Notes for the personinside motherhood.
Practical, honest reading on wellbeing, postpartum and family life — and detailed updates on what we ship.
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Notes and updates from Serhii
I design and build Mommy Refuel myself. Here I write down every release — what shipped, where and when — and the principles behind it.
About Serhii
Why I'm launching this blog, from day one of Mommy Refuel
I'm starting a blog on mommyrefuel.com — real articles on motherhood and wellbeing, and this changelog written in my own name, in English and Ukrainian, alongside sharing Mommy Refuel more widely this week.
Serhii Rohachov
Privacy by design: what Mommy Refuel does with your data
I designed and built Mommy Refuel end to end, and the hardest constraint I set for myself wasn't a feature — it was what the app is not allowed to do with your data. Here is the honest version.
Serhii Rohachov
Safety before features: why Mommy Refuel isn't a medical app
The riskiest thing I could do while building Mommy Refuel wasn't shipping too slowly — it was shipping a feature that sounds medical without being clinically reviewed. Here is how I built around that risk instead of hoping it wouldn't happen.
Serhii Rohachov
Baby blues vs postpartum depression: how to tell
Tearful and overwhelmed after birth? Here is how baby blues and postpartum depression differ, what helps, and when it is time to talk to a professional.
Mommy Refuel
Baby milestones, first year: CDC checklist by month
What CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. checklists actually say your baby may be doing at 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months, and why these are a range to watch, not a test to pass.
Mommy Refuel
Baby monitors: types, privacy, and what to look for
This is an overview, not a hands-on test. Here are the main types of baby monitors, what official guidance says about SIDS and monitors, and the privacy questions worth asking before you buy.
Mommy Refuel
First trimester fatigue and nausea: what helps, week by week
Bone-deep tiredness and queasiness at any hour are two of the most common early pregnancy symptoms. Here is what's typical, what tends to help, and when to get checked.
Mommy Refuel
Gadgets that make new parent life easier: an overview
This is an overview, not a hands-on test or a sponsored list. Here's what each popular category of new-parent gadget actually does, plus the safety guidance worth knowing before you buy.
Mommy Refuel
Maternal burnout: signs, causes and small steps back
Running on empty for weeks is not a personal failing. Here is how to recognise maternal burnout, why it happens, and the small, realistic steps that help you refuel.
Mommy Refuel
Mental load of motherhood: see it, name it, share it
The remembering, planning and noticing that keeps a family running is real work, even when nobody sees it. Here is how to make it visible and share it fairly.
Mommy Refuel
Newborn first 6 weeks: feeding, sleep, crying and recovery
The first six weeks with a newborn are a blur of feeds, naps and worry. Here is a calm, practical guide to what is normal, how to keep baby safe asleep, and when to call a doctor.
Mommy Refuel
Daily mood check-in: a 1-minute habit for moms
A one-minute note about your sleep, energy and mood each day can show patterns that are hard to see from inside a busy week. Here is how to start, with or without an app.
Mommy Refuel
Postpartum checkup questions: what to ask your doctor
Postpartum appointments go by fast. Here is a practical list of questions to ask, what to note down beforehand, and how to make sure nothing gets forgotten.
Mommy Refuel
Postpartum depression treatment: what's new since 2023
In 2023 the FDA approved the first pill specifically for postpartum depression. Here's what zuranolone is, how it works, its real limits, and the other treatments that still matter.
Mommy Refuel
New study: how your sleep changes after birth, and why it matters
A large 2025 review followed sleep from pregnancy into the first postpartum year. Here's what it found about who struggles most, and why sleep patterns are worth tracking, not just enduring.
Mommy Refuel
Preparing for pregnancy: a preconception checklist
Thinking about trying for a baby? Here is a realistic preconception checklist covering folic acid, a pre-pregnancy checkup, vaccinations, lifestyle, your partner and the emotional side of it all.
Mommy Refuel
RSV prevention for babies: what's new in 2025-2026
There are now three ways to protect a baby from severe RSV, and most families only need one. Here's what maternal vaccination, nirsevimab, and the newer clesrovimab actually do.
Mommy Refuel
School-age sleep: how much kids need and how to get there
School-age kids need more sleep than most families manage to give them. Here are the real numbers, a realistic bedtime routine, and what to do when sleep keeps slipping.
Mommy Refuel
Screen time by age: what AAP and WHO actually recommend
Screen time advice can feel like a moving target. Here is what AAP and WHO guidance says by age, and small, practical steps for building a family media plan that fits real life.
Mommy Refuel
Sleep deprivation as a new mom: how to cope
Newborn nights are hard, and more willpower is not the answer. Here are realistic ways to protect some sleep, stay safe, and know when tiredness needs a doctor.
Mommy Refuel
Talking with teens about mental health: a parent's guide
The teen years bring real changes in the brain and in daily life. Here is how to notice when something is off, start a real conversation, and know when to get help fast.
Mommy Refuel
Toddler tantrums: why they happen and how to respond calmly
Tantrums are big feelings meeting a small toolkit, not a discipline failure. Here is why they happen between ages 1 and 4, what helps in the moment, and when to check in with a pediatrician.
Mommy Refuel
Just talk: speak or type, and Mommy Refuel sorts it out
No forms, no menus — just speak or type about your day, and Mommy Refuel proposes where it belongs. You decide what actually gets saved. Here's exactly how it works and why I built it this way.
Serhii Rohachov
September 20: fixing a real language bug, builds 23-24
One bug on September 20 bothered me more than most: switching languages could leave half your screen in the old one. Here's what caused it, how I fixed it, and what else shipped that day.
Serhii Rohachov
September 19 evening: Life Timeline graduates to a real pilot
After the morning's shipping, I spent the evening on something less flashy but more important: making sure the roadmap inside the app never tells you a working feature is still just an idea.
Serhii Rohachov
September 19 morning: Memories, Supplies, Expenses go live
Between 07:46 and 11:35 on September 19, six features moved from roadmap promises to things you can actually use — plus a weight-tracking step, a due-date step, and the first Apple Watch app.
Serhii Rohachov
Fixing language switching for real, plus a dark-rose dark mode
Two days after adding six new languages, I found the switch itself didn't reliably work. Here's the honest story of fixing it properly, plus a new warm dark mode, across builds 15 to 17.
Serhii Rohachov
Build 13: calmer design, Supplies & Expenses, six more languages
The busiest single day the app has had: a calmer redesign across every screen, two brand-new beta tools for family logistics, the app speaking six more languages, and build 13 prepared for TestFlight.
Serhii Rohachov
The Mommy Refuel website becomes a real, 9-language site
In one working day, mommyrefuel.com went from a single scrolling landing page to a real multi-page site with a proper menu, matching editorial design, and content in nine languages. Here is exactly what changed, and when.
Serhii Rohachov
Launch day, part 3: the daily loop gets real
Launch morning was the easy part to summarize. What followed that afternoon and evening was a long, dense run of shipping — Today, Care, Timeline, Partner mode, Memories, Children, and a dozen smaller honest fixes. Here's the full list.
Serhii Rohachov
What's next, and Mommy Refuel Care Network
A few hours after going live on the App Store, I shipped two more things the same day: an honest "what's next" layer, and a new Care Network for finding real support — still behind a beta gate.
Serhii Rohachov
Mommy Refuel is live on the App Store, free pilot
This morning Mommy Refuel stopped being a beta and became a real, downloadable app. Here is exactly what shipped, in what order, and why — from the person who built it.
Serhii Rohachov
App Store review, round two: what Apple asked, what I changed
Build 11 came back from App Review with two real, fair findings. I'll walk through exactly what Apple flagged, what I changed in response, and why I bumped the version to 2.0.0 for the resubmission.
Serhii Rohachov
GA readiness day: privacy fixes, DNS cutover, honest release docs
September 5 was the least glamorous, most important day of the project so far: I found and closed three real privacy gaps, moved the site's DNS to AWS, and wrote down exactly what's still blocking a public launch.
Serhii Rohachov
Mommy Refuel site v4: rebuilding it as a real product site
On September 4 I threw out the old marketing shell and rebuilt the site from zero: real iPhone screens instead of mockups, a full English/Ukrainian site, and the first pieces of the move to AWS.
Serhii Rohachov
Rebuilding mommyrefuel.com twice, and our first internal dashboard
The site went from a single landing page to a real multi-page product site, twice over, in one day — plus a broken logo fixed live, a move to AWS, and the first internal tool for running the company honestly.
Serhii Rohachov
Life Timeline, a family foundation, and App Store build 11
The day the app quietly grew a family and a memory: a private family foundation, a flag-gated Life Timeline, a calmer onboarding, and the App Store review round that followed.
Serhii Rohachov
Mommy Refuel's AI moves to AWS, and a production-readiness audit
One long day: the Refuel AI assistant got a permanent home on AWS, I audited the whole authentication and safety chain end to end, and two TestFlight builds shipped.
Serhii Rohachov
Support, privacy links, and Mommy Refuel's first merged backend
The week the app stopped being a local prototype: real support and privacy pages, a cloud sync backend, and the first pull request merged into Mommy Refuel's main branch.
Serhii Rohachov
v1.6: TestFlight readiness, and the site catches up
Over two days, 18–19 August 2026, the work shifted from adding features to getting genuinely ready: a clinical safety review package, beta diagnostics, privacy-safe metrics, a paid developer account migration — and mommyrefuel.com rebuilt to describe the real, built app instead of a pre-launch idea.
Serhii Rohachov
v1.3–v1.5: Doctor mode, App Intents, HealthKit, Watch
In the second half of the same long day, 17 August 2026, Mommy Refuel gained a real explanation of its own score, Siri and Shortcuts support, a Doctor Visit Mode, and genuine Apple Watch, widget, HealthKit and Live Activity integrations — then a hardening pass to make sure none of it was fragile.
Serhii Rohachov
v1.1 & v1.2: Refuel AI, private Journal, Care Circle, timeline
In a single day — 17 August 2026 — Mommy Refuel went from a bare prototype to a genuinely useful companion: Refuel AI, a private Journal, Care handoff, a nanny-search scaffold, weekly reports, Care Circle, a Privacy Center, evening reflection, a maternal timeline, and full Ukrainian.
Serhii Rohachov
Day one: why I started building Mommy Refuel
On 13 August 2026 I pushed the first commit of Mommy Refuel: an iOS app prototype, a landing page, a coming-soon site and a survey. Here is what that first push actually contained, and why I'm building this at all.
Serhii Rohachov