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.
almostjennifer
member
Re: Names that are *too* girly?
I love those names! There is no such thing as too girly!
I think your weird
I knew it!!
BTW the name Sterling is so my guilty pleasure name.
I do because Fiona and Willa are big favorites of mine. I think it's ending with "anna" that turns me off?? An excess of vowels?? Not sure.
Haha!
Thanks! He is adopted and I didn't get to name him but, it sure fits him and it has grown on me quite a bit.
DD (5 years old) from IUI in 2012
TTC 3rd and final!: IUI #1 in progress!
Ironically I consider myself a girly girl.
Danica 10.22.10 | Milo 12.23.12
Not weird at all!! Saying that I am not a fan of super girly names would be a tremendous understatement; but I might not like girly names because no one would ever call me girly.
We had a hard time naming Zane, but I can only imagine how hard it would have been for us if he had been a girl.
Those names just seem too over the top to me. Too flowery, and smushed two names together. I like girly names. I think my daughter's name is "girly", but not sickenly so.
I can't stand them either.
A lot of the top 50 names are just way too frilly for me -- Sophia, Olivia, Isabella, Ella...bleh.
BFP #2 - 3/2/13 * DS1 - BORN ON EDD - 11/13/13
BFP #3 - 11/7/14 * DS2 - BORN ON EDD - 07/21/15
OP: I know you probably don't mean it this way, but I think this post comes off a bit Anglo-chauvinist. I'm Italian, and when I look at my family tree, it's all -ellas and -annas and -inas. It's just the way the language works. It's not my family's fault that English literature across the centuries has exoticized Spanish and Italian women as hyper-feminine and borrowed their name patterns for its hyper-feminine and hyper-romantic characters.
It's perfectly fine to have a personal preference, and I also see what you are saying about the trend toward Disney-ish names. I get that. But can you imagine coming onto this board and posting, "Eeew, all those Eastern European names are so awful! Buy a vowel, already!" or "Irish names are just so gross. Why are they spelled so weird???" Personal preference is one thing, but going out of your way to post about how much you dislike the names of a whole language family is sort of rude. Please realize that your perfectly legitimate preferences exist in the historical context of stereotypes about people of different ethnicities.
Baby Name Popularity by State
I certainly did not intend to offend you or call out an entire ethnicity of names. I did not connect those names as being Italian -- I think more of Maria, Gia, Giada, Theresa, Antonia, Bianca as Italian names (which are lovely) while the others I mentioned feel like American Disney princess to me. I sincerely apologize if it offended you -- I did not see it that way when I posted it.
Hahaha, I posted this same thing like...eons ago and kind of got reemed out over it. "It's better than a silly made up name!" Well of course it is. But you have to admit that some names are a little...over the top girly. And I'm not convinced that a "pretty pretty princess" name is any more livable than a unisex name.
Regardless, I suppose everyone has their tastes. I didn't wear a blinged out ball gown on my wedding day, either, so maybe there's something I'm not getting about super girly names.
No worries ? not offended, just consciousness-raising. The reason we feel that -anna, -ella, etc. names are hyper-feminine is that English authors have used these names to signal femininity, relying on English/American perceptions of hyper-sexual Latina/Italian women. Of course, those names are feminine in their languages of origin, but the reason "Isabella" sounds more feminine to us than "Elizabeth" is tangled up in this ethnic issue.
It's worth noting that the actual Disney princesses don't really have these names. Of the 10 official Disney princesses, I would count Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Tiana among the "frilly" names, though only Cinderella is out-and-out frilly. I guess you could count Tinkerbelle, though she is not an official member of the pantheon. The others are Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Rapunzel. So when people give their kids "Disney Princess" names, they are elaborating on a theme that is not actually attested among the DPs. You're absolutely right that we're having a DP moment as a culture ? I even know a family with 4 daughters named Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora! But the rise of the -ella, -anna names in popularity is also a function of the vast increase in the proportion of American babies whose families speak Spanish.
Baby Name Popularity by State
Shut the front door! Someone named a kid Cinderella? For real?
They don't even call her Ella. Just Cinderella. It's embroidered on her backpack and everything.
Baby Name Popularity by State
I don't mind them, but I don't have any on my list. I tend to not be drawn to girl names that end in "a". We are naming our DD Caroline.
I bet she is the envy of all the little girls in preschool. Middle school, probably not so much. Especially if she loses a shoe in gym class.
I agree that I don't like super girly names. I like names that are feminine but not cutesy. For example, I like Audrey and Bridget, but not any of the elle/ella names (especially those that are a regular name with elle/ella tacked on like Graciella). I think for me it's usually too many syllables and usually ending with elle/ella/anna/etc. I don't hate ALL names like this, but I'm not a fan of most. Just NMS.
On the flip side, I also don't like boy names that are too "macho" sounding. So I like Elliott, Everett, Callum, etc which are masculine but not super manly (IMO) like George, Walter, something like that, if that makes any sense.
This. I can handle Gabrielle, but not Gabriella. Adrienne, but not Adriana.
Having said that, DD's MN is Eliana. I don't really group that in with the rest of the names. It's Hebrew and we chose it for its meaning. And there are a few super-frilly names I love, like Seraphina. I think a very feminine name can still be very strong, although it might be a bit harder for an Adriana.
BFP #1 9/7/10, EDD 5/14/11, Violet born 5/27/11.
BFP #2 4/9/12, EDD 12/16/12, M/C Rory 4/24/12.
BFP #3 10/6/12, EDD 6/16/12., Matilda born 6/17/13.