My journey into parenthood began at 37 with the arrival of our first child, followed by the surprise of twins at 39. At the time, I was working full-time for a multinational company, and I only was able to take two months of maternity leave with my oldest and five months with the twins. With a big mortgage to manage, we simply couldn’t afford for me to take more time off -we relied on two incomes. Life became a whirlwind with three children under three, and my job often required me to travel, sometimes internationally. We bounced between nannies and early childcare centers, costs which quickly added up. Juggling work commitments, childcare pick-ups and drop-offs, dinner, bath, and bedtime routines felt like an endless cycle. The only time I had to tackle tasks like family birthday shopping, holiday planning, and researching daycares/preschools was late at night on the computer, which hardly felt like "me" time. Often, I found myself up until 1 AM or later. All this left both my husband and me exhausted and feeling quite alone. 

With my move to New Zealand in 2001, we faced the challenge of being far from family - my parents in Kansas and my husband’s family living a 6-8 hour drive away. Without our parents nearby to help babysit or give us a much-needed break, and with few friends to lean on, we often felt isolated in our parenting journey.