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.
elksamm
member
Re: Weekly Check-In 10/25
How far along are you//EDD: 27 weeks/Jan 24
Size of the baby: a slice of pizza
Upcoming appointments: next week 28 week OB visit and 1 hr GD test
How are you feeling?: pretty good but a little less energy than the past few weeks. Feeling big and hot (temperature) I wake up sweating in the middle of the night and that’s with a light blanket and the temperature at 67 degrees.
Rants/Rave: we have family staying with us for H’s bday and while I love having people visit I also love having our normal routine at home. The nursery furniture arrived but the floors aren’t done yet so it’s sitting in random places. It’s still going to be at least few weeks and it’s driving me nuts having everything so disorganized.
Questions: do you have LO’s name picked out? We have a front runner but haven’t 100% decided and probably won’t until she arrives.
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? Cereal, juice, protein bars, and coffee ice cream. Trying to get more veggies in but LO isn’t super into them 🤷🏻♀️
How far along are you//EDD: 29+5/January 5
Size of the baby: acorn squash, bunch of broccoli
Upcoming appointments: Regular appointment sometime in early November
How are you feeling?: Huge. Tired. Incredulous that I still have 10 weeks to go. But otherwise, ok!
Rants/Raves: We had over 3 inches of rain just yesterday, it was awesome! Power was knocked out for awhile, and my 4 year old looked at me and said "you gotta fix it!" I told him that there was nothing we could do, TV would have to wait awhile, and he said "ugh, you're almost 40, you should be able to do something."
But the weekend was nice, went to a pumpkin patch with a huge corn maze on Saturday... I should be putting the house back together after the weekend, but I'm tired.
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? I've been eating a lot of apples, it's my after dinner dessert every night. Handfuls of raisins. This isn't usual, but earlier this morning I was dipping animal crackers into Nutella, haha. And then there's my customary 3-4 Spindrifts a day.
@elksamm We have a frontrunner, but I don't know... there's something about it that just doesn't seem quite right. Although I felt the same about my first kid's name, and we ended up going with it anyway and it's fine, haha. We're trying to find alternatives, I think just to make sure the frontrunner is our favorite, but we're having a hard time thinking of anything, or at least keeping our mind focused on thinking about it. We'll decide ultimately at the hospital before we leave.
How far along are you//EDD: 28w2d / January 15, 2022
Size of the baby: An eggplant...or the absurdly large Italian sandwich my husband got over the weekend. We actually put it up to my belly.
Upcoming appointments: This Thursday for 28-wk appointment
How are you feeling?: Oh so large. I still can't believe I have 2 and a half months (or so) to go. Sometimes my belly feels so stretched out and heavy, I worry it's going to roll off. And my back hurts. I'm also getting a little nauseous, mainly because baby girl is all up in my ribs.
Rants/Rave: Babymoon this week! I'm excited for a change of scenery, staying in a nice hotel, and a fancy prenatal massage!
Questions: do you have LO’s name picked out? We do, and we have been keeping mum except for a select few.
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? I was craving IHOP over the weekend, and we went...and it was PERFECT. I am mainly craving something if I see it somewhere and it looks good, or someone mentions a particular item. Then I can't stop thinking about it. Oh, and I am craving ice water which is weird because I am not a big water drinker.
How far along are you//EDD: 28w3d Jan 14th
Size of the baby: Eggplant
Upcoming appointments: Nov. 4
How are you feeling?: I feel large. I feel tired. I feel blah.
Rants/Raves: I have my baby shower this Saturday, October 30th!
Questions:
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? I crave everything and everything. I feel like I can’t stop eating!
How far along are you//EDD: 30w2d (1/1)
Size of the baby: Small melon/weight of a bunch of bananas
Upcoming appointments: Just had my 30 week appointment today. Next one is 11/8.
How are you feeling?: I feel like I say the same thing every week lately. I'm feeling pretty good. I've been having right hip/sciatic pain, but nothing unbearable. Decent energy, but starting to get tired more easily. Braxton Hicks contractions and lots of movement.
Rants/Raves: Rant - I think my son may have given me his cold. My throat feels funny. Boo. Rave - I have a NINETY minute massage this Saturday.
Questions: STM+ What do you add to a registry when you're told that you don't have enough on it (besides diapers and gift cards)? I really don't want ALL the things, and we have most everything already. I wasn't even planning on having a shower, but my husband's work insisted on having a small one for us.
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? Non-healthy things, lol! Like @lisa3379, I'm with you on the apple things. I've been eating a honeycrisp apple with caramel everyday lately. And apple cider. I also get a chai tea latte with pumpkin almost every morning on my way to work.
Baby Girl Due: 1-1-22
@fifilala516 yay for babymoon!! Hope it’s super relaxing and you get pampered!! I’m not normally a water drinker either, I force myself to drink it but don’t ever really want to. I’ve been drinking a lot of hint water and been really liking water with crushed ice.
How far along are you//EDD: 29+2, just realized I’m in the third trimester!
Size of the baby: acorn squash, feeling huge but measuring on track
Upcoming appointments: I just had one Friday so not for 3 more weeks.
How are you feeling?: large, overall burnt out on work and home life 😔
Rants/Raves: MH is making strides with the kitchen. I’m hoping for cabinets and countertops by Thanksgiving but that’s probably wishful thinking.
Questions: Has anyone gotten the booster yet? My OB recommended waiting a few weeks til I’m closer to delivery. Still can’t decide on Moderna or Pfizer. I had a pretty strong reaction to Moderna.
Also, we are thinking about renting a cabin with my ILs when baby will be 6 weeks old 😬. My big kids will be on winter break and I’m thinking we could all use a change of scenery by then, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Am I crazy? Ha
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? Uhh all the sweet things 😬
How far along are you//EDD: 26+4/Jan 27
Size of the baby: kale/bowing pin
Upcoming appointments: had mfm today and everything is looking good! Ob was last week, so nothing until mid Nov.
How are you feeling?: feel like I’ve (finally) had a good day. Heard back this am that I passed the 3 hr gd test, and mfm was happy with progress and said “keep doing what you’re doing”, which is always a nice counter to my anxiety. Was on my feet a ton this weekend, and as a result started a lot of foot swelling (which I never had until after my 1st was born), but so far seems manageable. Still pretty tired and SO HUNGRY, but I’ll be full for hours and then all of a sudden I’m ravenous.
Rants/Raves: rave: my bil got married this past weekend in a small backyard celebration and it was really sweet but rant: I got ALL the bug bites during their dusk ceremony, so I’ve been super itchy for the past 2 days! 😭
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? Fast food-burgers and fries (which I usually never eat). Trying to balance, but not doing a great job. But also trying to drink just a ton of water.
@elksamm I have a few ideas, but like @Lisa3379 nothing is really feeling “right”. I was pretty sure of dd’s name once we both agreed we liked it, but had a backup and said “we’d decide at the hospital”, but we went with the first choice, and I still love it. I want to be as sure of this one’s name, and I’m just not. The ones I like best MH is a bit meh on, but he also hasn’t come up with anything, just comments on my ideas. So we’ll see what happens.
@magalina_h omg 90 min massage sounds amazing!! Enjoy! As for registry, wipes, reusable waterproof changing pad covers (we had 9 and it was SO nice to have ample supply), drool bibs, burp clothes, washcloths, and books. FWIW towels and clothes were probably the most off-registry gifted item we got, so I wouldn’t recommend registering for those. I’m of the opinion you can’t have too many books, so that might be a good registry filler if you’re a book fan.
I am a huge fan of books and have a large collection already. I'm am Usborne Books & More consultant, so I am constantly getting books for my kiddos. I was actually just building my next order tonight.
@kcf19 good idea! I do have a bunch of nursing bras on my registry. I should add more lounge pants and nursing sweaters, since it will be the middle of winter!
Baby Girl Due: 1-1-22
Baby Girl Due: 1-1-22
How far along are you//EDD: 26 weeks 6 days 1/26/22
Size of the baby: acorn squash
Upcoming appointments: November 5th MFM Placenta Previa Check (hopefully it has resolved itself)
How are you feeling?: LARGE
Rants/Raves: Rant: Well it looks like it will be raining on Halloween. Rave: My husband told me to leave work at 1PM tomorrow because he's taking me out to lunch. (so excited)
Questions: NATM
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? Lucky Charms and I honestly have to stop eating so many of them. Also, cracker barrel white cheddar jalapeño sticks.
@kcf19 my doctor hasn't recommended the booster yet, but I had no reaction at all to the Pfizer shots.
@elksamm I am 100% decided on my sons name, Louis Eugene. Both mine and my husband's grandfathers. I already got a blanket with his name on it. LOL
@elksamm, we do have the name picked out. It’ll be Benny Scott. Not my top pick for the first name, but my husband didn’t love my pick. And I’m fine with his pick of Benny to go with Scott for the middle name. Scotty is my older brother who passed away before I was born. I’ve always felt he was my guardian spirit or something.
@fifilala516 have so much fun in your baby moon. That massage is gonna be bomb.
@kcf19, I am so relieved the boosters for moderna have been approved. I plan to confirm with my OB tomorrow, but am hoping to get the moderna booster in November.
How far along are you//EDD: Same as @magalina_h! 30+3
Size of the baby: zucchini or cabbage
Upcoming appointments: tomorrow for US on fibroid growth and 30w checkup
How are you feeling?: overwhelmed and like I made a poor decision. I moved positions in my company last week and i feel like i’m in over my head.
Rants/Raves: I went for a massage on Saturday before our shower and holy crow! It was magical. It greatly lessened the psd pain I’ve been having. I already can’t wait for my next one.
Questions: my boy is still lying transverse. When should I worry about him moving head down? I don’t want him to run out of room esp with the dang fibroid in there.
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? Everything. I gained 4 lbs in the last week. 😬 no swelling, so I think it’s just lots of extra calories in as opposed to fluid retention. I’m getting ready to hibernate!
Also all of the suggestions you gave are good ones for the registry. I have all of those on there already!
Baby Girl Due: 1-1-22
How far along are you//EDD: 27w6d//Jan 20
Size of the baby: lettuce
Upcoming appointments: this Friday! GD test
How are you feeling?: just tired. I can't seem to get enough sleep. This little one is super active and her kicking keeps me awake a lot... alusually at 3 am. 😩
Rants/Raves: rant - unpacking takes foreverrrr and prepping for maternity leave at work is taking up a lot of my energy. Raves - with the cooler weather, I have been using my crockpot constantly. I love soups so much! I'm starting to get ideas for freezer bags for crockpot meals to have ready when baby comes.
Questions: do you all any awesome crockpot recipes to share?
GTKY: What have you been craving/eating (or drinking) a lot of lately? still eating lots of fruit salad. 🍓🍌🥝🍑