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.
Mrschica
member
Re: UO Thursday
1. I don't like Taylor Swift
2. I don't think TV shows should be cancelled until the current season is over. Mid-season cancellations are just plain mean....if I wasted time getting into a show, the least they could do would be offer some resolution rather than just going off the air (anyone watch Alcatraz?)
3. I think Ryan Seacrest is a robot
4. They need to stop making new seasons of the Bachelor/Bachelorette
5. Milk is disgusting
Remembering my angel baby, Ezekiel, 09/03/2011...you will forever be in my heart.
I think our society is too obsessed with Hollywood and we allow athletes and those in the entertainment industry to make too much money!
While I have a strong faith, I believe organized religion can cause more problems than good. There is far too much "I'm right, you're wrong" that goes on.
Agreed! She can't sing and tries to hide her narcissim behind a humble facade.
I loved Alcatraz!!!! And milk is almost as nasty as mayo yuck!!!!
I made rachelmichelle1 my bitch.
I couldn't agree more! My mil is a sahm and her youngest of four boys is 19. Her idea of a busy day is when she cleans, watches a few movies on her list, does her workout and bakes! She once had a part time job but quit when she wasn't able to move one of my brothersinlaw into his new place three hrs away usually, she cleans the house for her kids bf they move in. The house was my bil's 2nd home since moving away a year prior...
haha - this sounds like an ideal day for me. I'd get bored fast though and H would not stand for that I'm sure.
Married my best friend 09.18.11
TTC since 12.10.11, BFP #1 02.10.12
Baby E born 10/18/12. 8.5lbs and 21in of pure perfection!
My Blogging Endeavors:
Here Comes Mommy
Like me?!
amen
Married my best friend 09.18.11
TTC since 12.10.11, BFP #1 02.10.12
Baby E born 10/18/12. 8.5lbs and 21in of pure perfection!
My Blogging Endeavors:
Here Comes Mommy
I agree. Though I agree with Norry as well, I like the fact we don't have drama. If we did I probably wouldn't be here. I can't stand drama.
I made rachelmichelle1 my bitch.
This is not an unpopular opinion.
Yeah but I'm not talking about drama for drama's sake. I'm talking about when someone comes and says something dumb and ten people back it up because we're so SUPPORTIVE!!!, and only one or two people have common sense and speak up.
Agreed. I even have DH laughing with me about it too!
Chiming in on the boring board. I used to be a major lurker when I was PG and since having LO have increased my actual posting. But I suspect that the board used to be bumping (pardon the pun) a lot more a few months ago because people were bored at work or on maternity leave, either before or after baby came.
Now that babies are here, people are back to work, and actually having to work. Cant really pull the pregnancy card anymore. So, unfortunately, its slow.
I wonder how many people exclusively post on FB? And if they do, I suspect its because the bumps mobile site B.L.O.W.S!
I agree! I know a few SAHM that have pre teens and watch reality tv all day and have a skewed version of what reality actually is.
Me either. I want to but DH wants to wait.
I made rachelmichelle1 my bitch.
This is why I love you.
On the boring board topic, my UO is that I like the FB board better than this. Mainly because mobile bumping blows and I am never near a computer or ipad. Mobile bumping messes up all my hyphens and always makes me re-log in. I hate it. FB is just so darn easy and so active.
1. The Fiscal Cliff nonsense annoyed me too. People just need to do their jobs. What if another teacher and I couldn't decided how to teach your children and then went into 2 months of negotiations instead of just teaching the kids? Geeze.
2. No one annoys me more the Kayne West, except maybe Kim Kardashian. (At least she has some business sense) so naturally, I'm super excited to hear about every detail of their pregnancy. [gag]
I post WAY more now, and WAY more on FB, because yes, the mobile sight is terrible. I can FB while I breastfeed so easily!
amen sister! Along those lines, I am totally side eyeing anyone who tells another poster that it's okay to let their LO scream themselves to sleep. Putting your LO down to cry occasionally because you might lose your mind is one thing...doing it more than that is CIO! FFS people, they are 2 and 3 months old...they don't know how to put themselves to sleep! Ahhhhhh!
I haven't done too much research on this subject but it seems a little extreme to me.
I bought headbands and I never put them on cause they either slip off or it's so cold DD is wearing a hoodie or a beanie instead.
Another UO: I don't like when a couple gets divorced and the woman keeps her ex husbands name. I know it can be easier if they have kids together for paperwork reasons but I personally wouldn't keep my ex husbands name since I am no longer of that family.
WHERE DO YOU GO THEN? Tell me. Although if it is proboards I already know
NO! Lol. I mostly go to Parenting or just lurk around.
ILY.
Yes I am also sick of bragplaining and AWing...
I am reminded of how when I was in high school people would be like "oh I learned to read when I was 3 years old" and all I could think of was how does that matter??? WE ARE ALL READING NOW. Andplusalso I graduated first in my class even though I didn't start reading until kindergarten so take that!
ETA: At least that was a real BRAG lol. An unabashed, real brag not disguised.
If you want to brag at least preface the post with AW.
Don't worry, I still stalk you.
lolol I did not see this.
I do have some unpopular mommy wars styles opinions on working vs SAH but every time I try to articulate them they look wrong.
This is hard for me to articulate as I said and I know I may be flamed. I guess it just makes me sad that so many women who are higher powered are the ones who end up dropping out of the work force to SAH. Probably because they have equally well paid spouses. But still, I feel like every time a woman who has a great job and is moving up the ladder drops out it makes it harder for our daughters to expect to get the same opportunities as men.
I also feel like pumping hurts my chances of advancing at work and that FF moms are probably more likely to move ahead at work.
I think this crap will only change when men start dropping out of the work force to raise children at the same rate as women. And if men can suddenly start lactating
To extrapolate on my feelings about pumping.
1. Pumping is a fairly long break in your work day. Even if you had your own office and a hands free bra, set up / tear down takes time. And many of us don't have that. And really, how many of us make that time up later in the day, especially when we are itching to pick up our babies from daycare? I simply have less time to work when I pump.
2. The very act of pumping takes your focus from work. I have talked to my husband and I know he goes several hours without thinking about the baby during the day. With pumping you can pretty much never forget. Meaning that you are not 100% for the company while you are there.
this is why I don't post here as much about my struggles BFing. I don't want people telling me I should quit because it is hard. I mean maybe I should quit at some point but I don't need happy mom happy baby crap thrown at me.