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: GD Moms
@moonlady-2 I'm hoping for a good 3hr for you. Good luck.
@Marley629 The practice I'm with would probably diagnose you as GD, but we'll see what your doc says. The standard my OB uses is 2 of the 4, but like @beary67 said, you would have failed the 1hr by the cutoffs my OB uses (but not on your portal). I will say that getting diagnosed was horribly emotional for me, and a tough adjustment, but I feel so much better physically now than I used to. I think it's been a really good thing for me and my pregnancy. Let us know what we can do to support you, however your results come back.
In other news, my CDE told today that I'm a "poster child for nutritional compliance"... words that have literally never been uttered in my hearing before. (I weigh 285lbs right now. I am usually not patted on the back for my dietary choices.) They're really excited with how well my numbers are going, and the amount of walking, etc, that we're putting in. Either we have the nicest CDE staff ever, or I'm getting the hang of this. My fasting numbers are starting to creep up, so I'm expecting a night-time insulin increase next week, but it feels good to have been able to stave that off for an extra week by literally walking my ass off.
Good luck to those that have upcoming 2 or 3 hour scans. Bring a book, or movie, or magazine! I napped between my draws
@jlemons-2 I will start doing Bio Physical Profiles twice a week at 32 weeks. With twins my MFM and OB don't really like to do the NST because it's too difficult to get the heart beats of both babies at once, so we do ultrasounds instead. So 32 weeks sounds about right, and I've heard some start at 34, too!
@KathrynJ088 you're doing great! Your fasting number does seem pretty low--what are you having for your bedtime snack?
TTC#1: October 2015
dx: PCOS & MFI
IUI #1 w/Femara + Ovidrel June 2016 ~ BFP
July 2016: Blighted Ovum
IUI #2 w/Femara + Ovidrel September 2016 ~BFN
IUI #3 w/Femara + Ovidrel October 2016 ~BFN
IUI #4 w/Femara + Ovidrel November 2016 ~BFN
IVF with ICSI January 2017 ~BFN
FET February 2017 ~BFN
IVF with ICSI March 2017 ~BFP--Twins Due 12/8/17
Team Blue X 2!
Can anyone point me to any resources or what I should be doing right now until my appt on 10/9?
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
For now: Try to pair whatever carbs you eat (and you will be surprised at what counts as carbs) with proteins. For most of us, 15g of carbs is considered a "serving". There are some links to resources in this thread, but I have found this food guide to be the most helpful at learning serving sizes (previously posted): www.cdappsweetsuccess.org/Portals/0/Documents/.../Food%20Guide_Eng_web.pdf My mid-morning snack is almost always crackers & cheese. My most reliable bedtime snack has been crackers and PB. I found a bread where one slice = 1 serving, so I make half sandwiches at lunch some times (all the meat and cheese I would have put on a full sandwich, but only one slice of bread so I can have some fruit with it).
You'll get targets from your nutritionist or diabetes counselor, but they'll probably tell you to eat smaller meals and between-meals snacks so you actually eat 6x per day. (You may feel like you are always eating, or testing, or thinking up your next meal/snack for awhile.) Meal targets will probably have between 1 and 3 carb servings, snacks will probably have 1-2 carb servings. Get a set of measuring cups you like enough to see at every meal and a kitchen scale to help with measuring portions, if you don't have them already.
Walking after meals -- if walking is okay with your OB -- really helps me keep my blood sugars in check. It doesn't take much to make a difference. 10-15 min can really help lower my post meal readings.
Things to keep in mind: It'll take awhile to adjust to your new normal, but you'll probably start feeling a lot better soon. Some of this you can control, and some of it you can't. If you end up on meds to help control your sugars, it's not a failure. It's just that the hormones are too much for your pancreas to keep up with.
You've got this!
@KathrynJ088 I'm so glad your numbers look great! I hope your low fastings get sorted out soon, but I'm glad to hear you're rocking your other numbers.
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
My fasting numbers are the only ones I'm still having trouble getting down, but I'm hoping after I do some grocery shopping, and work on eating a little more protein later at night, I can get some of that down.
Good luck ladies, hopefully we all get through this with flying colors.
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
TTC#1: October 2015
dx: PCOS & MFI
IUI #1 w/Femara + Ovidrel June 2016 ~ BFP
July 2016: Blighted Ovum
IUI #2 w/Femara + Ovidrel September 2016 ~BFN
IUI #3 w/Femara + Ovidrel October 2016 ~BFN
IUI #4 w/Femara + Ovidrel November 2016 ~BFN
IVF with ICSI January 2017 ~BFN
FET February 2017 ~BFN
IVF with ICSI March 2017 ~BFP--Twins Due 12/8/17
Team Blue X 2!
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
Just thought I'd mention something positive since we're getting some new thread members, and there's plenty to be scared and overwhelmed by at the beginning. Extra help and support sounds great to me, since I'm pretty sure it's gonna take me awhile to get the hang of it. Hopefully your medical groups offer some post-delivery support too!
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
TTC#1: October 2015
dx: PCOS & MFI
IUI #1 w/Femara + Ovidrel June 2016 ~ BFP
July 2016: Blighted Ovum
IUI #2 w/Femara + Ovidrel September 2016 ~BFN
IUI #3 w/Femara + Ovidrel October 2016 ~BFN
IUI #4 w/Femara + Ovidrel November 2016 ~BFN
IVF with ICSI January 2017 ~BFN
FET February 2017 ~BFN
IVF with ICSI March 2017 ~BFP--Twins Due 12/8/17
Team Blue X 2!
I usually have my bed time snack around 11pm and test fasting around 7-7:30am.
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
We usually eat dinner around 6/7.
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2
@kyrwyn I hope your appt goes well tomorrow!
AFM, my after lunch and after dinner numbers seem to Be high and my fasting and breakfast numbers are good on a daily basis. My counselor is on vacation this week but shouldn't be back Friday so I'm curious what she has to say about my numbers. I feel like LO had a growth spurt this week because my bump is huge alll of a sudden and his kicks aren't as forceful which makes me think he's running out of room. WHo knows. I have a growth scan next Friday the 20th so we will see then.
DX Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Factor V Leiden Mutation, Secondary Infertility
MFI (SA #1Count 11mill, Motility: 18%, Morphology: 1%)
AMH .328 | FSH 13.2