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.
dixie7701
member
Re: GTKY- What had happened was.....
BFP #2 6.13.16
NMC 7.2.16
Kate McKinnon
Other LFAF Awards: Most likely shopping for LuLaRoe, Sweetest LFAFer, Kindest, Jokiest Jokester, Most likely to meow, Best smelling Bumpie, LFAFer I'd like to meet, Most Genuine
I told my boss that I needed to leave exactly at the time she gets home cause I had a first date at xx o'clock. She's all "no worries blah blah blah." Throughout the day she kept texting/mentioning that she would be coming home early to give me extra time to get ready for it. About 30 minutes before she's expected home...radio silence. Expected time - radio silence. 30 minutes late - radio silence. 2 1/2 HOURS later, we hear the garage door... "Oh, I'm so sorry. I decided to get a manicure and that turned into a pedicure and a wax, and i just LOVE catching up on gossip with my girl at the salon and the time just got away from me!"
Luckily I already had DH's number so I had been keeping him updated, and he was still at the restaurant bar waiting, so by the time I got there he thoroughly drunk, and was repeatedly kept turning down girls who kept trying to sit on the empty seat next to him that he was saving for me...and luckily he let me have a 2nd date later that week!
BFP #2 6.13.16
NMC 7.2.16
Kate McKinnon
Other LFAF Awards: Most likely shopping for LuLaRoe, Sweetest LFAFer, Kindest, Jokiest Jokester, Most likely to meow, Best smelling Bumpie, LFAFer I'd like to meet, Most Genuine
BFP #2 6.13.16
NMC 7.2.16
Kate McKinnon
Other LFAF Awards: Most likely shopping for LuLaRoe, Sweetest LFAFer, Kindest, Jokiest Jokester, Most likely to meow, Best smelling Bumpie, LFAFer I'd like to meet, Most Genuine
Married: Oct 20, 2013
BFP 1: Aug 31, 2015
EDD 1: May 12, 2016
DD1 Emma born May 12, 2016
An Honest Account of New Motherhood (with Postpartum Anxiety, Depression, and OCD)
BFP 2: October 07, 2019
EDD 2: June 20, 2020
Fast forward about 30 minutes....
DH and I got everything cleaned up and left the house for our evening plans. About halfway there, his mother calls him and says "you have to come back the bedroom downstairs is flooding" and water was going all over the TV and other consoles that were there. It was a nightmare! I never thought he would ever call me again after that date, but he did and here we are 7 years later married. I told that story at our wedding and most people think it's made up or make jokes about 'that time I took a huge dump at DH's house and flooded it'
Anyways, I'm sure we all have one of those stories. Thanks for sharing your favorites!
DD born 1/24/16
TTC #2 - Jun 2017
BFP on 8/24/17
- BFP: 3/10/16 — Baby Girl born 11/20/16
TTC#2 April 2019My first date. I was a freshmen in high school. He was a senior. I was nervous.
We went to the movies, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon-anyways, somehow, with my first handful of popcorn I managed to poke my eyeball with my pinkie and I was crying out of the one eye for the first part of the movie. Luckily it wasn't the eye closest to him so I still tell myself he never noticed.
Edit- words are hard
After leaving, my bf and sister got into a fight, yelling and screaming, about me, on the sidewalk. He started to leave and I didn't follow, but everyone said I should catch up with him. We get in a cab to his friend's place where he proceeds to break up with me. I'm drunk and crying, he pays the cab to take me back and I'm crying to this driver while he hands me napkins from his glove compartment telling me it's okay, I'm too good for that guy. He drops me off to meet my family (we were staying at my cousin's apartment in the city) but they are at the bar across the street. The bar won't let me in and they won't let my family leave to give me keys to the apartment till the tabs are paid. I sat on the stoop outside the bar for 20 minutes waiting in the winter cold for them to come out and then I could go to bed. On my birthday.
I went out with dh a month after that, so it all worked out. We all laugh about it now.
Early M/C Dec. 2015