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.
mrosek91
member
Re: Week 3-4 (5/15/21-5/31/21) check-in w/o 1/11
FTM/STM/STM+: 4TM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Finding out! Today!!
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: banana
Upcoming appointments: AS today!
How are you feeling? Good, I think. I'm scared to say it because I don't want to jinx it.
Rants/Raves: We went to a socially distanced Sabbat dinner at our Rabbi's Friday night and it was so nice! I miss going out.
Rants are just the usual, too much to do, not enough time. Work is ugh. The boys are typical toddlers, etc. etc.
Questions: NATM
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.). DH, me and our 3 boys.
EDD: 5/23
FTM/STM/STM+: FTM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Boy
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: an endive
Upcoming appointments: checkup at the end of the month
How are you feeling? Good overall! tired though.
Rants/Raves: DH wins MVP of the weekend for helping me do so much around the house and also grocery shopping with me. usually i do that along and i dragged him along. he was like, i cant believe you have to do this all the time it sucks lol. felt vindicating!
Questions: NATM
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.). me, DH, 2 cats and 2 dogs!
FTM/STM/STM+: STM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Finding out. I really hope it will be this week. But my husband is really worried about me going out this week with the high number of cases of covid. So he might ask me to wait a week or a two.
Baby is the size of: Hedgehog
Upcoming appointments: Jan 12th, tomorrow! So excited
How are you feeling?
Rants/Raves: Tired of ranting. My cell is dying and I don´t want to get a new one yet. At least I have an office space to use my laptop since my husband is away.
Questions:
GTKY: Who lives in your house? Me, DH, DS, teenage SIL.
FTM/STM/STM+: STM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Blue
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: Maltese Puppy
Upcoming appointments: next week, virtual with MFM, end of the month with OB
How are you feeling? pretty ok. Still taking zofran most days, but overall ok
Rants/Raves: none
Questions: none
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.) Me, DH, DD, and dog
BFP #1 January 28, 2016
Felicity Joy, born September 2, 2016
My Chart
BFP #2 September 11, 2020
EDD May 23, 2021
FTM/STM/STM+: STM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Team Green
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: Endive
Upcoming appointments: televist 1/19
How are you feeling? Feeling good overall
Rants/Raves: Rave: this weekend we reorganize the kitchen and finally donated all of the random non used dishes and such that have been taking up space in the back of the cabinets. Rant: working on reprogramming our school schedule again... hopefully the 2021-2022 school year will not be as crazy
Questions: NATM
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.) DH, DS - will be 3 in march, dog - 5 years old & cat - 13 years old
FTM/STM/STM+: STM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Bleu
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: paper airplane, and as folded-up as one too
Upcoming appointments: Tomorrow 1/12 with endocrinologist (virtual) and 2/3 next OB (in person)
How are you feeling? Really good, honestly, although I inhaled a small amount of the last sip of my latte yesterday and my entire breakfast came up. I guess it's because my esophagus is loose or whatever, but I guess I shouldn't complain because it's the first time I threw up this pregnancy.
Rants/Raves: The new semester is about to start and I'm really grumpy about it. Not just the obligations, but having to go back around people. Yuck.
Questions:
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.) Me, husband, 4yo daughter, and three cats! (13yo old grumpy one and the 6mo "kittens")
FTM/STM/STM+: FTM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Blue
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: Coconut / weighs as much as a football
Upcoming appointments: Diabetes test on January 29 - OB/MFM on February 12
How are you feeling? Good! I'm on vacation right now and am sleeping in really late. I felt bad last week but bow I realize this is the last I'm getting of these mornings so I should enjoy it!
Rants/Raves: NATM
Questions: Are you planning a maternity photoshoot?
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.) My fiancé and our dog
I think I'm about to schedule a shoot for when I'm like 32 weeks. I want to do it at home and it to be an intimate, cozy feel. The nursery won't be finished yet though. I have a photographer in mind so if she's available I'll pick her brains a little and discuss this.
FTM/STM/STM+: FTM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Green
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: baby’s palm is the size of an altoid
Upcoming appointments: next week! Anatomy scan and checkup
How are you feeling? Starting to get uncomfortable trying to sleep—my current method of wedging pillows under/around myself isn’t working, I think I will finally just buy a maternity pillow
Rants/Raves: already ranted in the Monday B fest thread about my car situation 😖
Questions: NATM
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.): Me and hubby, plus our dog and cat. We also have 2 barn kittens (one is a tripod) who we have been letting inside at night. Plus all the farm animals! (A bunch of alpaca, a llama, cow, goats, sheep, turkeys, and chickens)
I really wasn’t planning on doing any sort of maternity pictures. Getting my husband to participate in engagement and wedding pictures was hard enough! 😆 but there is a tulip farm nearby that has a festival every spring and is a great spot for photos—beautiful fields of tulips with Mt Hood in the background. I was thinking DH and I could go with some friends and just do a couple of informal shots there.
FTM/STM/STM+: STM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Pink!
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: palm is the size of a dime
Upcoming appointments: at the end of the month
How are you feeling? Mostly good
Rants/Raves:
Questions:
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.) Husband , 4 year old daughter and a 7 month old puppy
FTM/STM/STM+: STM
Team Green/Pink/Blue/Finding Out: Team Pink
Interesting Baby Fact / Baby is the size of: pack of astronaut ice cream
Upcoming appointments: nothing until 1/28 for my repeat AS
How are you feeling? Overall pretty good still. Starting to get uncomfortable which I feel like it way earlier than last time.
Rants/Raves: DH still hates his job and hasn't been able to get a new one yet, so he has been super grumpy this week. I'm trying to be supportive but I'm so over it at this point. He has been applying for new positions for about 2 years now but with everything COVID this year, firms weren't really hiring for a while. He has had a few interviews recently so hopefully something comes through soon...I'm not sure how much more of this stress I can take.
Questions: nothing today
GTKY: Who lives in your house? (Family, pets, etc.) Me, DH, DS who is 2, and our two dogs who are long haired miniature dachshunds