SAHM help

ellie9487

I have gone from working mom to stay at home mom and I love it. However, I have noticed that it can get kind of lonely even with my two year old DD. Does anyone have any ideas as to what we could do to stay busy during the day? The less money spent, the better but any advice is much appreciated!

pistolpackinmomma

Do you have any other friends who are SAHMs or maybe a moms group that does play dates? Honestly, sometimes we just go out and walk around Walmart, my kid is a huge people watcher. Make some homemade play dough? Bake cookies together? Get some finger paints and paper? Coloring?

TheBeeCharmer

We use a lot of Pinterest activities. I just look up preschool and toddler activities. Some days, we don't do any, but nit helps when they are going stir crazy. We belong to a couple Moms' groups, which I like. Some people in the groups do activities together everyday. I try to moderate more with quiet days home and the occasional playdate. 

RedInLove

I'l be SAHM as well, something new for me. I have a friend that is due 5 weeks before me so I'm hoping we can get together once or twice a week.

Also, in case you haven't come across the SAHM board yet, here is a link to it:

https://forums.thebump.com/categories/stay-at-home-moms

ckandi007

I went from working full time to a SAHM when DS was 4 months old and we moved from TX to VA. I started my own photo biz so it's kind of the best of both worlds. During slow seasons, I go to a lot of play groups. There's a huge and active one on meetup.com. We've met a lot of wonderful people from there!

dragossoul84

We go to the Little Gym DS loves it and I can interact with other parents.

Shell+Bell

We live across from a recreation centre, so I was signing DS up for lots of different activities before he started preschool. They also run a free drop in play group twice a week. So if you have a rec centre near by, you could see what kind of activities they run.

Also meetup.com is a great site to find mom and tot groups in your area so you can get out of the house or even have people to your place for playgroups.

ellie9487

These are all super good ideas. Thank you so much ladies!

pistolpackinmomma

Oh and after the first of the year I plan to start DS in swim lessons, the kid loves water!

DoodleDara

Try your local library or going to story hours at Barnes and Noble. Always free and you can meet a lot of other people in similar circumstances as you.

Mittens14

I agree with all of the above!  Plus, when I had my brief 1 year stint of being a SAHM, we used to walk around the mall, DS loved the play area in the mall so he would play and I would people watch.  We also used to go to the indoor play centers sometimes when they had open play, it only cost around $8.  During the wamer months we spend a lot of time in the pool or at the beach and at the park.   

elittler

We do storytime at the library, pool days at the rec center (have passes) and are part of Moms Club where we live. moms Club is nationwide and specific to where you live... Maybe check it out?

Empireceo

Honestly finding a Moms group saved my sanity when we moved to a new area where I didn't know anyone. Most Barnes and Nobles do a story time once a week and your local library or park district probably has cheap free programs.

danabsd

Not a SAHM, but Tot School came up on another board recently.
https://www.thekavanaughreport.com/

mrspopsicle

I found that our local library story time is just as fun as the music classes I've paid an arm and a leg for. Also, look into MOMS club international in your area. It's specifically for stay at home and part time working moms.