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.
JoySeattle
member
Re: Pregnancy Check-in
My news this week is that we had a consult with our midwives and we are so excited! All is well though I still just feel tired and chubby more than I do pregnant.
QOTD: Our nursery is turning out to be animal themed with lots of authentic art from K's time living in Africa... After our wedding we will put in some more effort into planning and decorating as I have my eye on a comfy chair I'd use to BF and we are getting a crib from K's cousin that was never used because she ended up co-sleeping (and still does with a 4 yo). Probably not the route we will take but LO will likely sleep with us in the beginning.
TTC with RE since March 2012
3 missed O's, 6 IUIs = 1 BFP then 8 w M/C, 5 BFNs
(2 unmedicated IUIs, 2 clomid IUI, 2 femara IUI)
Shared maternity/partner IVF, transfer #1 BFP!
EDD 11/28/13
26 weeks tomorrow and doing well. We started our Mindful Birthing private classes last week and have been practicing daily. I have a chiro appt for my SI (which is much better and I'm only going every other week now). I'm back to walking and need to re-incorporate my weekly swimming and yoga even though I'm more busy these days.
While baby will stay in our room for sleep, our guest room will function as a nursery, but the full-size bed will stay. We have white furniture and will do a travel theme with some touches of ocean related stuff. I feel like the time if flying and I want to get on top of the big things so I can move on to the fun decor items.The nursery theme has been settled. We will use S's baby furniture fom the 70's. it's awesome and avacado with rocking flowers. I'll post a pic when it gets out of storage in a couple if weeks. We will use woodland type creatures to accent with the same colors, greens, oatmeals, orange, etc. I am super jazzed about it. We're having a carpenter make a changing table out of her old crib and opting for a new crib, probably in an antique white. We're also integrating song lyrics from us and or closest friends into the chair rail and top if the walls. We actually contacted a few friends about choosing their favorite child appropriate lyrics this past weekend. We're now just trying to settle on the lyrics we want to integrate into the room.
We have a nursery, but plan on the baby sleeping in our room for at least the first 3 months, probably the first 6. The nursery is painted peacock blue and beige. V refinished an antique dresser and painted it bright yellow and black. Really there is no theme, but the colors work. We were given a nice comfy glider, and we got our crib in a dark wood from ikea.
We won't be having a nursery. We plan for the baby to stay with us the first year because it's easier for me since I'll be breastfeeding. After that, they'll probably share a room because we only have two bedrooms upstairs and our son will still be too young to sleep in the downstairs bedroom.
Joy - how are you so far along already?!?
I'm 31 weeks today and doing well, other than moving slower than ever. I hate going up our stairs at home and will avoid it when possible :-p I'm measuring full term and feel full term but hopefully have 6+ weeks to go.
We are doing well over here. We are starting to tell our extended family and friends that we are expecting which has been lots of fun. I am starting to get a little bloat bump, but will be happy when it turns into a true baby bump. We also got a home Doppler and have enjoyed listening to the heartbeat at home.
QOTD: I have a neutral pallet for the nursery. I want creams and browns and whites. We have also looked at some cute owl decorations, but we shall see how it actually turns out when we get further along.
Baby Oliver born 11/27/13
TTC stats with donor sperm...
IUI #1 with trigger, 1/4/13 - BFN
IUI #2 with trigger, 2/1/13 BFN
IUI #3 with tigger, 2/28/12 BFP EDD 11/21/13
I know, right?! It's flying by. You're only 5 weeks ahead of me, which is funny because we didn't know you were pregnant until you were farther along. What's your doc's philosophy on twin pregnancies in terms of term? Any expectations on how long your boys will stay in there?
Newbie here but wanted to jump in! 8w2d today and have our second ultrasound tomorrow. Our 6 week ultrasound revealed TWINS! They were measuring one day apart and had very similar heartbeats so we are keeping our fingers crossed they are still growing great!
QOTD: Even though we have 2 spare rooms, we have decided to put both the babies in one nursery until they are older. We plan to decorate but probably not until after we know if boy/girl or otherwise. Since there's a possibility we will have boy/girl (I have a hunch) we will probably keep it simple with neutral colors and no theme.
I haven't been checking the bump boards as often as usual, but I'll at least check in here (late!) The baby is doing great in there, kicking and punching as normal. Glucose test is next week, then our last monthly appointment before it changes to every 2 weeks. It's hard to believe it's gone by so fast, especially in the beginning when it was dragging on!!
I've been following the MN legislature closely because we have a marriage bill going through right now. It has already made it to the full House and Senate, and the House will vote tomorrow. I am excited, nervous, scared, and just optimistic and hopeful that it will pass!
QOTD: As far as the nursery ... We are having a baby animal theme (sounds like we aren't alone with that). It has seemed like an insurmountable project for so long! It's slowly getting better I have been working on it for weeks and seems like not a whole lot is done. I just finished painting the ceiling, and we painted the walls last week, so at least that's done. Now, I need to figure out which animals are going on the walls, where they will go, how we will get them there since neither of us are artistic in the least ... Feeling overwhelmed about that. I looked into getting wall decals because those would be so easy, but they are expensive! I would need $500 just for that and it's not in the budget!
My OBs want me to get to 36/37 weeks and then after that is a bonus. We won't begin to talk induction until 38+ weeks as long as everything is good. They actually said that because DD went 41w3d they have no reason to believe I can't make it to 39 weeks! I'm not in a rush to evict these boys but I'm not sure I'll be a happier camper at 39 weeks. :-p