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.
taylordifazio
member
Re: Name Nightmare!
I'm dying to know what your daughter's name is though.
If I were in your situation I would probably
1st - calm down!
2nd - speak to your friend and say how surprised you were about the name because that's what you chose months ago, explain the story to her about how you came about choosing the name etc and if she says that you shouldn't go ahead and call your child that then maybe you shouldn't be friends with someone like that... Which might work out nice for you because at least then your child and hers won't spend too much time together!
3rd - don't worry about what others think, it's just a coincident, you haven't stole the fetus out of her womb you simply have both picked a name that you both like. And as for the social media aspect, I can't even.
Unfortunately, you run the risk of someone in your family/friends circles using your baby's name any time - but even more so when you choose not to tell people the name ahead of time (FWIW - I like not sharing baby names until the baby is born. That's what DH and I did with DS1 and we're doing the same now).
As pp have said, no one owns a name. And typically, when people think they've come up with a unique or unusual name, it's not as unique or unusual as they think (or if it is, it's a completely made up name).
You need to first, stop acting like a victim in this case. Your friend had no idea that she was choosing the same name as you. It's not her fault. Being "genuinely concerned about my friendship with this person" is childish. She didn't know. She didn't do anything wrong (and even if she did know your baby name choice, no one owns a name).
You have two choices - use the name, or pick another name. If you use the name, you need to have a heart to heart with your friend and explain the situation. But don't tell her you're upset about the situation - just explain the situation and how much the name has meant to you all this time, how it's been attached to your LO already. I don't know your friend or how she will react. But maybe your girls will grow up together as the two [INSERT NAME HERE] and will think its cute to have the same name.
If you pick a different name, I think there's no need to talk to your friend about the situation - at least not now. Don't stress her out with drama that was not her doing. Maybe someday, once your LO is here and you love the other name you picked, you can tell her the story about she chose the same baby name as you, and you can laugh about it. But you're clearly emotional about it now, so it is not the time to involve your friend.
You'll feel better if you just tell us the name....
Umm i haven't suggested any stealing/owning of unborn babies names, I just said that it was just a coincidence and depending on the level of friendship I'd probably have a conversation with the friend about it if she was a close friend. Hopefully laugh about what great taste we both have then call my baby whatever I wanted, not ask for permission (which I never suggested).
But anyway it was an over the top rant/question, hence why my first bit if advice was to calm down.
My trail of thought was more along the lines that the friend of OP sounds like the sort of person to lose her shit over it after having a big gender/name reveal party and having a social media outbreak of this magical name.
I just know if it was one of my close friends I'd have a casual conversation about it when I next saw her (not setting up a specific meeting to go round hers to fight to the death over ownership of the name) and hope that she didn't get protective over the name and that we'd both laugh about having daughters with the same name!
OP ran away and took the magical name with her anyway so now we'll never know
Oh and OP didn't disclose her name to the friend. She got all hurt over her unvoiced name choice.
I really wanna know!!!!
Don't think I didn't think about it.....but yeah, pulled myself together and realized how creepy that would be
@lneice0160 I would edit your post and change your wording before this post becomes about you.
I would also recommend editing your vocabulary to remove that word from it entirely.