So I’ve been a working mom for a year now.
I started working at the daycare center on Jan 30th last year. It is so hard to believe that it’s been that long. A year ago, we were still living with my parents – all of us in that room together. We were dreaming of being able to watch movies together on a couch instead of at the dining room table. We were wondering how great it would be to go to bed without having to move so slowly in the dark for fear of waking her up. We moved into our home last April, after I had been working for a few months. As much as I want to be a Stay at Home Mom again, working allows me to live with my husband and our baby on our own and I love that. I love our apartment and I love having our own room and I love watching movies on our comfy couch. :) We also get to have people over and make dinners. It’s so great.
And working isn’t the worst when Cupcakes gets to be there with me (2 hrs a day, 3 days a week):
Wow a whole year. That’s pretty good. :) It’s still really hard and I’m not going to pretend it’s not. Even after a year, I’m still trying to focus on the bright side and still struggling. Co-writing the post, 20 Coping Strategies for Working Moms, helped me a little bit because I was able to brainstorm some good ideas.
My faith helps get me through it too. I know God has a plan and there’s a good change I won’t have to be a working mom forever. Hobbs and I also have a six year plan. So things are in the works. :)
It also helps when Hobbs sends me little texts when he knows I’m having a bad day that say things like, “I hope you know how much I appreciate the sacrifices you make for this family.” He is such a good one. <3
How do YOU cope with being a working mom?
OR
What is your favorite part about being a stay at home mom?
OR
If you wish you were in the other position, no matter which one you’re in now, WHY do you feel that way?
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I have always been a full time working mom. I started at a daycare when I was pregnant with Dominic. It allowed me to be able to see him during the day. Then when he was in Kindergarten I was at the company I work for now. I was able to put him on the bus and pick him up from daycare. Then I started working at home right after his kindergarten year. It is a blessing to find a work from home job, however, it is hard with the toddlers. They go to daycare to allow me to work. My husband also works from home and we have some help from family. It is a great thing working and being able to see the kids BUT it is also much harder on the mind. (being able to concentrate etc) I am thankful for what I have and hope that someday in the near future it will allow us to buy our forever home (after we finish remodeling our current home).
I’ve been a working mom for almost two years now, because like you it was a choice between not having enough (and probably still living with family too, which we were doing pre-birth because of a big move and job change) and being able to provide completely.
I coped by finding a job that was not a career path, just a place I did some work for a paycheck. Nothing to bring home at the end of the day – just something that brought in money so that I could focus on being a happy, calm mother instead of fretting over bills and grocery budget. Of course being a 2 income family does not mean we’re rolling in cash (we went thru the job change with my husband before H. was born because we want him to have time with his children, but it meant a large income reduction and we’re both only just above “starting salary” range). I chose a job that starts early in the morning so I miss less of my kids awake time and get home with plenty of time to play before dinner, bath and bed time and that makes it a lot easier (I also found a 90% option that gives me two days off more a month and I swear it makes a huge difference).
The key for me is knowing that finances stress me out to no end and I do know I make a better mother when I know that our bills get paid each month, and money goes into savings, etc. We too have a 5 year plan and every raise gets us closer to being able to go part time or better!
Adjusting from a 40 hour work week to being a stay-at-home mom has certainly had its ups and downs. Thank goodness I found an outlet in blogging and meeting so many fabulous other moms to connect with. Congrats on your year of changes and success!
This post came right on time for me! I started out as a working mom going back to work when my son was just 3 months old. At the time I was ok because he was staying with family during the day. When he turned one we moved 200 miles away so that my husband can take an very good job opportunity. I had to quit my job and I became a SAHM while we made the transition. Our original plan was for me to continue to SAH and perhps grow our fmaily so I can be home with our kiddos for a while but then the perfect job opportunity for me fell out of the sky. I decided to take it because it would allow me time to be someone else rather just a wife and mom and also allow us to grow our savings and even take some family vacations. I start that job on Monday and I am having second thoughts. Today I found myself randomly crying when he did something cute because I felt like I will now be missing all of these moments. So, thank you for writing this- it is hitting very close to home for me.