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 Big Question Thread!
But I don't know if I should keep the classes and just deal with annoying people or cancel and figure I can get info from a book/YouTube/my doctor.
I'm open to opinions and requesting suggestions for books.
@bunnybb13 I've needed help getting anything with buckles on for weeks. I'm 24 weeks now. It's my fourth but I'm smaller than I was with my last two.
excessive thirst
Glucose *should* show up in your urine test
Mood swings
GD absolutely shows up later sometimes. I had a friend that barely passed hers at 24 weeks and then I insisted she get retested at 30 weeks when she started showing signs. Turns out she did have it it just developed a little later. Her doctor was also incompetent and is no longer practicing medicine.
My OB said they check between 24 and 28 weeks. I had GD with my son, so she tested early this time to confirm that I haven't developed actual diabetes and then we'll re-test at 28 weeks. But it's different for everyone!! I think one way to look at it is, if you do have GD and are tested at 24 weeks you'll be able to start managing it earlier, which will be a better result for you and for baby.
IF you do fail the 1 hour test, the process is to do the 3 hour test next to confirm. For myself, when I failed the 3 hour test I was referred to the local GD clinic and an MFM. It took over two weeks for all that to go through, so I was about 28 weeks when I did the 1 hour test, and by the time I got into the GD clinic I was already over 30 weeks. At the clinic I had full appointments every second week until I delivered where I saw the MFM/Nutritionist/Endocrinologist and the weeks in between I went in just for heartbeat/movement monitoring (I can't remember what it's called when they put that thing on your belly for half an hour!!) I was put on metformin to control my overnight fasting numbers and never had to go to insulin. When I was first diagnosed I was totally freaked out and overwhelmed, but it ended up being perfectly manageable and I delivered a healthy baby boy.
Which is a really long-winded way of saying don't freak out! haha If you do fail this week then you know that you need to start managing things earlier and that will be better for baby. It might make travelling for the next month a little more difficult, but it's completely manageable and knowing will be a better long term outcome for everyone. But if you pass then it doesn't matter and you can know you can enjoy all the sugar you want over the next month!! hahah
I BARELY failed the 1 hour glucose, so I got the 3 hour glucose test. I then barely failed 2 of the 4 blood draws (literally 1 and 5 over the limit) so technically I didn't get diagnosed, but my OB said it is better to monitor it in case it progresses. @krysnicole1022 was absolutely right in that it's manageable and and I'm way less upset about it now, lol. I prick my finger 4 times a day to keep an eye on it and understand what causes my blood sugar to spike. I've found that eating the small round of babybel cheese with a sugar/carb curbs my blood sugar. So, my afternoon grapes/berries have turned into afternoon grapes with cheese, which I have no complaints about hahaa.
EDIT: I think a dedicated GD thread would be a great idea!
I should say that I didn't do all the appointments with the nutritionist as scheduled. The clinic was super far so I just stayed in contact with her via my chart and MyFitnessPal so she could watch my diet.
@stephers_ I'm glad they are monitoring it still! That happened to another friend of mine and they just said she was fine instead of monitoring it. It did not go well for her.
When I went to GD clinic for my son they gave me a bunch of info that included a graph of hormones and weeks pregnant (I found a similar picture online and copied it below). The way they explained it to me is that the pregnancy hormones really start to increase around 24 weeks and then typically level off at 36 weeks (although can go up or down at 36 still). And with GD your body doesn't produce enough insulin. So at 24 weeks you're just producing a little less, but as you get further along in pregnancy it gets harder to manage on your own.
My completely uneducated opinion is that even if you do test positive tomorrow it would be easier to manager in the first couple weeks, especially when some people don't even get tested until 28 weeks!
It is a little startling how an occupied core affects mobility.
@daisyyyy braxton hicks tend to be uncomfortable tightening in your uterus but not painful. They are also random and hardly happen more than once or twice in a period of time with no real pattern. Contractions will start out as uncomfortable tightening and progress to painful cramps/tightening in sequences or patterns that you can begin to time because they increase in frequency . When a contraction hits it will literally take your breath away!
Is anyone experiencing a lot of fluid discharge? I have anxiety and i keep thinking im leaking amniotic fluid. I had my water break dramatically in my last pregnancy but im not sure what a slow leak is like! I am assuming im experiencing the normal pregnancy discharge/pee/sweat cause it’s summer but my anxiety is really telling me something else !