Wang Chen (self-illustrated below) is a thirtysomething game designer in Seattle who dreams of becoming a comic artist.
She is also a mom of two (daughters Electra and Ali) and recently drew a series of comics that hilariously capture the too-real differences between raising your first kid and your second.
For example, she noted that what you eat during pregnancy is, uh, slightly different:
How your partner treats you is slightly different too:
Your idea of what is hygienic for your kid also, uh, evolves:
What is suitable for your kid to eat evolves too:
You become harder to impress the second time around:
But also harder to freak out:
And hey — you make some compromises:
Weng tells BuzzFeed that she started drawing comics for the first time in a long time after having kids: "When my second child turned 2, I had the urge to start again because if I didn't, I might never achieve my dream."
Her kids became a major inspiration. "I was constantly having thoughts and ideas from my daily life," she says. "It's been a fun and meaningful way to document my children's growth — and mine."
Weng posted her first five comics on Imgur and saw them go viral. Since then, she's received a wave of good reactions (but also some bad ones).
Overall, though, the reactions have been positive — sometimes more than she expected.
"I was surprised when people told me, 'I cried when reading your work' or 'Thanks for giving me the strength,'" Weng says.
"I guess everybody interprets them differently based on their own experiences. I just try to share my life in an authentic, humorous way."
You can check out more of Weng's work on her website, Messy Cow, or on Facebook.
