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.
2brides
member
Re: How was your weekend?
Saturday L had to volunteer at the consignment sale at o'dark thirty. I took the kids to swimming lessons and then we all got out hair cut at the gym. My wife never noticed I had 3 inches chopped off my hair. Grrr. We all rested and then headed to pick up everything that didn't sell, went to the outlets to get the kids summer clothes and more Harry Potter Legos (holy crap.) Dropped the kids off at the gym for Parents Night Out. L and I went to PF Changs for dinner, got L some new clothes at LL Bean, and took her phone to Apple to see if they could figure out why her outgoing mail isn't going. Once again, kids got to bed late.
Sunday realized that Simon (our cat) has been spraying urine in several places in our house. Spent the morning scrubbing and stressing about this (we had a cat 10y ago that we could not stop from urinating on everything and had to put him down.) Went out for lunch and to Target. Came home to rest and more scrubbing (UGH) and then went to the playground and walked over to Target (of course we forgotten a few things) and then to McDonalds for a nutritious dinner.
Blogs: Our Growing Family - CT Working Moms
Fri: Picked up Ky and headed to the park. Came home fed Ky and got her ready for bed. When Ann got home we Put Ky to bed and ate while watching tv.
Sat: I got up to take Ann to work. Ky and I grocery shopped and then dropped some food off to Ann before heading home. I cleaned while Ky played. When she went down for a nap I mopped the floors and went into our bedroom to fold laundry. I sat on the bed for "just a minute" and woke up to Ky waking up form her nap two hours later...oops. So we spent the afternoon playing on the mommys' bed while I folded the laundry mountain. We went to pick Ann up and found out our friend M was coming into town for the evening. We went to dinner and then home. Funny thing is we expeceted a smiley face on Friday morning did not get one, still nothing on Saturday morning...Saturday evening rolls around and surprise! So that was a bit awkward with M showing up out of the blue but we managed to work it out.
Sun: Ann's store got remodeled so the entire showroom was in storage and covered in plaster dust SO we dropped the baby off with my mom and headed to her work. I helped dust and move small things around. 4 hours later and it was decided all that was left could be done Monday AM. M wanted to meet us for lunch BUT Ann was not feelign it so we declined and picked up to go food after we got Ky. We ate and planned to go play in the backyard. It was a disaster which I will detail in a seperate post because I need some major mommy advice. So after playing fail, we came in for some ice cream. Ky went to bed shortly after and we sat around watching tv until bed.
Friday was normal.
Saturday morning DW took RB to dance class while I stayed home and gave the other 2 baths. Then we packed up and headed down to the shore to meet friends for lunch at a cool pizza place next door to the train station (the kids loved watching the trains!). After lunch we all headed over to the outlet stores and we got some spring clothes and new sneakers for the big kids. It ended up being overstimulating for the kids so DW and I took all 4 kids to a green area to play while our friends shopped for a little while longer. We all packed up and headed to an adventure on the beach. The kids all passed out on the way home and we had a quiet evening.
Sunday morning the kids let us sleep in (must have been the ocean air!) which left us late for breakfast at my parents' house. oh well. Breakfast was okay but there is so much drama over there right now, I am reminded why I'm choosing to spend less and less time with them. Daisy and RB both slept on the way home which was exciting because RB never naps and Daisy had fallen asleep on the way there so I was sure any hope of a nap was shot. We put the big kids into their rooms for rest and Daisy had a long nap in the car while I got to do some work on my garden beds (and I actually got a little sun burn!). We played outside for a while and had a picnic lunch since it was gorgeous. Our friends stopped by for a nice visit and we decided to all head to get some ice cream and go for a walk. Unfortunately thats the exact moment when Sprouts weekend-long on and off behavior went terribly off so he and I stayed home while DW and the girls went with our friends to get the ice cream and walk. I didn't mind too much since it gave me a chance to edit some photos and ensured that Sprout got to bed pleeenty early. The girls got home and I helped feed, wash, and put them to bed. DW and I weren't too far behind them.
Blogs: Our Growing Family - CT Working Moms
Friday I took a half day and worked the half from home. I ended up having to "leave work" an hour earlier then I planned thought because I had to run and pick up a prescription for Gwen and drop it off with Trav because Gwen had a follow up at the pedi that morning at after a chest x-ray it turns out she has a mild case of pneumonia! Ugh. So she has a new antibiotic and an inhaler that she's been (fighting against) using 3x a day. We go back tomorrow for another follow-up (and I go to see my doc since I have a cough I can't shake too, ugh).
After that I jetted off to have lunch with my mom (Thai, so good), and then visit with my tattoo girl for the first time since before I got pregnant with Gwen. I got two new ones and I'm thrilled.
Saturday we had our best friends over for corned beef and cabbage and boiled potatoes. I made some lemony sugar cookies that I iced in green, orange, and white for the Irish flag. The girls ran around like mad and Gwen went down super easy!
Yesterday we had a lazy day at home. Did some chores, went for a walk, ate a "lazy dinner", and got Gwen to bed early.
Maybe I don't have a heightened sense of smell, but I've never smelled any vagina on my pants. -- TSD
Bloggity Blog - You know you want to...
Friday - grab DD from daycare and met K for Indian food. We had the entire place to ourselves so Jelly Bean ran around a bit (which the owners were cool with) and ate three plates of mixed Indian goodness. She also managed to go potty on the toilet twice during our hour or so there. Then K went off to write and DD and I went home.
Saturday - K decided to run errands with JB and I which was nice. We started with lunch at Panera and then bulk shopping. Afterwards K went to write and DD and I hung out.
Sunday - DD and I went to Norika's house for brunch. As always it was a lovely group of ladies and babies. Jelly Bean passed out in the car on the way home so I let her sleep in the car (doors open) while I did yard work. When she woke up she helped me in the yard for a bit and then we went to buy flowers to plant. On our way to the store we made a detour to visit K at her study spot. Once back home we planted flowers, too a walk around block, and then dinner, bath, and bed.
All in all it was a good weekend.
Friday: worked a longish day, and K and J came to pick me up at work. Yay!
Saturday: In the early a.m., we had an electrician over because the lights in our living room blew out. Out of nowhere. ??? Anyway, he fixed them. Good to go.
Then, K prepped some stew for our dinner. We packed up and went to the house to meet up with our family (K's sister and three of her boys). Our youngest nephew and my SIL watched J, and the two older boys who came helped K paint our bedroom. I worked on J's bedroom (sketched the Cat in the Hat, then went over that sketch and Thing 1 with a paint pen). Two dear friends stopped by to see the house for the first time but didn't stay very long, unfortunately. At about 5, we stopped and had dinner together on our dining room floor. 
Sunday: Church in the a.m. I hung out with J in the nursery, and Kathy got to hear the sermon (we trade, and it was her turn). After church, we went to the place where we had our wedding reception for lunch. They have an amazing Sunday brunch with a jazz band. J was mesmerized. He couldn't take his eyes off the band. He danced in his chair, clapped at the end of each song, and was just crazy charming. People kept coming by to high five him - it was SO cute! Then, we went to the house so I could do some more work in his room. K and J went for a jog and to the park while I painted some of the drawings. Thing 1 is ready and looks pretty good. *pats self on back* It's taking longer than I thought, but I think it will look pretty awesome. Disclosure - this was my inspiration: https://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2010/05/hotel-room-tour-dr-seuss-kids-suites-at-portofino-bay/ When I decided to do a Dr. Seuss room, I started looking around at what other people had done, and I loved loved LOVED this. It's not going to be all the same - I have other characters on our wall - but I very well may just steal that Horton idea.
Friday- Talked a classmate "off the ledge" so to speak. She sent a super flaming email to a professor about a grade on a paper and I talked to her about how it might be a good idea to retract her statements.
Then I met DW at happy hour and chilled there until it was way too late to get anything else done. Home, TV, and the bed.
Saturday- Slow morning getting going but then we ran errands, let our friend's pups out for a pee, got crabcakes for dinner, and watched Bridesmaids. Some parts were hilarious but it was slow overall.
Sunday- Sunday funday in Starbucks doing homework, lol. We both got a ton done so we made a run into Baltimore to check out this pizza place we saw on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Its called Joe Squared and OMG it is amazing. Pricey pizza but holy crow was it good. We are planning to revisit in the near future because the list of toppings they have is out of this world and they have whole wheat crust
Friday: We had breakfast at IHOP, everybody got something from the Lorax menu, then went to see The Lorax which was really cute and had a great message. J had to go to work when we got home so we dropped her off, A and I played Scrabble while the other kids napped. Dinner, drop A off at her Dad's house, bedtime.
Saturday: J worked and I did lots of laundry.
Sunday: I weighed myself in the morning, good god I need to lose weight! Brunch with the IL's, then to their house to visit. I ended up staying there most of the day while J and BIL went back to our house to ride dirt bikes. We stayed to have dinner, then took both BIL's to our house so they could ride dirt bikes/quads in the back with J to make a track for the girls to use. A got home and we put the kids to bed then fought. I slept on the couch until 2am when J came out to talk it out.
Two Mommies Healing Hearts
Friday: Somewhat of a blur to me. C and I were quite tired, we spent half a day trying to prepare the house for guests. We both were dreading it, but it worked out.
Saturday: We got a late start in the day. My nephew and I stopped by 3 places to gather breakfast for everyone and after that C and my niece ran to Target. It takes quite awhile for 4 adults and one twelve year old to shower in a house with only one bathroom, so it wasn't until late afternoon until we left the house. By that time all were hungry, so we headed off to Friday's (nephew's suggestion) to eat. We all enjoyed our meals. Then trotted over to the Mills mall to go to the Lego store, let the Kiddos ride the little dollar rides, pick up some summer attire, and just window shop. It was late when we got home so it was easy to get the Kiddos to sleep.
Sunday: We went to IHOP for breakfast. We packed the Kiddos' their own breakfast and that worked out really great. My niece wanted to get an early afternoon start back home so we "quickly" drove over to the National Mall. I dropped everyone off in search of a parking place...uh, took a wrong turn (okay, a couple of wrong turns) and ended up lost and on a freeway I couldn't get off of. Thankfully, my niece forgave me. My niece wanted some Chipotle to head out with, so C went and bought the food while they packed. However, when C returned C asked if they wanted to eat before they left and THEY DID! We had a nice dinner on our IKEA dinner table...we all fit! They left and I showered both the Kiddos and off to sleep they went. C was asleep when I came out of the room and I just curled up next to her.
Fast weekend, but a fun one!
(Little did I know that C hurt her shoulder somehow...she was in excruciating pain. She is better now, but not by much.)
We were there too on Saturday afternoon. We were there probably 3-5 (including the Lego Store and Childrens Place!)
LOL! We were at both places between 6:30 and 9:00
Friday: E was with her dad as I had a potluck function to attend for the LGBT outdoors group I belong to. I had invited 3 friends as new recruits to the group and they all came along with my friend who introduced me to "the girl". She and her gf were quite happy to hear things are going so well for us. Afterwards I met up with K at her place for a couple hours of chatting and chilling on the couch and a short night.
Saturday: Went to the house to meet my realtor and the painter to get an estimate. The painter didn't get the address from the realtor and was a no-show and said he could come by in the afternoon. I took the chance to head to the paint store and get color samples and talked the ear off the lady there getting ideas and suggestions. E came home in time for lunch and then I told her we were going to see the house. She was SO excited (this was her first time there). The painter and I did a walk-thru and he'll get back to me this week. Afterwards we hit the paint store so E could choose "tickled pink" for her bedroom and then the grocery for dinner items.
Sunday: E was up early and I dug into some organizing and purging I've been working on. K was off work on Sunday and wanted to see us, so she came over in the afternoon for pizza and movie night. We took her to see the house (outside and peeking in the windows since I won't have keys until next week). About half way through the night E was pushing our heads together wanting us to kiss it was so funny and we could not stop laughing. More than once yesterday E asked me if K can come live with us...I am just floored at my little girl, she is clearly quite smitten with K. My bff told me today, your little girl is growing up, maybe she can see now how happy her mommy is.
Saturday Jen woke up with cramps and pelvic pressure, so she settled in for a day of couch-sitting, movie-watching and water-drinking. I put corned beef and potatoes in the (new, functioning) crock pot and did a little organizing. My sister arrived in the early afternoon and we chatted for a while and then she went to the grocery store with me to pick up soda bread and snacks for Jen - and condiments, since we keep forgetting that we don't have basic things like ketchup. My parents came over for dinner and my sister spent the night. I picked up "12 Hours Sleep by 12 Weeks Old" and ended up reading it cover-to-cover before I went to bed.
Sunday morning my mom came back over and the four of us went out for breakfast, and we dropped Jen off at home afterward. She was feeling much better, but not up for a day of shopping. My mom and sister and I had a productive day of shopping, and my dad installed our new intercom while we were gone. Jen met us for a late lunch. We had a lazy evening in and watched TV and I started The Birth Partner.
I'm late to reply, but only because we extended our weekend into today!
Friday night we drove up to MA and then collapsed in bed.
Saturday we played trains and puzzles and cars and pretty much every toy in the house to keep our nephews busy while their parents worked on getting the house ready for their party. I left DW to supervise naptime while I picked my parents up at the airport. We went out to a local steak restaurant to celebrate my dad's birthday and then went home to enjoy some cake and presents after my sister got the boys to sleep.
Sunday my parents took DW, our nephews, and me out to our favorite breakfast place that serves the best pancakes I've ever eaten. Then DW and I took our nephews to their gymnastics class. And then we all converged on their home for their 3rd birthday party! Party went very very well, and the boys were so excited that many of their daycare friends (plus "all our grown ups!" - i.e. relatives) came.
Today my sister and BIL went to work and we hung out and played with my parents and nephews and then drove home. Now back to life, back to reality...sort of really dreading that part.
IVF Oct/Nov 2012
Beta #1 = 77, Beta #2 = 190, Beta #3 = 1044
Cautiously optimistic.
I'm late--but just wanted to say we had a lovely St. Pat's weekend---wearing capris and T-shirts!
I went to an (informal) playdate comprised of mostly foster/adoptive parents. It was nice to be among like minded people without it being the focus.
My parents watched Pumpkin Sat afternoon, so we could go celebrate L's Irish heritage. I swear she gets more phone calls on St Pats than on her birthday. We were home by 7, so my parents could bring Pumpkin home and he could sleep in his crib--but a few friends came, too, and stayed til 11ish. It was nice. And L's brother did his leprechaun impression, which always makes my St Pats day.
Sun, we got a few small things done around the house and went for a loooong walk. I was so excited to wear my Birks, and the walk was longer than we planned. So, my feet have been hurting for days.