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.
Re: Newbie Play date part 2
STM, I didn't take any birth classes and felt like I did fine without them. I did do a bunch of reading, and my practice has a "Meet the Midwife" night where they do a very brief over view of options of pain meds. I found that helpful. I liked "Your Best Birth" by Ricki Lake. It goes over the pros and cons of just about every eventuality when having a baby and it was great to know all my options ahead of time.
We took C to a wedding at 8 weeks. She was in a very simple, sweet white dress for about an hour...and then ended up in her onesie and some pants. The only reason she even started out in the dress was because as the MOH myself, I knew she'd end up in some pictures. We went to another wedding when she was 12 weeks, and we started in the onesie and pants. So much easier. She's a baby, she doesn't need impress anyone.
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
@Temurlang1 -- anything can work of the baby allows it. Some just don't like to be covered.
These are the dresses:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/126901556/the-gray-elegance-romper-sash-headband?ref=sr_gallery_8&ga_search_query=flower+girl+outfit+baby&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery
BFP: February 2016 EDD: October 17, 2016
BFP: February 2016 EDD: October 17, 2016
I'm not new. I just hate The Bump.
BFP: February 2016 EDD: October 17, 2016
I have the motorola video. Love this thing and it's a must have for us...there's been so many times by noise alone, I would have gone into the nursery. I like that I can just look, see that she's ok, and not bother. Its been buying me extra morning time to get ready since she'll play in her crib for a few and we go in once she's standing. We just bought an extra camera for #2. it has a split screen feature and the one monitor can use multiple cameras
For NIP, in the beginning I was in a nursing tank alot. That was nice because it was an easy unhook and my stomach was covered with the tank. I usually wore a tee shirt or another tank over it so I had top and bottom coverage.
I'm not sure how its going to work in warmer weather. I was always more worried about flashing my stomach than my boob. I didn't get a nursing cover..I thought they were kind of ridiculous looking and used a swaddle blanket instead.
I skipped it. My doctor gave me the run down of the hospital run one that was a video and a tour for $90. He recommended some books and told me to maybe look at one of them and to be prepared with questions once my appts got to every other week. I toyed with the idea of going all natural. But, I'm the type of person where if I have a plan and things don't go according to plan I get really really bent out of shape. So, the plan I made with my doc was to play it by ear, be educated on options and that at every step he would go over the different options I had.
It worked for me. Turns out I went until 41 weeks. I was measuring small, we did an u/s and I had low fluid. He went over the induction options and why he didn't feel comfortable letting me go longer. We picked what options we wanted to go with first (hold off on pitocin for as long as possible). Once it came time for pain meds etc, my dr came in and talked us through our options and we chose what we thought was best.
It helped to have read up on different meds etc so we weren't making completely blind decisions. But, I'm doing the same plan..or lack of plan with this one. I just knew my personality and I knew if I said this is the birth I'm going to have and I didn't, I'd be a trainwreck
I read a couple of books..one was Ina May's Natural Childbirth, I believe another was put out by the mayo clinic. A friend who took a birthing class also gave me her little booklet from her class that outlined some. Reading some of this stuff familiarized me with different scenarios, meds, what is used and why etc and helped me when my doctor was talking about things I had some knowledge of what he as talking about.
I had a strange birth experience..I was admitted for induction at 41 weeks due to low fluid. I had talked to my dr about other techniques vs induction. They tried a foley ballon but couldn't insert and inflate it due to some scarring on my cervix. My dr. came in the next morning. He gave us the option of an oral med vs. pitocin and stripping my membranes. I wasn't in a l&D room and could not get pitocin and l&d was terribly backed up. He striped my membranes at 1pm and I was in active labor with contractions every 2 min at 345. It came out of no where.
I was moved to l&D and he went over the medication options with me. Honestly, since labor came so fast for me, I didn't have a build up of contractions and they were just one after another (I know everyones experience is different). I thought it would be more of a gradual build up with contractions further apart then getting closer and closer over time) which wasn't the case...I went straight for the epidural. I had a great experience with it..I could move my legs, feel the pressure to push and had no side effects afterwards.
I guess just going with no plan and going with the flow worked for me. I felt like my dr guided me and we have a good relationship and my husband and I made the right decisions for us along the way. No regrets not having a plan. I would have been in tears if something didn't go the way expected.
Good luck..sorry for the long version!
@jshrop If you recline the seat all the way down, you can use the stroller fairly early. But I did like using the carseat adaptor, even when it was just a walk around the neighborhood - baby is well supported, which you'd probably have to deal with if you were using the stroller without it.
IF, 5 losses, 1 son, 1 on the way.
We put DD in the City Mini for walks without the carseat at maybe 4 weeks? She was itty still, but it worked fine. Just lay it all the way flat. If you want to do it often, I'd probably invest in one of those infant snuzzlers for it. They are like $15. As long as you lay the seat flat and aren't going fast or over super rough terrain, it will be fine.
Just seconding this. We aren't doing an infant car seat -- doing a convertible one instead. We also got a jogging stroller with a 5-point harness, just like in a car seat. We will recline it and have a snuzzler to put in it. I plan to use it early, once she seems okay in there. Probably by two months, maybe earlier. I won't jog with her, but neighborhood walks.https://m.target.com/p/graco-pack-n-play-playard-with-reversible-napper-and-changer/-/A-15078293
I've always been of the "drug me up and let me feel no pain" mindset, but the other day I somehow "remembered" tgat I don't like needles. Now I'm scared. Is it comoletely intimidating? I'm afraid to Google.