In my last post I said I am now unsure about being a SAHM. I am not anymore, but I thought I would explore what was going through my mind. I know not all moms have the option to stay at home and I also realize that not all moms want to stay at home and I really don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to raise your kids. I think, in general, most parents know what is best for their children.
I was raised by a SAHM. My mom always told me that, that was the best job in the world and one she had looked forward to her whole life. So when my husband and I decided to have a baby, I knew I wanted to be a SAHM too. My mom and I have always been VERY close and I wanted to have that same relationship with my children.
When I was pregnant, however, I had a very flexible job where I was able to work from home, I had a natural aptitude for the line of work I was in, and I earned a very good income. Needless to say, I had a hard time rationalizing the need to resign so I could be a full time mamma, so I didn’t. I went back to work after six weeks and began to regret that decision about three weeks later.
I had Dylan in part-time day care five days a week, which really didn’t bother me, but I was sleep deprived, stressed out, and having trouble keeping up with work and household chores! So I talked to my boss about switching to a part-time schedule. I really thought he would go for it since I was a good employee, we had a good working relationship, and the budget was tight. I thought we would just decide on a different salary and working hours and that would be it, but I was wrong. He was willing to be flexible with my schedule as far as what hours I worked, but his experience with part-time workers had left him unwilling to go that route. Anyway, the point is, I was overwhelmed and I wanted to be home anyway, so I quit.
We are in a different situation now. We have a much smaller place (less than half the size) and Dylan is taking good naps and sleeping through the night on a fairly consistent basis. Combine that with not knowing any other SAHMs in the area AND someone trying to recruit me to go back to consulting, and that is why I started to have second thoughts.
So let me tell you why I am no longer having second thoughts:
First of all, I think the idea of someone wanting me in the corporate world was exciting but that excitement would wear off within a few hours. Second of all, the bond I have with my son grows stronger everyday. When nothing in his world is going right, he turns to me because I am a constant in his life and I LOVE that! I realize that daycare helps a child learn how to socialize with other children and I know it helps academically as well, but it’s important to me that I get to be a full-time influence in his life and we live in a community where I believe he’ll be exposed to plenty of other children and learning opportunities.
I am SO glad you decided to stay home! Now you just need to find some at home momma friends…..there has got to be some out there!! Miss you!