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Home › Mom of the Month

Jeannie Lit

By Melinda Copp

Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a mother who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a woman and a mother. Above all, the Mom of the Month is dedicated to her children. Rich or poor, famous or not, she shines as an example of what mothering is all about.

Bringing home a new baby is stressful – emotionally and physically. Not only are new moms healing from giving birth, but they are also sleep deprived, their hormones are raging and they are nervous about caring for their new baby. When Jeannie Lit, a mom from South Brunswick, N.J., brought her first son home, the stress took a difficult toll. When her son was only 3 months old, Lit was diagnosed with Graves disease.

"After 24 hours of pushing for labor, I finally gave birth to my son," Lit says. "Then, on top of the rough labor, I had an episiotomy. The healing process took a long time for me and it was very painful."

Being a sleep-deprived new mom and breastfeeding around the clock was also very stressful for Lit. She lost weight rapidly, which at first she mistook as a result of nursing. After going back to work, she wanted to continue breastfeeding her son, so she had to pump at work.

"I needed to pump every four hours and I needed at least two 15-minute breaks to do that," Lit says. "But my boss and colleagues, at the time, were not too happy with this and therefore added to the stress."

Plus, she and her husband weren't ready to put their baby in daycare. "I thought if I'm the one that wanted a child, then I should be the one to dedicate myself to my child," Lit says. "I felt, either I should raise him or my husband should, no one else." So she and her husband, Andy, took turns watching their son, Javison, when Lit went back to work. Lit worked days and stayed with the baby at night, and Andy worked nights and watched the baby during the day. This proved stressful and difficult for both of them.

Finding Out

Lit began feeling hot all the time, which at first, she mistook as a side effect of breastfeeding. And it was July, so she just cranked up the air-conditioner. Then her boss told her that she had lost so much weight that she looked sick.

"When I weighed myself and found out that I was 89 pounds, I had to see my doctor to check it out," says Lit, who is 4 feet, 11 inches tall and normally weighs 97 pounds. "After blood tests, my doctor told me that I have Graves disease and that I always had this within my body, but that it stayed dormant all these years. He told me that the stress of childbirth, being a new mom, having to breastfeed, being sleep deprived and also having to go back to work after six weeks was how I brought it out."

Graves disease is a common form of hyperthyroidism that causes the immune system to attack the thyroid. In response, the thyroid produces too much thyroxine, which can cause unsafe increases in heart rate, sensitivity to heat and weight loss, among other symptoms. Lit controlled her condition with daily medication and it is now in remission.

A Stay-at-home Mom

When she was 7 months pregnant with her second son, Aidan, she was laid off of her job and they decided she should stay home with the kids for a while.

"It is really rewarding for me to be able to stay at home with my kids," says Lit, whose sons are now 5 and 7 years old. "I love watching them grow and watching their milestones. I'm so lucky to be able to share those moments with them."

But the most challenging part of being a stay-at-home mom for Lit is definitely keeping within their budget. "Since I cannot contribute my share money-wise, I need to try and conserve as much as possible," she says. "I also have to teach my kids that money doesn't just grow on trees."

When Lit isn't busy running the household, she and her family enjoy spending time together, whether that's doing something exciting, like going to an amusement park, or just kicking back and watching a movie at home.

"As long as we're together and spending good quality time, that's most important to us," Lit says. "My favorite family memory was going on a cruise with my friends and family. Both the kids and adults had a blast because the cruise really catered to our needs. It was the best time ever because we had no worries at all."

Lit and her husband also strive to teach their sons the importance and value of treating people with respect. "I want them to always treat others with respect and kindness; that way they will be treated the same," Lit says. "My husband and I always tell them, every day, that we love them and that they can always count on family to be there for them. As long as we have love, health and happiness, that's all that matters."

Although Lit is a self-proclaimed disaster in the kitchen, her husband, Andy Woo, is an excellent cook. She shared Andy's recipe for Cha Siu (Chinese Roast Pork), one of her favorites. Check it out here.

Now Meet the Inventor

Lit is also an inventor. Writing from left to right, left-handed people drag their hand over the ink, causing smudges on the side of their hand and pinky, and across their work. As a lefty, Lit was well aware of this inconvenience that comes from being left-handed in a right-handed world.

"I've had this annoying problem my entire life and learned to just deal with it," Lit says. But when her son started learning to write in kindergarten and expressed frustration with messy writing and smudges on the side of his hand, Lit wanted to help him beyond simply saying, "That's part of being left-handed." Thus, the SmudgeGuard was born.

"My older son was my sole inspiration!" Lit says. "You see, in this world, most of the products are geared for right-handed people to make their lives easier and simpler. As a lefty, and a mother of a left-handed child, I felt the urge to try to make his life easier and simpler too. I tried searching the Internet for a product to stop the smudges, but couldn't find any. So I decided to create my own product for my son."

For Lit, this meant going from stay-at-home mom to inventor, which was something she'd never done before. "I never imagined I would be an inventor," Lit says.

And as far as advice for other parents and people who have a great invention idea, Lit says to go for it. "If you think that your new idea will benefit people, whether to make people's lives easier, simpler, better or just more fun, then go for it," she says. "We are all here to make a difference in the world, and your contribution could be the next best thing. Just go for it!"



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