Working Mom, SAHM or Part-Time?

ChevelleRivers · February 2012

I'm totally unsure of what I will do about my job when baby comes. Ideally, I THINK I would like to move to part-time, but that may or may not be something my boss will allow. I'm fairly certain I don't want to be a full-time working mom, as I was bounced around between babysitters as a child and always resented it.(I want to give my kid the gift of "my time" and all of that cliche stuff. Ha.)

But, I worry about money, as I'm sure most of us do. Losing my income would be a big hit for DH and I. Especially with the added expense of a little one.

Have you all made your plans yet? What will you do?

C&S1030 · February 2012

I'll be a SAHM. I've been a SAHW for a year now and was thinking about going back to work when I got KU. Guess I was meant to be a homemaker. LOL

kelnyc · February 2012

Our plan is to both work full-time (you pretty much can't afford not to where we live), but work 4 days in the office and 1 each at home (with limited expectations, and working slightly longer on the other days to make up the hours). That way, we would only need daycare for 3 days out of the week if, say, I work Tues-Friday and he works Monday-Thursday.

phq2011 · February 2012

I will work full time (my income is significantly more) and my husband will be at home most of the time with LO. I will get evenings and Friday-Sunday since he works part time in the evenings. We are considering daycare for Fridays since that is the only day we are both off so it will give us some much needed couple time.

Jenelle101 · February 2012

I was teaching kindergarten when I had my daughter. She was born in April and I had the rest of the summer until the end of August with her. I taught for all of last year, and then took a year leave of absence to start a childcare/preschool in my home. It's not for everyone, but it's nice to know that I'm able to stay home with my daughter (and baby-to-be) and still make a generous income. I actually just signed the letter of resignation last week. I'm a little sad that I won't be teaching, but I figure I'll go back to it when my kids are in school.

EGMphoto · February 2012

I SAH with DS as my work is mainly on weekends (photographer) and evenings, when DH can watch him.

You'll figure out what's best for you. GL!

byrne15 · February 2012

I had ds while I was still in school, so my 1st job out of college was part-time. I work M-F, 7:30 til noon. I feel like I have the best of both worlds.

punkrockabye · February 2012

I was hoping to work, but seeing as I finished my master's degree last May and I am still unemployed... yeah, it's probably just going to stay that way. On one hand it's good because I've felt so terrible since the beginning of January that I wouldn't have been able to work anyway, and once the baby is born, I can dedicate all my time to breastfeeding. It sucks because my husband is juggling grad school and a dishwashing job that doesn't pay enough. It's easy to say "just go get a job," but it has literally been impossible.

strasbjl · February 2012

Looking forward to being a SAHM. I have the option of returning to my company and working part-time (not sure I want to do it yet...time will tell) but it is nice to have the option. Unfortunately not everyone does. I have a coworker that is basically not taking maternity leave until she goes into labor (only 2 weeks away from EDD) and is coming back 30 days later.

Rachelilly23 · February 2012

I work part-time and I love it. I lucked out though that I could maintain my career and still have that time at home with DS. I actually left my old job before DS was born, took 6 months off, and found a new part-time job after we moved when DS was 5 months old. It's been awesome, but we're going to have to move again the end of March so I will most likely be jobless again. We'll see what happens. Ideally, I'd love to find the same kind of contract work part-time, but there's just not a whole lots of options out there in the area we're moving to. So I might need to stay at home. Financially, we can handle it, but I just prefer to have that balance. It KEEPS me balanced and I will totally miss it if I don't work!

MissRachel621 · February 2012

I work full-time, and my husband is in medical school, so I'll definitely need to come back full time after my maternity leave. I wish we didn't have to go this route, but I really don't have a choice.

mommabear7182 · February 2012

Working mom

JJsMom211 · February 2012

Right now I'm a FT working mom. But after this baby is born, I'll be a SAHM. If I were to go back to work, I'd basically be working to pay for childcare, so it only makes sense to stay home.

vicachka7 · February 2012

I'll be a working mom, hopefully will be able to work some sort of flexible hours arrangement with my firm, but I'm a lawyer and still have lots of debt to pay off so not working isn't an option. I also don't think I'd be satisfied staying at home full time (that's just me!), but would love a flex-time or part-time schedule if I were able to find one.

JeffNessa810 · February 2012

I can't wait to be a SAHM! It's what I've always wanted to do. We'll have to make some sacrifices but it'll be worth it for us. Besides, daycare around here is like a second mortgage payment so I wouldn't be making much after having to pay for daycare.

meiiisia · February 2012

Will be returning to work full time. Really don't think we can make ends meet otherwise.

NWalker0910 · February 2012

I will be a SAHM probably until my baby goes to kindergarten then get a part time job. Thankfully hubby makes more than enough money to support us! I know its a hard job market out there been unemployed since last september.

patrickandkim · February 2012

FT here and no regrets. Tried the SAHM thing with my oldest and it wasn't for me.

irish city girl · February 2012

I have done all 3. I stayed home for 6 months when DS was born, went back to work part time for 3 months, but decided I needed to do something else (I went back to the job I had before I had DS). I then worked full time for 7 months and pretty much hated every minute of it. It was just a highly stressful job and I ended up working more than 40 hrs/week and was too exhausted when I got home to really do anything with DS. I went back to working part time and due to circumstances beyond my control ended up quitting. I am now at home full time and plan to just stay home until #2 is here and a few months old. Luckily, DH got a large raise a couple weeks ago so I am able to do this. If he hadn't, I would have to work part time. I personally think working part time was best for me (I just can't really see starting a new job only to take time off in a few months anyway). I enjoy my adult time and being around a toddler all day can be very frustrating and annoying (don't get me wrong I love DS to pieces, but all toddlers have their moments).

mrsjenni · February 2012

I'm a FT working mom and will continue to do so. Thankfully, my kiddos are with my mom everyday so it's perfect for us.

emoflamingo · February 2012

I was a full time student when DS was born and work part time now, not by choice but because I can't find a full time job. I am trying to fill hours until baby #2 comes and may keep it up after my (unpaid) time off. But it depends on how I feel.

ATMmom324 · February 2012

I work full time. I wish I could afford to be a SAHM. One good thing is I work night shift while my husband works 9-5 so we don't need to worry about day care. The rough part is I only sleep when my daughter naps. Some days that is hit or miss. Hopefully her and #2 will nap together.

CGoldman96 · February 2012

We haven't decided yet, but in the meantime we;ll save all the money we can. I don't think my working part-time would be enough to cover daycare for two!

CdnFarmGirl08 · February 2012

I'll be a working mom! I teach grade 2 and love it. I want to go back to work after. I also live in Canada, so we get a year maternity leave which is great! After we have 2 kids I might see if I can teach part-time, but it is very hard in our division and I don't want to lose my spot completley. I do have the option of taking a second year of mat leave (unpaid, but keep my position) if I want.

My husband is a farmer though, so we kinda rely on the steady second income as his will flucutate from year to year depending on whether or not we have great/bad crops.

tammynixx · February 2012

I'll be working full time, as will the hubbs.

I can't imagine staying home, I get terrible cabin fever. I'm lucky enough to have a lot of family around to help with baby as we adjust our schedules.

laurakaz13 · February 2012

It was never a question for me. I worked hard for my career and now have a child and a wonderful career. I would die if I had to stay at home.

MrsBlindLove · February 2012

I am a SAHW that will turn into a SAHM but I am thinking of getting a temp job to help bring in some extra income.

rebeccaparis · February 2012

I am a SAHM for the most part. I work out of my home, when I feel like it, and I am getting ready to start back at school to finish my bachelors.

melody921 · February 2012

I work p-t, which is an arrangement I made after DS was born. I had every intention of going back to work f-t, but I just couldn't do it. A lot of it, for me, had to do with the fact that I don't love my job, so I resented turning over all my time to that for a low paycheck and slim prospects of advancement. But, that said, I didn't want to totally remove myself from the workplace bc it can be hard to get back in later. I still don't love my job, but the schedule rocks. You need to look at your budget though and see what works for your family. For us, the slight hit I took by decreasing my hours was made up by not having to pay for those two extra days of daycare.

workingmama · February 2012

If you can't tell by my screenname, DH and I both work full-time and we would not have it any other way. I love that DS gets the social interaction of daycare and that I get the social interaction and intellectual stimulation of work. I spent far too long in school to stay home and I want him (and LO-on-the-way) to see that both men and women can "have it all." I am lucky because my mom and dad live nearby and watched DS for the first year after my somewhat extended maternity leave. They plan to do the same for this LO. Admittedly, it would have been a lot harder to go back to work if I had had to take DS to daycare as an infant rather than as a toddler.

I think there are benefits to being a SAHM and to being a WM...think it just depends on your situation and values.

obeach8 · February 2012

I'll be going back to full time, since I do make slightly more money than DH. My sweet grandma has actually mentioned several times, before us getting KU, that she would babysit until the baby learns to walk, since she doesn't want to chase a baby around haha. With Maternity Leave, I'd be home for a little over 3 months, the baby would go to my grandma for about 6 months I guess, and then from there either I'm hoping my mom will retire (more free childcare!), or it will wind up being day care, I guess.

I wish we could afford me becoming a SAHM but sadly, it's not in the cards for us right now.

JulesDiane · February 2012

tammynixx:
I'll be working full time, as will the hubbs.

I can't imagine staying home, I get terrible cabin fever. I'm lucky enough to have a lot of family around to help with baby as we adjust our schedules.

Do you think SAHM stay inside all day? I would go nuts if I did that! We do all sorts of stuff that doesn't involve hiding out in the house. Zoo, Aquarium, library, gymboree, music class, playground, play outside, lunch with friends, play dates, etc...

AngelSong76 · February 2012

We are going to try to arrange it so that I can stay home for awhile, at least the first six month to a year if possible. We do need both incomes, so I'm not sure if that will work or not. However, we are working on buying a house (buying is actually much cheaper than renting where we are right now) and if we can get our expenses low enough, I can most likely make up for any income loss by doing some freelance writing or something like that.

If we can't work it out so that I can stay at home, I will go back to work, but probably at a different job. I was trying to find something else before we got pregnant because I'm not exactly in love with my job.

aubrie7789 · February 2012

I just quit my job this week as a nanny because it just wasn't a good situation. I am only 10 weeks but I plan on being a SAHW until the baby is born and then a SAHM

I may watch our friends baby starting the end of this year to make a few extra dollars. It's really tough for us financially but I can already tell I am such a different person when I'm not stressed about my work environment and I can cook, clean and keep things organized here. With my field of work, if I were to go back to work when our LO is born then I would literally be working to put my baby in daycare. I'd have maybe $50 leftover at the end of the month, so its not for us!

jesslinnn · February 2012

I am a SAHM now and will be until our kids are in school.

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