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.
dmack911
member
Re: Feeding 7month old
What has your Pedi said?
Usually at 7 months you are giving solids once, maybe twice a day and it's usually only a few spoonfulls. Let your LO lead.
Seeing as how babies shouldn't start on solids until 6 months old that seems like a lot of food! Even the AAP doesn't recommend more than a tablespoon or so when first starting.
Piper, 4/10/10
Connor, 3/16/15
Morgan, EDD 9/22/16
So this is how DD has been going. She wakes at about 2am and I give her 5oz. She usually drinks it all. She wakes around 7am she eats at about 8am. I use the Baby Bullet. So, she has 2 tablespoons of dry oatmeal cereal which I mix 2oz of BM. Then one container which I believe is 2oz of a veggie and another container of fruit. She goes til about 12 I give her a bottle of 5oz and she goes down for nap. About 1-2hr nap. Then she has dinner around 4pm-5pm. Same as breakfast. Then bedtime she has 5oz and that's about 8-9pm. I know that's not a lot of BM. It's only 19oz. I tried to give her a bottle after her meal she doesn t drink it. Even the 5oz bottles I give for lunch, bedtime, and middle of the night she sometimes doesn't dri k it all.
That's all you can really do is continue to offer solids or mashed up foods and give him time to get used to it. My first child stayed on purees for a long time.
Can you put food down in front of him and let him try grabbing it himself, even if it's messy?
@dmack911 we did not start with cereal. I had read alot that said to not give them grains so young. I have been considering giving cereal now to try it out but my husband has decided he is against it. We started with mashed avacado. I have since pureed green beans, peas, and carrots and mashed carrots. And we have tried to baby food jar of apples. With the purees I homemade I did mix breast milk into it to thin it out. I also did some with water to thin it in case he didn't like the taste of the BM mixed. We also have done some just mashed with nothing mixed in.
We bought a mesh fresh feeder pacifier looking thing and loaded it with cubed watermelon and let her suck, chew, and bite down on it. She loves it! It's similar to a pacifier so it's already a little familiar, but there's tiny holes for the juice and tiny tiny bits of the fruit to come out. You can obviously put any fruit and veggie in it and it's not hard to clean. The bag thing attached is decent sized and the handle is large enough for baby to grasp with both hands.
I thought that could help. It took her a few minutes to get used to, but she loves the juice that she gets from it. We have tried watermelon and pears so far. Its messy, but worth it. Also, you can freeze fruit to put in there and it helps with teething pains. Paired with the cold fruit and the texture of the bag it seems to do really well for that!
This is a tough question to answer because all babies are different in terms of amount and what they eat. Unless your doc says he/she is out of range for weight, then don't worry much. I used to write down how much my daughter ate and I drove myself crazy if if was a lot less or a lot more than her typical. If you think about it, most people have days where they eat more or less or feel more thirsty or less thirsty... it just varies. Currently, my 7 month old takes about 4 or 5 bottles/day ranging from 4-8 oz each. We offer her solids morning and night and she will usually take about 4 ounces of fruit/veggie along with some cereal or a small container of yogurt. We never added cereal to her bottles. Her first food was quinoa (I was ambitious and wanted to start her on something non-traditional) which she loved until we gave her other things and now she doesn't like it much anymore.
There are so many "rules" during pregnancy/child rearing... don't eat this while pregnant, don't put cereal in bottles, don't put baby on stomach to sleep, blah blah blah. Sure they all have SOME bearing but honestly, just trust yourself and go with what feels right for you and your child in every situation and I'm sure things will be fine. The rules change so often it's just not worth the stress. My grandmother was telling me recently how when she was raising her babies, breastfeeding was NOT recommended. She fed her babies whole milk with Karo syrup in it, put her babies to sleep on their tummies and ALWAYS had 2 layers on them at all times in all weather. And I can say that all 5 of her babies are perfectly happy and healthy adults now. I think there's a million ways to raise a healthy happy baby.
This. My mom never made me wear a seatbelt when I was little and she smoked in the car with us kids but would I do those things now with my kids? HELL no. I can't stand hearing "well, our parents and grandparents did X,Y,Z and look at me! I'm fine!!!" That is not a valid argument.
You shouldn't judge a mother who is feeding her baby with formula. There are many reasons a mom may choose not to breastfeed (or not) and others should not be judging that Mom and the Moms should never feel guilty. There should be no stigma. You do not need to breastfeed to be a great Mom.
I think every parent should know the recommendations about safe sleeping for babies. The safest way for a baby to sleep is on their back and not their stomach. Whether you follow that advice or not, it is a fact we should all be able to know and agree upon. We should also all know the reasoning behind it: back sleeping reduces the risk of SIDS. Some parents put their babies to sleep on their stomach after talking to their doctor and getting it cleared with them, and some parents put their babies to sleep on their stomach on their own without input from the doctor.
In my opinion the really important thing is to avoid parents putting babies to sleep on their tummys because they don't know or believe that back is safer. If you know the current guidelines and the reasoning, then it's up to you about how you implement it. I'm not doing everything perfectly and following every guideline either. In this case, I always put my baby on her back. And even then I worried a bit about SIDS. Ever since they changed the guidelines the SIDS rate has dropped HUGE and we are losing way less babies. So I've embraced Back is Best. And they've proven that there is no risk of asphyxiation from spit-up if babies are sleeping on their backs.
I think it's wise to try to follow the most up-do-date info on health and child care. As science continues to advance, the information we have will become more and more accurate and scientifically sound. Things are bound to change and hopefully keep improving. We are learning so much about child development and healthy beginnings and we've come so far. A great example of this is how much death from SIDS has dropped over the past 11 years. It used to be a much more common issue before the Back to Sleep campaign in 1994.
I don't want to judge any Mom who puts baby to sleep on their tummy. Let me be clear: I want the facts to be really top of mind in these forums to help inform and educate each other. But there's still room for: "Well A is best practice but B is what I do and it's worked for me." I just draw the line at people not taking recommendations seriously or being in denial about them. (Not saying that anyone here is doing that.) I will always try to share correct info with other Moms and hopefully I will never make anyone feel judged if they don't use that info in their parenting practice. I will be the first to admit I do a lot of things differently than what is recommended!