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: December 2017 Spreadsheet!!
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
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
Bump Screen Name: jkresyman
First Name Jessie
EDD 12/15
Age 36 (37 when LO is born)
Location Missouri
Team: Finding out!
Baby Name: no clue
Other Children DS is 3 1/2, DD is 2
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump Screen Name: thatblondechik (if it actually updated from The Knot!)
First Name: Christi
EDD: Dec 7, 2017
Age: 29
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa
Team Blue/Pink/Green: Too early to know but we want a girl!
Baby Name: Jordan Taylor (but it may change)
Singleton or Multiples: Single
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.): First child
Please and thank you!
Bump Screen Name - acgonzalez22
First Name - April
EDD - December 1
Age - 36
Location - Florida
Team Blue/Pink/Green - Team finding out this time
Baby Name - Undecided
Singleton or Multiples - Singleton
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.) - Lucas 21 months
Bump Screen Name ehill17
First Name Erica
EDD December 22 2017
Age. 37
Location. Lawrence, KS
Team Blue/Pink/Green Too early to know.
Baby Name N/A
Singleton or Multiples Singleton
Delivery Date N/A
Other Children #1 12yr son
@knottie3ede3e9293039918 your sn hasn't updated (yet) but I put you on the spreadsheet with the name you are changing to.
@acgonzalez22 added...also due date buddy!@ehill17 added!
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump Screen Name: greenange
First Name: Danielle
EDD: December 25th
Age: 25
Location: Alabama
Team Blue/Pink/Green: hopefully team blue, but we'll be happy with either as long as he/she is healthy
Baby Name: none yet, but I'm sure it'll be unusual
Singleton or Multiples: first u/s didn't show multiples so.. Singleton
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.): No others yet
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump Screen Name : SierraGood
First Name: Sierra
EDD: Dec 3
Age: 21
Location: Colorado (moving to UK in two weeks)
Team Blue/Pink/Green: hoping for blue (happy with whatever)
Baby Name: TBD
Singleton or Multiples: single
Delivery Date (To keep track of birthdays later.)
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.) Ta'Leyah almost 18 months
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump Screen Name GeoffsSatine
First Name Jessica
EDD December 31 2017
Age. 34
Location. Middleburg, FL
Team Blue/Pink/Green Not sure yet
Baby Name Again, not sure yet
Singleton or Multiples Hopefully Singleton
Delivery Date N/A
Other Children 15g, 9g, 3b, 2b
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump screen name: Kate0506
First name: Kate
EDD: 28th December
Age: 32
Location: Worcester, United kingdom
Team blue/pink/green: finding out??
Baby name: Amarin for boy, girl undecided
Delivery date:
Other children: DS Orion Angelo, aged 23 months
Thanks
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump Screen Name: tinkerbellwest
First Name: Christina
EDD: 12/24/2017
Age: 32
Location: Conroe, Texas
Team Blue/Pink/Green: Finding Out
Baby Name: Remi or Gauge
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.) 2 Step sons Gunner 10, Hunter 11
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump Screen Name clovelyone
First Name Carla
EDD 12/15/17, but probably closer to 11/24/17 due to twins
Age 39
Location Michigan
Team Blue/Pink/Green Green (hoping for one of each)
Baby Name TBD
Singleton or Multiples Twins
Delivery Date (To keep track of birthdays later.)
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.) None
Caraet413
Cara
Dec 21, 2017
34
Central Florida
TBA
Non yet
Singleton
Have a daughter - Nora, 19 months old
Bump Screen Name - hillary11jane
First Name - Hillary
EDD - Dec. 26th
Age - 25
Location: Canton, Ohio
Team Blue/Pink/Green - Green
Baby Name - Makenzie or Bryce
Singleton or Multiples - don't know yet!
Delivery Date (To keep track of birthdays later.)
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.) - This is our first!
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Bump Screen Name - rosex466
First Name - Crystal
EDD - Dec. 8th
Age - 31
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Team Blue/Pink/Green - green
Baby Name - ???
Singleton or Multiples - single
Delivery Date (To keep track of birthdays later.)
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.) - This is our first!
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Ladies, someone deleted everyone but like 4 people, but I was able to restore it thankfully!
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
First Name: Greta
EDD: 12/21
Age: 27
Location: Pennsylvania
Team Blue/Pink/Green: Finding out
Baby Name
Singleton or Multiples: Singleton
Delivery Date (To keep track of birthdays later.)
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc) DS- Carson 2 years old
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
I'm not able to update. Can someone add me please.
Bump Screen Name: Amballow
First Name: Amber
EDD: Dec 25
Age: 37
Location: Canada
Team Blue/Pink/Green: unknown
Baby Name: ?
Singleton or Multiples: Single
Delivery Date (To keep track of birthdays later.)
Other Children (#, Ages, Etc.): One-18 month old boy