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.
Rias
member
Re: FTM with question.
DS was breech as well but we did not attempt an ECV. We scheduled a c/s after 39w but didn't make it that far. My water broke a few days before our scheduled c/s in the middle of the night. I called our OB ER line and they said I needed to come in. We were at the hospital 30min later and my contractions started soon after. The nurses hooked me up to an IV and monitors on my belly. Luckily my OB was on call and we were in the OR 2 hrs after we arrived. I sat on the operating table (DH was putting on his scrubs) and given my spinal. Honestly I do not really remember anything else until I was in recovery. We were in recovery for about an hr and I was able to BF DS (DH was there too). Then we were wheeled to our hospital room.
The nurses wanted me to eat pudding before I could order breakfast (not sure why but it was really random) so I did. I ended up vomiting all morning- food and water but was given some drugs and did much better the rest of the day. Other than that,nurses came in every few hours to check my vitals, Press on my belly, change my pad (you will bleed even though the baby didn't come out that way), and check my catheter bag. That night I was able to move to a chair to eat dinner and the next day my cath was removed, I was up walking and showering.
I had a pretty easy recovery but just be prepared to be sore. Most of my underwear and pants tend to hit right at my incision so you might want to find some pants that can go to your belly button - I wore maternity yoga pants that had a fold to sit under your belly that I pulled up. Just take it easy once you are home. The whole thing was not nearly as bad as I expected!
I had an unplanned C section. The procedure itself wasn't bad. When I got home from the hospital, my legs and ankles were very very swollen from all of the fluids they pumped into me for the spinal. The swelling was terrible for about 1 week, then all of a sudden, it went away. I lost 30 pounds in just a few days! It was crazy. make sure to stay on top of your fluids and drink, drink, drink. Best of luck to you! It wasn't as bad as I expected, and I would have had an even easier recovery if I hadn't labored so long before then.
Baby BOY is due May 23, 2014!
Hi
I just had my c/s 22 hours ago so I'm still on an IV and all that. Mine was scheduled and went really well. I think the most painful part of it all was when they put the IV line in. They blew out the vein in my left hand so then had to do it on the right. Then getting my spinal was a little uncomfortable but nothing too bad. My legs started going numb pretty quick, it was such a weird feeling. I had 2 nurses up by my head that were telling me what was going on and DH was there too. I didn't feel anything at all and finally I asked if they had cut me open yet and she said: oh yes, they're just about to take the baby out!
Suddenly DH stood up and he was able to see them pull her out of me and I heard her crying. Everyone was telling me how cute she was and I was dying to see her but they took her to wrap her up. I could hear DH talking to he'd then a few min later he brought her over to me and I was able to touch her. He sat there with me for about 10 min while they worked on stitching me up then the nurse took baby and DH to the nursery to do the testing. It only took them a few more min to finish on me then they took me back up to my room.
So surgery went well! However I got sick from the anesthesia and I was dizzy, nauseous and throwing up all day. We had lots of visitors and it was so hard to focus on anything. DH had to ask people to leave cause I wasn't feeling good. All I had was ice chips and water all day and i couldn't even keep the water down until after dinner. Finally the dizziness started to subside around 9pm last night. I still have my catheter in and getting meds through IV but those are coming out this morning.
Good luck with your surgery!
It is different per person. You can have a terrible V birth and recovery or a great one. You can have a terrible Csection or a great one. I will say there is a lot of horror stories out there about Csections when I think for a lot of women they go very smoothly.
I was induced and that turned into emergency Csection. I was able to somewhat hold LO within a few minutes after birth and then DH took her to nursery while I was stapled up. We were all reunited in the recovery room within 30 min. I BF'd while in there and we did just fine. I felt great. I was not tired from pushing out a baby(I never got past 2.5cm dilated). We had a ton of visitors that day and I was ok with it all. Now I had an epidural but if you are having a scheduled section you will most likley have a spinal which will mean you can get up and move quicker.
Getting up the first time is painful but do it as soon as they say you can. The quicker you get up and move around the better off you will feel. I was up the next morning showered and what not we left two days after I gave birth to LO. I didn't take any pain meds once I was home and 3 days after being home I drove myself and LO to my appt to have the staples removed. 1 week after LO was born it was Xmas and we did all the Xmas hoopla we do every year. I was easy on myself when getting up from sitting or lying down but for the most part I was able to move around just fine.
I had a great experience and I am having and RCS this time around. I never have once felt I missed out on something b/c I didn't have a Vbirth. To me having a healthy baby is the end goal and that is all that I really cared about.
Good Luck!