At the start, I was told I had to raise $100,000 in the first quarter to be taken seriously as a candidate. Daunted, but undeterred, I wrote a list of every person I’ve ever known and starting dialing. Three days a week, I would drop my daughter off at nursery school, put my one-year old son in his stroller, and walk around our neighborhood making calls to donors. I spent my afternoons nursing my son, while my daughter covered my head in hair clips, with my phone attached to my ear.

My mother was able to watch my babies every day after 3:30 p.m., which allows me to head out the door, meet constituents and attend community meetings. For two months, I built forts, changed diapers and made lunch while talking to donors, and I managed to raise $126,114 in our first quarter. But this schedule was unsustainable — and I no longer wondered why more mothers with young children weren’t running for Congress.