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: The Great Cloth Diaper discussion
https://jilliansdrawers.com/pages/washing-cloth-diapers
I am about to try a new detergent though just because it's a little more environmentally friendly. So we will see how it works! I've always stuck with All because it did the trick, we can buy it in bulk, and it's not too expensive. It's just a trial and error situation and you have to find what works for you.
ETA: I wash diapers every other day to keep them from getting too gross. I do an initial rinse and then run them for a full load with other baby laundry or sometimes towels to fill the washer so it's not such a small load. It's definitely more laundry, but it's manageable. I haven't noticed a huge increase in my water bill. It is basically just an extra rinse cycle everytime I wash diapers.
@wednesdaygirl1019 We wash 2-3 times a week, when the bucket is full. Our bucket isn't that big about 3/4 of a load, so that is something to consider when buying a bucket.
We do a rinse and then put them in for a 60C wash with non bio detergent and one scoop of bambino mio nappy wash. The nappy wash is a non bio, anti bac, stain remover type wash, I'm sure you can find something similar. It's handy to have anyway and it's good at stopping them getting smelly, I use it to wash the bibs too and many other things.
I have legit spent the last two hours reading and watching videos about diapers, haha. I’m starting to come around to just buying cloth diapers (turns out we’d have to buy covers anyway for our local service; they only provide/clean the prefolds) so now that I’m considering that, there’s a ton of stuff to learn. I’ve got to start reading this thread over from the beginning! Also have to figure out how to propose the idea to my husband, who definitely was pro-not cleaning them ourselves. I like the hybrid version so far from what I’ve read, that seems to have both cloth and disposable insert options. Thanks for the pro tip, I’ll check it out!
ETA: OK, it’s 1:30 in the morning, that was quite the cloth diaper rabbit hole. I do have a question I didn’t see addressed in this thread. A lot of you talked about sizing, but I see that there are some covers that say they’re good for 8-30 pounds, and they have snaps that make it bigger or smaller. Has anyone used those? I’d of course prefer to buy covers that last for that long instead of having to size up! And in that case, it would just be the prefold size that would have to be adjusted from time to time, yes?
<div class="QuoteAuthor"><a href="/profile/viola_mama">viola_mama</a> said:</div>
<div class="QuoteText">ETA: OK, it’s 1:30 in the morning, that was quite the cloth diaper rabbit hole. I do have a question I didn’t see addressed in this thread. A lot of you talked about sizing, but I see that there are some covers that say they’re good for 8-30 pounds, and they have snaps that make it bigger or smaller. Has anyone used those? I’d of course prefer to buy covers that last for that long instead of having to size up! And in that case, it would just be the prefold size that would have to be adjusted from time to time, yes?</div>
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The thing with the one size covers is when the baby is tiny, there is still just so much extra fabric. Honestly, covers are so inexpensive, I wouldn't worry about it. If you get 6-8 NB covers, and then graduate up to the one sizers, I think the trade-off for fit around tiny little legs and under nb bellies is 100% worth it. Once you size up to the OS covers, you will just be adjusting the snaps for fit, and then yes, you will need to size up the prefolds for absorbancy as you go through stages.
DH loves our prefolds. To him the simplicity of a system like that - just a nice absorbant piece of material, trifolded, with a waterproof cover - appeals to his practical, functional sensibilities. (there are also disposable flip inserts available, but we never tried them) I ended up with far more covers than I need, and many still in the packages! Lol :#. But 10-12 one size covers would be plenty. I have best bottoms, blueberry, flips, thirsties duo, smartbottoms, sweetpea. I just seem to have landed on the flips and they work great for us, inexpensive, easy care. I would recommend those, or the best bottoms or blueberry capris if you don't mind spending a little more, they just have a nice sturdy feel, and the best bottoms seems to have the most tapered / tailored fit. YMMV, so I would not necessarily get all ten-twelve before trying a couple. You can order more once you touch them and try them out on your own kid. 👍
for sposies, we had the best luck with seventh generation in terms of fit and absorbency. Honest we’re pretty good too, and now that we do pull ups at night we only use honest (the seventh gen pull-ups are leaky). I’m interested in trying Bambo and Dyper this time. You can also do a diaper composting service that will pick them up and drop off new diapers.
https://www.gdiapers.com