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.
aisleofviewtwo
member
Re: TTGP w/o Dec 9
TWW
Best guess is -4, -3, -1
No questions. I was pretty adamant when we started TTC that I wouldn’t chart this time around. I’m already ruminating over this decision. I don’t have it in me to temp right now and OPKs didn’t work very well for me.
Rave - I had a delightful time catching up with an old colleague and mentor last night. I invested a lot of time in my professional network over the last 5 years or so and it’s nice when I have moments where I can see it paying off.
Rant - Pretty sure I have strep. I had hoped to get one more try in last night since I wasn’t positive when O happened but I went downhill pretty quickly and had to go to bed. Now here I am unable to sleep and my throat is on fire 😣 I’m bummed I’ll have to cancel on a friend for an event we bought tickets to tonight. Plus I really don’t have time to miss work right now. There’s just too much going on.
@aisleofviewtwo that's fair about responding to the one offs. When I was most active in 2019 there were a lot more people and it began a source of comedy with everyone joining in on the threads. I get that there's not many people on the board now so it makes less sense but it really is annoying how many strangers get on and understand enough to find the board but violate all the rules, don't look at any other threads and they all keep asking the same thing, it's ridiculous! In those moments I sort of can't help myself by being like "another one" but, it very well is a waste of my time. As for the IVF stuff, I'm sorry that keep throwing wrenches in the spokes and changing things up on you. That's incredibly frustrating. I haven't gone down that route so I don't know the ins and outs, but have you looked into other clinics? Would it be possible to have everything transferred to a new clinic/doctor? I don't mean to sound like it's just an easy solution but if you're unhappy with the way things are being run it might be worth looking into?
@pinkkillersheep welcome! I'll have to check you on the welcome board, but in the meantime, that's great you had a positive interaction with a colleague and it sucks you have strep! I hear you on not wanting to chart. I was just roughly looking at the calendar for the first several months and finally in October I decided it was time to start using OPK's and putting a little more intention into it. It's such an exhausting process though. I'm tired of peeing in cups 😖
@aisleofviewtwo Sorry it’s been such a difficult journey. From what I’ve heard about IVF during my last time on this board it seemed like there was never a great option but if you found a person at the clinic you trusted it at least made the process of navigating it more bearable. I may have to look into the armband suggestion. I’ll give it a few cycles before getting too in the weeds. I both appreciated the reassurance of knowing exactly when things happened but also had so much anxiety about tracking everything at all times.
@peppyj9 +1 on wanting a chill weekend with nothing much to do. Hopefully you get some space to rest amid the cleaning and whatnot. I still have dozens of pictures of OPKs on my phone from 2021 and trying to read those tea leaves. My cycle was so irregular (it varied from 19-40 days) that it seemed like I had a bunch of small spikes and left me more confused. Things are a bit more regular now but I can also tell I’ve hit an age where my body is working REALLY hard to ovulate so I’m super paranoid about the whole thing.
@pinkkillersheep happy to hear you don't have strep! Not that colds are any fun 😕 hope you feel better soon! I can totally see how tracking could make things confusing, especially if you're not super regular. Here's to keeping distracted until we can test!