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: so, what baby names have you come up with so far?
Girl: Callie (Mae, Ann)
Boy: Huck
Rowdy
Need help ladies! How do you feel about the boys names? We keep going back and forth on them.
@Karissa764 My DDs name is Skyler Rae! Slight spelling change to yours. Haven't come up with any names for the new baby yet.
Girl: Amelia Susan
Boy: Declan William
Both mn are family names!
My sister just named her new girl Cali (pronounced Callie).
I love that name, it's sweet and simple.
Her first daughter is named Capri.
I know the baby name board might be the place to ask this, but I don't know them and I feel like I know some of you, haha. We have mostly settled on Parker if we have a boy. I was originally thinking Scott for a mn (my DH's mn), but would love to honor my grandfather who passed away this summer and his name was Gordon Joseph.
So... basically I'm asking for an opinion on: Parker Scott vs Parker Joseph vs Parker Gordon
Also, I'm sure I've posted this part already, but if we have a girl she'll be Brooklyn Mae (Brooklyn for a song MH and I loved when we were first falling in love and Mae was my great grandmother's middle name).
BFP#1: 8/5/14 EDD: 4/17/15 MC: 8/20/2014
BFP#2: 10/10/14 EDD: 6/23/15 Grow, Baby. Grow!!
J15 January Siggy Challenge: Pinterest Fails
We'll never tell!!!! muahaha! jj
We're team Green, so we want to be ready for a boy or a girl.
Girl: Ellianna Rose or Lailey Grace
Boy: Miles, Gavin, Quentin, Everett, Archer, Landon, Lincoln, Liam, Jackson, Emerson or Holden (HELP!)
We picked the girl's names in about 10 minutes, but we are totally lost on the boy's names. If we have a boy the middle name will be Shiraz (after my husband's father and my husband's middle name.)
Any one love or hate any of these boy's names or have other suggestions that are similar. We don't really want names that will result in multiples in school.
I like Parker Joseph. You could nickname him PJ or "Peej".
J15 January Siggy Challenge: Pinterest Fails
Married: 12/08/12
BFP: 09/21/14
EDD: 06/04/15
~*~ book nerd forever | Tar Heel '07 ~*~
We were thinking:
Girl:
Emma or Elizabeth with middle names Joan Anne (grandmother's names)
Boy:
Benjamin Javier Asher
Not so sure about double mns....
And I LOVE Benjamin Nathaniel....and thinking about Faith as a middle name if a girl.
Will have to see if DH is ok not using any family names....
Boy: deciding between Hudson and Finn. MN (Aaron or Douglas after family)
Tyler Bernard
Chase Bernard
Deacon Bernard
Zack Bernard
Hunter Bernard
I wrote out a list to see what it felt like to write them and then taped the list to the kitchen cabinets so we can look at it every day.
I LOOOOOVE Finn!
me: 33, Factor V Leiden, MTHFR + hubs: 37
BFP #1: 9/25/14 -- EDD: 6/4/15
Jesse, our baby boy: 2/25/15 @ 25.6 weeks, 2lbs 2oz & 13.5 inches. spent 66 days in the NICU.
BFP #2: 7/29/16 -- EDD: 3/30/17
baby #2 on the way.
Our favorite names are:
Girl: Charlotte Jane or Juniper Ione
Boy: Brooks Legend (my hubs loves legend as a middle name, I don't get it but I don't hate it either)
Caleb
Kyle
Parker
Those are in the running now- would like to use Cole or Lee as middle name. Our last name is one syllable.
And Brielle for a girl but nothing is set yet. I am so indecisive and dh says he needs to see baby first.
My other choices are Emmett or Colton for boy and Payton or Scarlett for a girl.
If we were having a girl we'd probably go with Anjali - it was DHs mothers middle name. I also like the name Maya.
Not sure we'll bother with a middle name - it's hard enough coming up with a first name, and DH has a pretty uncommon surname (it's really a first name, when his parents got married there was a paperwork snafu and it was easier for the family to take his dad's first name as a surname).
Personally we are struggling with a girls name but a few we've considered are Nina, Elyse and Ramona.
Unfortunately all my female heroes have names we don't like because they are too "old": Ruth (Bader Ginsburg), Helen (Keller) etc. My husband vetoed June and Pearl.
We definitely want an easy to spell first name as our last name can be tricky.
DH wanted to name her Stella after his grandma, who he never knew and apparently was quite racist. I don't like it.
The only girl name we have agreed on so far is Lizelle Jean (my mom's mn).
DS is Brandon (after my brother who passed away when I was 11) Joe (DH's middle name).
Julian and Naomi, Annika or Tess.
We are not Scandinavian, does Annika sounds too Scandinavian? I'm British and H is Portuguese.
We hadn't settled on a boy's name yet - we basically decided that for a boy we'd name him when he was born because we kept going back and forth between a few. Middle name would definitely have been Joseph for DH's brother, but for the first name we were going back and forth between Ryan, Andrew (for my dad and Andrew McCutchen - we're big Pittsburgh fans), and Michael (for DH's best friend from high school).
Aiden means "little fire"
(joining big brother Levi)