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March 2011 Moms
MarchABC
member
SAHMs how are you doing?
MarchABC
member
I'm an elementary school teacher but will be a SAHM for the next year and a half. I have the rest of the school year off and have been given an awesome opportunity to take a sabbatical for the 2011-12 school year. This is a totally new experience for me. Seeing the post below about going back to work brought really mixed feelings for me. I feel so fortunate to be able to watch my son grow and I wouldn't change it for anything. However, I keep hearing women talking about going back to work and how good it has been for them to get their own identities back. If you're in the process of becoming a SAHM or have already been a SAHM, how are you doing now? What are some things you plan to do to nurture yourself and your identity as an individual and as a mother, and help your LO become social with his/her peers? Have you spent any time on the SAHMs board? Any good advice? TIA!!
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Re: SAHMs how are you doing?
Looking for a job.
My boyfriend got a pay cut and the school district I sub at hasn't called in forever. So now I get to find a lame, part time job. I cry when I think about it because I don't want to leave my baby after having her next to me for the last 7 weeks + 10 months in utero of course.
I have visited the SAHM board, mostly lurking though.
I would say come up with a hobby, but I haven't gotten much sewing done lately with a newborn. I wish I could become a WAHM. Just to stay busy and have goals with my sewing or crafting.
I am a stay at home mom at heart, LOL.
I am working towards the goal of being a SAHM but it will probably take another two years before we get there. After two years, hopefully we will be trying for LO #2 and I will stay at home.
I love maternity leave, I love the SAHM board, and I really respect what SAHMs do.
In my limited experience, I think that a big key is having playdates that give both you and LO social time w/ a peer. I am so blessed to have a few friends with LOs around the same age!
Watching the SAHM board, it seems like the ladies are able to nurture themselves by reading, working out, volunteering, mommy blogs, etc. I have talked to a friend about trading childcare for a couple hours each week so we both have a couple hours to ourselves. Also, some cities have stroller clubs where ladies work out by going on long walks or jogs w/ their LOs in strollers.
Congrats on the chance to SAH! :-) I would love to spend as much time as possible w/ LO!
In my area, we have amazing free resources for parents called Ontario Early Years Centres where they have a variety of programs for children 0-6 years. There's a baby drop in that I plan to join next week.
I haven't really been able to get into any routine as of yet, but I'm hoping after buying my bECO this weekend!! I do get up at 7 so I can eat and shower before DH gets up at 7:45 (or earlier if DS wakes him up earlier), but that's about my only routine. I try to get out at least once a day for a walk, or a trip to the store, anything to get out of the house.
I'm hoping to be a SAHM until DS goes to junior kindergarten but I may go back on a part-time basis after my one year of mat leave is up.
Enjoy every precious minute!!!! LO will be teenager before you know it.
You will probably get rejuvenated for teaching as well.
I've been a SAHM for a couple years now. I went back to work 2 days/week for 8 months when DS1 was a baby, but gladly quit that at the end of my contract. While it was nice to get a little bit of a break from the baby and see other adults, it still didn't outweigh the pros of being home with my baby. Not to mention he was at daycare just enough to pick up every single bug that went through there, that was frustrating!
My only real advice is that it gets easier and more fun as LO gets older (until about 2...lol). Try not to go insane during the first few months when LO is so needy, not on any schedule, and it seems almost impossible to get anything done. Before you know it he will be on a schedule and a lot more interactive when he is awake, and that is so fun. Once they start hitting milestones they seem to come so quickly, sitting, crawling, standing, talking, walking, etc and they open up a whole new world of things you can do with your LO. And of course look for moms groups, even if their kids are older than yours, they can be a lot of company and a great resource for advice!
Also I've been so pleasantly suprised at how supportive people have been of me being a SAHM. Part of me was ashamed to be 'wasting' my engineering degree and not working outside the home and bringing in an income. But pretty much every.single.person I've talked to has said how great it is that I can stay home while the kids are young and that I'm doing 'the most important job'...even my parents who paid for my college degree!
I really enjoy being a SAHM. We moved to DH's hometown last year (7.5 hours away from all my family and friends) and I haven't really made any friends. Most of the time we have been here, I had been working at a place where I was the only employee besides the owner so I didn't really have an opportunity to make friends. So, DS is kind of like my best friend. I finally have someone to spend time with when DH is working.
I don't really miss the adult time I spend at my last job. And I stay sane by scrapbooking. It's my #1 hobby and I make sure that I find time to do it when DS is sleeping.