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: Announcements
I did see a cute shirt on here... @CandyApple2012 OK if I steal your idea for my nieces?
No, I'm not an early bird, but that doesn't mean I'm a night owl.... I guess I'm an afternoon duck?
Type A personality, Type B body
First BFP with donor sperm 04/11/2017
I told DH with our youngest wearing a big brother shirt, and he wore it to Easter too. Most people didn't notice, so we didn't make a big deal of it.
Other than the family and my bff we are doing the boys birthday pictures in June and will do a cute announcement with the photographer. Probably something simple. I saw a collage where the boys were each holding a sign that said first, second, and mom holding third. Also since we will be doing the genetic testing at 10 weeks, it may be our gender reveal too.
As far as social media - we bought a onesie of my favorite band and will post it along with our dog that says something like "newest fan coming in December 2017... Gizmo is going to be a big brother!"
11/2011: dx with Stage 1 Thyroid Cancer 03/2012: dx with Endometriosis
March 2017 IVF - Lil Jedi due 12/06/2017
for my my family and Facebook we are having shirts made. Mine and DH's will say "you're killing me smalls," which we say to DS regularly. DS will have a shirt that says smalls and then we're getting a onesie that says "extra smalls"
High School Teacher * Reluctant Floridian * Steelers Fan
Family info in Spoiler
DS 11/2017
MMC 10/2019 @ 12 weeks
Planning to try for our rainbow 01/2020
In terms of everyone else, we're waiting until the 2nd trimester, and we're going to send everyone a card that says something along the lines of, "we know what WE'RE EXPECTING for Christmas" with a picture of a cute onesie on a pine tree.
I'm super excited to tell people, and I can't contain myself well BUT at the same time I enjoy keeping a little (aka GINORMOUS) secret.
I've only told a few ppl so far, but for everyone else that's what I want to do!! Thanks for sharing, I hope you don't mind me stealing it! (Or maybe I'll do some stockings!) ahh!' The ideas are flowing in!!
** December BMB Siggy Challenge - Animals in Pools **
Me: 31+ H: 32
TTC Since 11/2015
#1 - MMC 6.5 weeks (2/16); #2 - MC due to cystic hygroma at 20 weeks (10/16); #3 CP (2/17); #4 - Due 12.16.17
I'm really struggling with how to tell my grandmas. They will both be great grandmas for only the second time, and I know they'll both be elated, but they both live so far away. I'm in TX, and one is in CT, the other CA. I've gotta figure it out though because we were thinking about doing something for mother's day, and time is running out on me.
2 Dogs / 2 Cats
IUI #2 10/2016 BFN
IUI #3 11/2016 BFN
IVF #1 03/2017 - 23 Retrieved / 22 Fertilized / 11 at Day 3 / 1 Beautiful Embryo tf on Day 5 / 7 Frozen on Day 6 - Beta #1 4/5/17: 104 Beta #2 4/7/17 224
I told my stepmom before my first appointment bc I wanted her to come with me (DH couldn't get off work). Then my mom guessed when I asked her about twins running in the family. My DH told his mom, and all his siblings about a week later, and I told my siblings a few days after that.
Had to tell my boss(es) early (8wks?) bc I was supposed to travel to India for work this summer, and we have to start planning/ transitioning some of my projects to other people while I'm on leave. I'm announcing to my immediate coworkers at our team meeting next week bc I almost can't hide the bump anymore and have been forgetting stuff pretty frequently.
A couple of our close friends knew pretty early too.
I'm printing out actual card announcements to send our grandparents within the next week or so, and then we'll do a Facebook announcement around the 13 wk mark.
I'm just ready to spill the beans! :-D
That's what I'm planning to do to tell my brother, SIL, and all my nieces and nephews! Then I'll pull out the ultrasound really quick so they know it's for real!
When we tell H's fam, I'm going to have them unwrap something with his brother and sister there watching (still deciding what to wrap
April 2016 - AMH, FSH, Progesterone normal
June 2016 - HSG clear
*TW* BFP - Aug16, demise confirmed Sep16, incomplete m/c, D&C Nov16
BFP 3/27/17, edd 12/7/17
DS - 12/9/17
TTC #2 December 2018
BFP 2/22/19, edd 11/4/19
DD - 11/1/19
My Chart
Haha glad I'm not the only one watching strangers videos loll. For yearsss. And I cry at them LOL
I did manage to somewhat record telling my husband
she finally opened the card, where I wrote the due date, her jaw hit the floor and she looked like she'd been punk'd and asked if we were expecting. She then freaked out and ran over to me to hug me. I'm not a hugger and my boobs hurt so I tucked up in the couch and let her hug the life outta my husband. Then she started crying. She's excited and plans on spoiling the kid.
DH's family went as expected, we got a card that said "from the two of us" on the front and scratched out the two and put three. So it was more obvious.
Saw my friend yesterday and she thinks I'm starting to show, I'm almost 9 weeks. I imagine my work will know by the end of the week.. the belly will give me away, I finished a cut as I was learning about being preggo and my tummy ended up pretty flat, definitely can't suck it in any more.. kinda mixed feelings about that haha!! Here's to a happy healthy pregnancy!
Saturday we went to see my brother and brought the box along. My mom said, "You should see what Mattie and Michael got me." He complained about having to open it hahaha, but when he finally did, he said, "Whaaaaaaaaaaat???" with a huge smile on his face and then hugged me. Again, recorded by DH.
Later on Saturday my sister and her husband came over. I did the same thing, gave her my mom's gift and said she should see what I got my mom. When she opened it she was speechless and just had her mouth open in shock looking around at all of us. Her husband goes, "I bet I know what it is," and then she showed him and he was like, "That's what I thought!" Also on video.
My other brother didn't come for the weekend so we still have to figure out a time to tell him. We won't be able to tell my in-laws until the first weekend of June.
DD - 12/28/17
TTC #2 3/2019
BFP 5/2019 || MC - D&C 5/2019
BFP 2/2020 || EDD 10/10/2020
@MJDsquared thats really cute with your brother and sister!
we announced yesterday. i wanted to just tell our parents but that didn't work out LOL. DH's entire extended family all lives within 2 minutes of his parents sooo. its ok though because now i can start to tell friends!
the moments with our parents were great!! ive had the reveal for my parents planned in my head forever and ever so it was great to have it happen.
my parents used to read all the berenstain bears books to me as a kid. so since it was mother's day, we gave my mom her "regular" gift and then had 1 more for her and my dad. my mom got the berenstain bear book "Weekend at Grandma's" and my dad got the "New Baby" one. mom started wailing crying immediately. dad looked up at me in complete shock, wide eyed and said "i dont understand." long pause... mom continued crying lol and dad finally goes "shes crying, does this mean youre pregnant?" LOL it was so cute. and i wrote on the inside of the books that its time to rebuild our berenstain bear library for grandkid #1.
then we went to my in-laws. my nephew is 6 months old and so i made a hat for him that said "big cousin" with our last name. DH couldn't hold it in any longer and took it out to show the baby's parents (his brother and our sister in law). they were so so happy, my sister in law was jumping up and down. we told them ok be quiet and we have to get the parents into the room at the same time (it was proving to be a challenge lol MIL was grilling and FIL was antisocial in another room lol). so then my sister in law got all into it and once everyone was together, she kept saying "hm its cold, does anyone have a hat for the baby? where's that hat we brought?" HAhaha. so she gave the hat to our MIL to put on the baby and she immediately screamed like a crazy person haha. the whole rest of the extended family basically found out immediately then too lol.
We told my grandmas over the weekend, and they were both so excited. My poor grandma, she knew about our struggles, so when I called her and said "Happy Mother's Day," she said "Thank you, you too!" And immediately started apologizing! I had to tell her to stop, it was OK, it was my first Mother's Day! She started crying. It was really sweet.
We have also finished telling my siblings (I have a brother a sister, two step sisters, and a step brother, as well as brother in law, it adds up), and a few friends. We aren't going to do anything on Facebook still for a little while, but it definitely is a little more "known."
2 Dogs / 2 Cats
IUI #2 10/2016 BFN
IUI #3 11/2016 BFN
IVF #1 03/2017 - 23 Retrieved / 22 Fertilized / 11 at Day 3 / 1 Beautiful Embryo tf on Day 5 / 7 Frozen on Day 6 - Beta #1 4/5/17: 104 Beta #2 4/7/17 224