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.
n&a0630
member
Re: Monday Bitchfest 5/15
Thanks for letting me rant!
Married:09/14/13
Baby 2 - Due: 5/4/17
ETA: after I typed that, I walked upstairs to find her holding DS (with DH assisting) and overheard DD say "when I grow up, I'm going to be best friends with him." Stop messing with my emotions!!
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
My Monday BF goes out to everyone to can't clear the dang timer on a microwave when they leave 5 seconds left on it. Seriously! It's not that hard to either let the food cook 5 seconds longer or hit the cancel button. Do you think someone else is going to need that 5 seconds? NO, THEY DON'T. Be a kind human and clear the stupid time! Brought to you by coworkers and H.
@NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot Oh man, toddlers are tough. I'm glad DD going back to daycare means you get one on one time with you little man though.
@bacorrea I'm annoyed I'm still pregnant (and then feel guilty about being annoyed) and I'm not even overdue yet.
DH let the girls out when he got up for work. I let them back in when I got up only to find blood on them. After examining them it's not their blood. Thinking they might have killed another mouse outside as one has it down the side of her head like she rolled in it as she often does. So now I get to give them a bath which sucks when your not pregnant. Gross, nasty Monday
Oh and I officially called and let the daycare where we thought we were going know we won't be moving there and I am officially out $400 in deposits. I know they were nonrefundable but we had 99.9999% certainty so there was no reason to not pay, it just sucks.
May '17 labor memes
Married: October 2014
Began TTC: April 2015
BFP #1: 9/18/15. EDD 5/18/16. MC 10/26/15. (9w)
BFP #2: 2/27/16. EDD 11/7/16. MC/D&E 4/20/16 (11w)
BFP #3: 9/22/16. EDD 5/29/17. DS born 4/24/17
BFP #4: 5/20/18. EDD 1/23/19.
I also have a couple rants about my MIL! First, Saturday was DS #1's birthday and she never even called or acknowledged that it was his birthday. Even when we saw her on Sunday for Mother's Day she didn't even ask him how his birthday was or anything.
Second rant we live in the same town as MIL and apparently she had to take her father to the ER on Thursday for a hernia. She saw mine and DH's cars parked in the ER parking lot and told me she tried to hide her car from us in the parking lot so that we wouldn't freak out if we saw her car. Yet she doesn't even call us to find out why we're in the hospital and see if everything is ok. Her parents are in there 90's and I know she has a lot on her plate helping to care for them, they still live independently and are in pretty good health overall though so I don't see why she can't at least call her grandson on his birthday!
Argh, that makes me so mad! Like, who is she to think that she knows more than a medical professional?
@absbubbs - I thought I was the only person that got annoyed by that!!
Married:09/14/13
Baby 2 - Due: 5/4/17
My secondary bitch is with my pediatricians office. They charge $2 cash for parking (in Cambridge) and I realized I only had $1. They waited a solid 10 minutes (making me late to my appointment) while I scrounged for change to cover the other $1. I get it. I should have been prepared, but they really should have other payment options if they are going to be so strict about it. At least baby girl is growing nicely!
@NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot toddlers are something else... They are lucky they are so cute.
Today was a beautiful day so 2 of my co-workers and I decided to go to lunch. Well on our way to eat some lady rear ended me at a stop light. The light was red but apparently that didn't matter to her. I just got a new Durango 2 weeks ago and now the back end is all messed up, also I'm currently at the hospital being evaluated for the next couple hours. Luckily baby and I are ok but the whole ordeal is annoying. Who has time to put their car in the shop with a newborn.. Plus I just got this car and got my seats perfectly installed. The woman that hit me had absolutely no remorse and didnt seem to care one bit.
Add me to the MIL train. My MIL is really sweet and I love her, but I am at the end of my rope with this cough she has. She's had it for months and months, but I didn't know until she was visiting a few weeks ago. It was really alarming and H and I immediately started asking her to go get it checked out, but she kept saying "I just need to figure out how to get myself better." YES. You do. BY GOING TO THE DOCTOR. She finally went on Saturday and they gave her antibiotics to start today, after they took a culture from her to analyze and figure out what it is. No idea when the culture results will be back. In the meantime she says she *should* be non-contagious 24 hours after starting the antibiotics. I'm getting induced on Wednesday (that's when she's getting to town) and that just seems to be cutting it close to me, especially when we don't know what it is! It's probably nothing and she's probably not contagious, but I don't really feel comfortable taking that risk. H was giving her a hard time about all of it yesterday and she said something along the lines of, "What do you want me to do? Not come visit? Not hold the baby? Look at her through a window? I've done the best I can." NO you haven't! We asked you to handle this weeks ago! So I don't know what to say...
/ end rant. The silver lining is that H is dealing with all of this so I don't have to, and he's being really assertive about protecting our kid. So there's that!
Then MIL didn't tell us she was coming down with a cold Christmas Day, so after we visited and she kissed us all, all 3 of us got to experience her cold a few days later but only I couldn't take a damn thing for it. I didn't go over to visit her for a couple months after that.
BIL always has a hacking cough (for years!) because he chain smokes and also doesn't take care of himself, so he won't be invited to visit us in the hospital or at home.
Seriously, people. GTFO.
It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s that I don’t know you. Stranger Danger.
Oooohhhh wow, shoot and I thought my MIL was overbearing and trying to govern my son's life like she had h. Talk about getting all up into your business! I'm sorry your dealing with that, I'd be super pissed too. Talk to your hubby if she don't listen to you or try to at least understand where your coming from. This is all classic case of in laws and parents(some) thinking that they still tell us what to do with our lives hah.
and DS2(1yr)has started biting....
And DS1 has a D in math and has to go to summer school...
and DD1 is fing 11, and has decided to have a response to every request made of her...
i am am going to take the twins and run away!
Good Luck, DH! Ugh!!
@Jens_Hoes That's so scary! I hope the outbreak stops and nothing gets close to your baby! I can't get the TDaP vaccine for medical reasons (potentially in the future but they recommended against trying during pregnancy) so I'm on extra-high alert about it. And MIL has been on a crusade to make sure everyone--including my stubborn BIL--gets that vaccine since the baby isn't protected through me, which I've really appreciated. It just makes her actions on her own cough even more perplexing/frustrating!
that was my bitch (my mom) along with agreeing to the other comment...
If yoir our daughter does better with daycare more consistently then go for it. I wouldn't feel badly at all.
May '17 labor memes
@0408bear I'm just going to pretend I didn't see the MIL comment and encourage your running away plan for the rest
@BeachMommy2B Get that kid back to daycare! I justify it by reasoning that this LO should get the same one on one attention DD received on my leave after I had her.
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
DS - January 2014
TTCAL | April 2016
CP | June 2016
CP | July 2016
Thanks for all the support! She is usually a much more pleasant person. This kind of came out of nowhere.
So we tried our first bottle of formula tonight. I cried. She had nursed w/ me and drank all I pumped from today and was still hungry. We had to do it. I think dr was going to tell me to start supplementing tomorrow anyway. But knowing that didn't make it any easier for me.
I feel for those of you still pregnant! I am honestly kind of glad my daughter came early!
This is what I wish I could do as I'm going out on maternity: