needs to do.
Tonight will be a normal night at home. Daisy and Sprout were both home sick from school yesterday (one ear infection and one stomach bug. joy) so we'll try to get them down early.
The rest of the weekend is pretty open and TBD. We'll probably see my parents at some point and we have plans to go walking with friends on Sunday. I also want to go to the outlets and get spring clothes and new stride rites for Sprout. I'd love to get some work done in the yard as well.
Blogs: Our Growing Family - CT Working Moms
IVF Oct/Nov 2012
Beta #1 = 77, Beta #2 = 190, Beta #3 = 1044
Cautiously optimistic.
Friday:- My partner, V, had to work in Breckenridge today, so I booked the day off. We drove in last night, and I'm running two quick meetings and will then walk the high street and enjoy the mountain air. Tonight we'll do dinner somewhere here, and then back to the hotel room to relax.
Saturday:- We're interested in a timeshare out here, so we'll go and do the presentation first thing in the morning, then head home. V will cut her mother's hair (she's been watching our dogs and cat, so she'll be at our house). Around 4 we're headed off to a 50th birthday party - ohh, I need to find some classic rock t-shirts to fit the theme.
Sunday:- V's cousin's wife will come over so that I can give her a sewing lesson. She's bringing her baba, so I get a double treat
Hopefully next weekend is more relaxing! I don't know when I last had time to just laze around with a good book - ohh, maybe I'll do that this afternoon!
Tonight we are having shamrock shakes for dinner.
Sat DW is doing school work and I am tutoring in the pm. I am trying to figure out if I want to drive to the outlets to get some spring stuff for E. The Hanna Anderson opened yesterday and I want to get some stuff. I figure if I go right in the morning I can breeze in and out no problem. I will have to take E though so that might me interesting. Sat afternoon I have to tutor. No plans for Sat night
Sunday we are meeting our friends for a playdate at the local farm. The weather is supposed to be great all weekend so I think we will be out at the park ect as much as possible.
Today is A's first day of Spring Break, we are expecting a storm to come in today and last the whole weekend. We need to run errands before J goes to work tonight, then dinner and movie night with the kids for me.
J works tomorrow but I'm not sure what time so we haven't made any plans. The rain should be coming down pretty hard all day so I need to come up with some activities for the girls to do inside.
We are taking the kids to see The Lorax on Sunday, probably a matinee so Apple doesn't bother anybody else in the theater.
Two Mommies Healing Hearts
Tonight: E is spending the night with her dad so I can go to the spring season opening potluck for the LGBT outdoors group I belong to. After the potluck I'm going to see my girl when she gets off work. We'll have a bit of time to wind down together.
Tomorrow: In the morning I'm meeting my realtor and a painter at our new house to get a bid on painting the interior. At some point E will come home from her dad's. The rest of the day is TBD. It's supposed to rain all weekend long.
Sunday: TBD...I need to start packing and working on things at home but I'm not sure how into that E will be. Maybe we'll go do something fun to break up the monotony a bit.
TONIGhT - SOME CLEANING AND BAKING
SAT - foster parent playdate. THESe ARE NEW PEOPLE I DONT KNOW AND IT WAS SWEET OF MY ONE FRIEND TO INVITE ME. L CANT GO ... SHE HAD ALREADY SIGNED UP FOR A RUN.
THEN L'S BRO IS COMING IN TOWN, MY PARENTS ARE WATCHING PUMPKIN FOR A FEW HOURS FOR ST PATRICKS DAY SHENANIGANS.
SUN-HOPEFULLY SOME HIKING NEARBY.
Tomorrow I don't know what we are doing, which is a problem. It was a crazy week, and I somehow forgot about making plans for Saturday. The first rule of tax season is ALWAYS MAKE PLANS FOR SATURDAY. It is so depressing to wake up on day 6 of solo parenting and not have plans. Maybe Henry and I will go out for breakfast.
Tomorrow night, C is going to have her first go at putting Henry to sleep without me. He still nurses before bed, but I have to leave to get a play my sister is in. Hopefully that goes smoothly.
Then Sunday is our family day. Looks like it is going to be gorgeous so we will probably go to the park and spend a lot of time outside!
sahm ~ toddler breastfeeder ~ cloth diaperer ~ baby wearer
Tonight--after the kids go down I am going out with some friends. you know, like a grown up
I am excited--it has been a long time.
Tomorrow--I need to make a princess castle cake for my niece. Kel will likely take the kids to her moms house to play
Sunday--Church and my niece's 3rd birthday party. complete with ridiculously elaborate castle cake.
I don't think we have any plans tonight.
tomorrow my wife's working OT so I'm taking the boy to a soccer game with his aunties. in the evening we'll be dropping him off at my parents' for a sleepover with grandma and grandpa, then heading to a housewarming/St. Pat's party at our friends' house.
Sunday morning they're dropping him off at home, other than that I don't know what we have as far as plans. nothing concrete that I'm aware of.
Nothing concrete. My sister is going to be home this weekend, so I thought I would ask her to help me with the nursery (furniture assembly, etc.) since she was bummed that she didn't get to help us move. We'll probably have dinner with her and my parents on either Saturday or Sunday or both. I'm going to try to get a lot of reading done - I have a birth partner book, a general baby care book, two (short) baby sleep books, and a gardening book to get through.
This will probably be the extent of my weekend...
This is one wall in J's future room. I've already sketched two, so I need to do two more, and then it's painting time!