Being A Stay At Home Mom

When I first decided to become a stay at home Mom it was a choice that I honestly never even thought I would consider. The combination of my crazy shiftwork schedule working as a Registered Nurse and the hour commute I had to work along with my husband's equally crazy shiftwork schedule caused us to evaluate our options when I was pregnant with Danika. We knew that most of the time we didn't know if we were coming or going and we couldn't imagine putting a baby on our crazy schedule. I'd go days at a time without seeing my husband. We'd be sleeping in bed at opposite times of the day and it was just not an ideal situation for a baby. That caused us to start thinking about me becoming a stay at home mom. At the time I couldn't imagine leaving my job that I loved. I worked in OB doing Labor and Delivery at a large hospital. I loved it. Well once Danika came along the deal was sealed and I knew I needed to stay at home with her and give her a stable schedule and an always present parent.

I haven't ever regretted my decision to stay home. I love that I get to see all of my kids "firsts". I dont' have to pick them up from daycare and hear that they rolled over for the first time or took their first steps while I was at work. It's a wonderful thing.

Of course as you all know I started this blog after staying home with Danika for a year and looking for something fulfilling to occupy my time. It has become larger than I ever imagined and is like having a job that I can do from home. I love the connection to the outside world that it presents me with along with getting to try new things that I never would have been able to before.

I've been asked by other moms in the past if I ever get bored staying at home and the answer is unequivocally no. Sure, if you don't have any motivation or ambition you could sit on the couch all day and watch TV and get bored in a hurry but I always feel like there are not enough hours in the day! Between keeping the house clean, taking care of kids, grocery shopping, running errands, laundry, school and outings with the kids, hobbies and blogging there is definitely always something to do. In fact there is too much to do! I'd love a day off :)

I realize that many moms would love to stay home and can't swing it financially. If this is you and you really want to stay home then I suggest taking a good, hard look at your finances. When I decided to stay home we knew we would have to cut things. I was willing to sacrifice my addiction to buying new clothes in order to stay home with my kids. There are always places you can cut. I started couponing after becoming a stay at home mom and it has saved us thousands of dollars. With so many coupon sites out there it really makes it easy to find the good deals and makes couponing something that anyone can do if they try.

Also evaluate the costs of working. Yes, it costs you money to work. How much would you be paying in daycare, gas to get to and from work, meals at work, clothes for the office, etc. If it is costing you close to what you are making then it doesn't make sense to work. If we had to pay daycare fees for all 3 of our kids right now then there wouldn't be much of a paycheck left if I worked.

You can also look into things like working from home or the best franchise opportunities. Perhaps you can't quit working completely but if you are able to work from home you get the best of both worlds.

Where there is a will there is a way and if it's in your heart to stay home with your kids then do it. I've never heard anyone say they regretted staying home with their kids but I have heard people say they wish they would have. These moments with our kids go by so fast and I'd hate to miss out on any of it!

Would you stay home with your kids if you were able to? If you are also a stay at home mom what are your thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of staying home?