Making the Decision to be a Stay at Home Mom

My mom was a stay-at-home mom with my sister and I, so at a young age I knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.

Fast forward to adulthood, Bobby and I were always on the same page when it came to me being a stay-at-home with our kids. However, I was working a job, where it was pretty flexible and we had my sister for the summer so I wanted to see if I could work and be a mom. Long story short, I recognized the company had not been compensating me enough for it to be worth losing precious time with my son.

I have been asked a few times how we make it work. We are so lucky that I am able to stay at home as I know these times are tough. I know when I was younger my dad worked multiple jobs at once so that my mom could stay at home with us. She always talks about how you make it work. If it is truly something you want, you figure it out.

First, you and your partner are a team and need to be on the same page. What are your goals? Our goal was for me to be apart of Bradley's everyday life. We went over our monthly expenses and what our income was going to be. It was definitely an adjustment and still is most days, but I am so happy everyday watching him grow and experience things. Keeping an eye on the budget and continuously keeping track of everything helps me stay accountable. Do I go over budget? Majority of the time, yes. Do I need to be more strict on myself and my spending? Always.

Time seems to go by faster the older you get, add kids to the mix and it's supersonic speed. Even when I worked only a few months with Bradley as a newborn, I felt like I was missing out on him and his development. Today, I truly understand why people say “they are only this little once.” He is 2 years old and I cannot comprehend where the time went.

You have to remember that you are always replaceable at your job. Keep in mind that in 5 or 10 years, you won’t be thinking “wow, I wished I worked more,” but instead it would be “I wish I had more time with my little one.” After Bradley’s health scare it opened my eyes even wider that we are not promised tomorrow and anything can happen. I thought I was going to lose him and I kept thinking “was I enough,” “did he feel enough love,“ “did he have enough good/fun experiences?”

Now this post is for the momma’s who are currently on the fence on being a stay-at-home mom or ready to be one. Some mom’s enjoy working and being a mom. There is nothing wrong with that. Everyone is different and everyone’s journey is different, that is what makes motherhood beautiful.

Erin