becoming a stay at home mom

TinaS2012

Hi all! I was just wondering if anyone has become a stay at home mom after working for a long time. I am curently pregnant with our 3rd baby and my husband wants me to stay home with the children as childcare will be way too expensive for 3 children enough though I work at the childcare/learning center. I have never stayed home and not worked. I was wondering how some of you were able to make the transition. I am having a very hard time considering being a stay at home mom. I love working and i'll feel like i'm not helping provide.

tiffyr0se

It's a hard adjustment for sure. I work part time now, but I will give you the best pointers and what I learned helped me. 

Schedule a bit of downtime.  I love my child, but 24/7 is a lot.  Since you said you love working, maybe find a bit of time a couple times a month to volunteer for a cause you care about.  You will feel like you're doing someting important, and get an all important break. 

You will need some mommy friends.  To have playdates with or friends that you meet up with occasionally.  Adult conversation.

Make a budget.  More importantly, set up an amount of free spending money for you every month.  When I stopped working, it felt like all the money was H's money.  You should still have some fun money (other than grocery/household).

Congrats on the new baby, and on making a big change.

tiffyr0se

Oh, and above all.  Remember that you are doing the most important job every day.  You are raising children.  People are paid (sometimes quite well) for that.

TinaS2012

I have worked in childcare for almost 10yrs and I love it. I love where I work, the people and the kids. Its gonna be so hard to give up. That's my only adult social interaction even though I'm with kids all day.

KittahMama

I did this. And it was hard. I always worked in fast pace environments but after having two kids in two years as well as moving here from another state it made financial sense to us.

I've been SAHM since my daughter
Was born in June 2010.

I miss working and the extra money. I joined a MOMs group here and it's for other stay at home moms. I've met some Great friends through it. It also gives us activities to do weekly and the kids get to know other kids they'll be in school with some day. This is a local moms group but they have groups ll over!.

It gives me adult interaction, my kids socialize, and we all enjoy it.

I love my kids but it does get rough. Being 24/7 but I don't deal with office gossip or politics. I have home cooked meals three times a day and I'm helping my kids learn grow and develop and I don't have to miss out.

Feel free to PM me if you want. It's a sacrifice and I felt like a mooch at first because I've worked since I was 16. But if have a hard time going back now. Once they are both in school I will.