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: Weekday Randoms 6/11
Anyome else have little ones that are still rocked to sleep? I’m rocking my 20 month old right now and I’m really sad to say I think I’m gonna have to stop soon and have my H do it. The weight and pressure of him lying on me is becoming too much. Sooo uncomfortable and I just get frustrated at him to hurry up and fall asleep because I can’t stand the weight of him plus the baby pushing down on me.
@wildtot good luck and be your L&D appointment too, I hope you get all your questions answered!
Married: 6/27/2008
DS: 3/14/2010 Planned, PG first try
M/C 6/2012
DD: 4/22/2013 Planned, UnDx Infertility, PG on our own
BFP: 10/28/2016 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE!
M/C 12/12/2016
BFP: 10/27/2017 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE
EDD: 7/2/2018
Just watched the season finale of legion season 2 and I legit have no idea what's real. Crazy show!
@WorkinWeezel That service through your insurance sounds Amazing! I'll have to check and see if my insurance does that.
@TalesOfASocialIntrovert good luck!!!
I'm just lurking this week, my temp has taken over on the computer so I basically sit around all day and stare at her. But I'm getting paid so that's great! Still having contractions but dealing with them. Having DS birthday party at the house Saturday so hopefully baby stays put!! I'm just thankful it hasn't been super hot here yet, good old unpredictable New England weather!
Hope everyone starts to feel a bit better and that babies stay put a little longer for you ladies!
Tomorrow marks the last day of my full work week! After tomorrow I'm down to only two days a week. Yay for finally being able to slow down (and sit down, lol) and avoid sending myself into early labor which has been my fear these last few weeks! It also means that I get to ready the car for baby which makes it feel so much more real!
@wildtot that sounds like such a great hospital to cater to your needs and requests and to make the event truly about you!
@SmashJam hqve you looked into a financial service that consolidates and lowers interest on cc debt? Suzy Orman gave that advice once on a show i watched once.
It’s 240 and Hs dog won’t stop whining! She’s been whining since about midnight and H has gotten up at most 2 times. He says she’s playing us to just go outside and eat. Well i finally let her out again and she used the restroom. Let’s hope it’s the end of it. Closing the door does nothing, i could still hear her. He needs to get up to his fur child. I don’t car how many times it takes. I need sleep!!
DH took 1/2 of Monday, and all of Tuesday, Wed, and Thurs off work. All of those days he was up already, and today is the day he goes to work and he's still sleeping, lol.
@TalesOfASocialIntrovert congrats! Hoping you LO is out of the NICU soon!
Hope your day gets better!
@zande2016 you are not alone with those kind of dreams! I have had similar dreams and they felt so real. I actually woke up mad at him and he was like WTF did i do?! Ha!
@zande2016 ugh! I HATE those dreams. It seems like those are the only kind of dreams I remember. It’s so stressful.
So I mentioned a while ago about having what I thought were blood sugar crashes. Well I’ve had them pretty much every day for like a week. I called into my OB to see what they thought because they knock me out and it’s really scary (scary enough that I talked with my 6 year old about what to do if something happened to me). The OB basically brushed me off and I was really frustrated. So I called my mom to complain and tell her how weird my symptoms are and she basically flipped out and we talked with my stepdad (who’s diabetic and knows all about blood sugar crashes) and they convinced me to call my stepmom who’s a nurse practitioner and tell her about my symptoms too. All 3 of them don’t think that it’s blood sugar related (based on how it’s happening- when it’s happenjng etc. we don’t know for sure because my OB doesn’t care and doesn’t want anything to do with talking to me about it) and think that maybe it’s blood pressure related. So I’m going to go buy a blood pressure cuff today and some urine protein test strips to get a handle on my own situation before my next appointment on Tuesday.
@TalesOfASocialIntrovert Congrats on your baby boy!!!
@zande2016 I hate those dreams! They seem so real I wake up mad at DH which puts him in a bad mood. My subconscious thinks he’s sleeping with one of his bartenders (also ex-gf but very happily married).
Had my appointment this morning. Apparently Mr Baby was not a fan of the doppler since he seemed to be running away from it, lol. Usually he's pretty sleepy at these things, but this time he was very active. The nurse got a kick out of it. Good news is at 34 weeks he is currently head down...now he needs to stay that way!
@zombiehoohaa, I tried the same thing with the hospital pad in my bed just in case last pregnancy.... It was SOOOOO hot I couldn't deal. Just a heads up!
I need to leave for work in 15 and I'm still in bed. Motivation has reached an all new low...
We're doing tax planning with our CPA this morning and, of course, I can't get Adobe to open a copy of my latest paystub. So annoying. I also woke up SUPER grouchy today which is made worse by the fact that DH is home (which means there's someone around for me to take out my grouchiness on).
Married: 6/27/2008
DS: 3/14/2010 Planned, PG first try
M/C 6/2012
DD: 4/22/2013 Planned, UnDx Infertility, PG on our own
BFP: 10/28/2016 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE!
M/C 12/12/2016
BFP: 10/27/2017 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE
EDD: 7/2/2018
Seeing these birth announcements makes me so excited to see my little one. 2.5 weeks to go!