Hello, Mama! My name is Marissa. I am a stay-at-home wife and mom to my two little girls. I thank God every day for my daughters, and I do not take for granted the fact that I get to be their mama. I treasure each precious day with my girls as I learn the lessons of motherhood.

Since before my first daughter was born, I have been discovering what it means to be the best mom that I know how to be for my children. A large majority of what I have learned about parenting so far centers around the fact that each child, parent and family is unique and must live and operate in that uniqueness. So I embrace my own style of momming while respecting the parenting styles of other moms who do it differently than me.

During my pregnancy with my first daughter, I began adopting a natural view of pregnancy, childbirth and baby care. I prepared whole-heartedly for natural birth and breastfeeding in advance and I had a beautiful experience with both the first time around. I co-slept with my daughter for 3 years and breastfed her for 3 1/2 years. It was an incredible experience.

But my motherhood journey has not always been easy or straight-forward. Before my successful pregnancy with my daughter, I had a missed miscarriage that was discovered on ultrasound when I was 10 weeks along. I also lost three pregnancies after having my first daughter, including a complete molar pregnancy that was discovered at 16 weeks.

When I became pregnant with my second daughter, I quickly learned that pregnancy after recurrent loss is one of the hardest things a mom can do. The overwhelming grief associated with repeated loss and pregnancy after loss has changed me at the core. I have had to learn the hard lesson that pregnancy is not always a joyful or exciting experience.

Motherhood has been a bittersweet mix of Joy and sorrow for me. I understand the excitement of a healthy, successful pregnancy. I understand the uncontainable joy of bringing a new life into the world. I understand the painful grief of losing a beloved pregnancy. I understand the fear of trying to conceive after loss. And I understand the reality of life after loss.

I have also experienced the severe mom-guilt associated with having children who have unexpected health conditions. From my older daughter’s acid reflux and severe tooth decay to my younger daughter’s congenital heart defect and NG (nasogastric) feeding tube, I have had to learn a variety of new mom skills over the years.

I know that there are countless other women who have gone through these experiences as well who are looking for understanding and information. That is why I started this blog. To be open and honest with you so that you do not feel alone. It is my desire to be as transparent with you as I would want you to be with me if we were conversing in the privacy of my living room about the good, the bad and the ugly topics of being a mom.

I know that you have your own story, Mama. I know that your story probably does not look exactly like mine. But I love that no matter what our differences are, we certainly share the bond of being moms. And I thoroughly enjoy walking this motherhood journey with you.