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: Randoms 7.25
Formerly known as Kate08young
August '18 Siggy April Showers:
Married: 7/22/14
Baby L: 8/4/2015 August 2015 Moms
Baby E: 11/18/2016 December 2016 Moms
TTC #3 08/2017 BFP 11/27/2017.
Twin B lost 11/22/2017, Twin A doing well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QC27U94/ref=br_it_dp_o_nS_ttl?ie=UTF8&colid=3L3KF2P10LH0W&coliid=I2YM1EUKOB145&vs=1
(It's the Storq Carryall) And ETA: it comes with backpack straps too.
TTC #1 January 2016
BFP April 18 2016 | EDD December 29, 2016
Welcome baby A! January 9, 2017
TTC#2 March 2018
BFP March 30, 2018 | EDD December 12, 2018
Formerly known as Kate08young
August '18 Siggy April Showers:
Married: 7/22/14
Baby L: 8/4/2015 August 2015 Moms
Baby E: 11/18/2016 December 2016 Moms
TTC #3 08/2017 BFP 11/27/2017.
Twin B lost 11/22/2017, Twin A doing well.
So let's try to condense a long story... A few years ago I went to the doctor because I was having a difficult time getting pregnant. I got stuck with a nurse practitioner who took my blood and just started crazily writing prescriptions. She put me on metformin and levothyroxine- neither of which I was 100% sure I needed. I never saw a real doctor, just her. She also spent a copious amount of time telling me about how her gastric bypass surgery changed her life. She was awful.
Those medications made me really sick, I started having crazy panic attacks but I pushed through the side effects thinking they might normalize things and get me pregnant. They didn't. Eventually, I couldn't take the panic attacks and the side effects and I came off everything. Felt amazing. Joined Weight Watchers, lost 95lbs, felt even more amazing. Then at the end of 2015 I plateaued and couldn't seem to get my weight loss to keep going. I kept counting points, tried Whole30 made it almost to Whole60, made sure I was exercising daily, then I switched to eating vegan and still didn't really lose anything. I gave up caffeine and my melatonin kick. Husband went vegan with me, and he lost weight (of course). Suddenly in March, I was pregnant.
Now, I don't have any symptoms I'm concerned with minus my old fatigue/low energy which is a little stronger now that I'm pregnant but none of the others. I don't take any medications, when my blood was drawn in the beginning of my pregnancy everything was completely normal. I am a little concerned about my thyroid now because of the complications that would arise from an underperforming thyroid. I've just been told to stay off Google, that everything's fine, and to not be concerned because if I was having thyroid issues I'd know it. My beef with that is that I have never had any thyroid symptoms that I know of, ever (minus being low energy). But back then it was still under performing (allegedly) and I was on medication. IF that nurse practitioner wasn't just insane and prescription pad happy, of course. The not knowing is frustrating. Talking to my OB nurse, I was essentially told to go to my general doctor if I really wanted my thyroid checked and pay my copay. Since all of these conversations have been with nurses on the phone, I'm going to bring it up again with the doctor when I see them on Aug 17th.
Am I concerned for nothing? I really hope so, because I can't seem to get my OB office on board for checking something out. The nurse said that things would raise normal flags anyway when they checked it now because I am pregnant and that makes things shift around. Is she right? Should I just get off the Google and let it go?
I hope you're doing great too!
I don't think you are stressing over nothing, but I do recommend staying off of Google. Google is a rabbit hole that rarely leads to anything comforting or reliable. I looked up something last night, and apparently I have skin cancer in my vag. Definitely not something you want to scare yourself further with.
Formerly known as Kate08young
August '18 Siggy April Showers:
Married: 7/22/14
Baby L: 8/4/2015 August 2015 Moms
Baby E: 11/18/2016 December 2016 Moms
TTC #3 08/2017 BFP 11/27/2017.
Twin B lost 11/22/2017, Twin A doing well.
Edited to add: When my levels were super low I didn't have any symptoms other than ones that could easily be chalked up to pregnancy so don't take the lack of symptoms as anything.
TTC #1 January 2016
BFP April 18 2016 | EDD December 29, 2016
Welcome baby A! January 9, 2017
TTC#2 March 2018
BFP March 30, 2018 | EDD December 12, 2018
Baby #1
Baby #2
~04/19/16 EDD 12/26/16~
SaveSaveSaveSave
TTC since 6/13
Diagnosed w/ PCOS 4/9/15 - R/E recommended lifestyle change
BFP 4/10/16 - DS born 12/16/2016
SURPRISE! BFP 3/8/18
https://www.zulily.com/e/scandinavian-adventure-194127.html
It is taking everything in my power not to buy everything. The struggle is real.
Baby #1
Baby #2
~04/19/16 EDD 12/26/16~
SaveSaveSaveSave
TTC since 6/13
Diagnosed w/ PCOS 4/9/15 - R/E recommended lifestyle change
BFP 4/10/16 - DS born 12/16/2016
SURPRISE! BFP 3/8/18
Baby #1
Baby #2
~04/19/16 EDD 12/26/16~
SaveSaveSaveSave
Formerly known as Kate08young
August '18 Siggy April Showers:
Married: 7/22/14
Baby L: 8/4/2015 August 2015 Moms
Baby E: 11/18/2016 December 2016 Moms
TTC #3 08/2017 BFP 11/27/2017.
Twin B lost 11/22/2017, Twin A doing well.
My last pregnancy without the placenta previa I was getting actual punches to the cervix. I much prefer these deadened ones though I hate the reason for them!
So we have three dogs two cats, there's a gate in the hallway to keep the dogs and cats separated, mostly so the cats can have some space from the dogs when they need it, a place for their food in our room, and a litter box down the hall the dogs can't mess with.
In past homes and this one before I got pregnant, the cat box has always lived in an empty closet of a room we don't use much. The other spare bedroom was/is the guest room. Now, with baby on the way, we've kicked them out of that spare room that will become the nursery, and put them in the bottom of our linen closet. I hate this. I could list all the reasons why, but you probably can imagine.
Lately the box has been noticeably smelly to me (could just be because I'm pregnant) and the little granules irritate me more and more. What can I do? Where can I put this box? I feel like the guest bedroom closet is a rude place for it. "Sorry my cat's gonna need you to leave the door open so he can come in and poop." Husband says absolutely not about putting it in our room. Any suggestions?