Looking at the real deal of staying at home with your baby.
Before becoming a part of the Tiny Treasures Team, I was a SAHM aka stay-at-home Mom for the first year of my son’s life. I decided to leave my sparkling teach
ing career and venture full-time into mommy life. I, like many moms, wanted to embrace the joys and challenges of motherhood and be there for every milestone along the one year path I had decided to commit to. Once the year approached, I found myself a bit stuck in deciding my next move. I decided to share with you some pros and cons of being a SAHM.
The Decision: Making the decision to stay at home and undergo one of the most thankless jobs is something to consider. There really isn’t much time for the “self” and a baby is really all-consuming to say the least. I often found that my personal endowments fell by the wayside. There are no breaks and babies by nature need a lot of constant attention. Also, regard the gap in your resume and how this will be accepted in your line of work. My point, if you will not be full happy with only looking after your baby, then perhaps working in some capacity will be a better balance.
Your Support: This is where I saw a lot of variations in the SAHM experience during my year staying home with my son. Support. Do you have other SAHM friends you can meet up with to talk and socialize? Maybe friends that can lend a helping hand? Do you have family members that are able to help out so you can step away from baby? Perhaps your budget allows for a Mother’s Helper? There is nothing wrong with asking for help. You're a mom. You need and deserve some "me" time. Make sure you have a good support system if you are opting out from work so you can still feel a part of the world and do things for you. It is crucial to illuminate the importance of self-care when being with your love bug full-time.
Finances: It is essential to look at your financial situation before making the final decision to quit your job. Review and review. Feeling financially secure is pivotal to staying at home. You will have enough on your plate to worry about as a (new) Mom. For many, totally suspending financial contribution to your family is not possible. If your network of support allows, perhaps you can recruit help from family for free or low cost while you pick up some working hours until you can hire a professional nanny or enroll baby in daycare once you are working full-time.
The Benefits
No one will take care of and look after your baby like you. That is just how it is. Daycares are full of babies who are seeking the attention of a few caretakers and a sitter will not really fret over the little things that are important to you. The milestones are vast in the first year of life which is why many moms make the leap into full-time motherhood. The first attempt to crawl, rolling onto her tummy, a full belly laugh, cruising, starting solids and the attempts at Mama and Dada might be missed if you are working full-time. Having a front row to all the “firsts” you also assist in providing the emotional support that baby needs when attempting all these firsts.
If you have a social platform of mom and babies, you can engage in mommy and baby social times which are a wonderful way to stay connected, get some adult conversation in while your little ones socialize.
Many SAHM’s enjoy being involved with what their babies are eating when they start solids and many mom make their baby’s food. Often this is something that is a bit of a challenge to the working mama understandably. Making food and eliminating the high cost of quality childcare is definitely a benefit to staying with your baby.
Coming to this decision is easy for some and a hard decision for others and in the end we do what we feel is best for our families. For me, the best indicator to my success to staying with my son the first year was financial security. It can be tight and you might have to modify your lifestyle, but knowing you will be monetarily safe brings peace of mind: Very much needed when looking after baby solo. Lastly, you can modify being a SAHM with working. Many moms go from SAHM to WAHM-Work at-home Mom and start a new business, freelance or start working and developing a business plan to that “thing” they have always want to do. Congratulations either way on your decision and your growing family. You got this!
