Stay home or work?? Give me pros and cons, tell me if you work or stay home. I'm puzzled.

Question

I'm asking because I currently work full time and I'm about to have my second baby.
I'm scared as hell of staying home because, 1. What if my relationship gets difficult because I'm all day home and two, I.hear many stay at home moms complain about being unnapreciated, 3. How do to cope with a smaller budget? 4. Do you feel bad for leaving an awesome career?

Answer

I loved my job. I never thought I'd want to stay home. That being said, after I went back to work after my first I didn't like it so I went part time and worked opposite of my husband so no daycare. When the second one was born I couldn't get her off the boob, she was such a difficult baby, cranky, never slept just cried. I started thinking I didn't want to go back. Then I started thinking how is my husband going to do this while I'm at work and how is my mom going to do this when he travels and I'm working. I broke down one night and told him. He looked at me and said then don't go back to work 😳 ok! That was two years ago in November and now we have a third baby. It was hands down the best decision for me I am so happy and fulfilled. We save money by not eating out a lot and having 1 car payment at a time. We have a garden and I can, freeze, or dry whatever comes out. I buy in bulk at Costco and farmers markets. I also buy my meats for the week on Tuesday bc my grocery store has tempting Tuesdays where you can buy however much meat you want at the 10+lb bundle price. I am very lucky I have a supportive husband. He knows all the stuff I do and thanks me for it and tells me he doesn't know how I do it. In the 8 years I've been at home part time or full time there's only been one time he said anything about the way I run the house. I laid out everything I do just for him and he's never said anything again, in fact he's more helpful now. Lol. Remember if you stay staying at home and don't like it you can always go back to work.

Answer

I think it’s nice to take a few years off, during those early years, but if you’re the type (like I am) that likes to work and achieve constantly - family feels like it only fills one part of the puzzle.

Answer

I wish I could stay home but we can’t afford it. The times I’m home with her for a week at a time I love it so much & we’re both sad when I have to go back to work. If your able I’d at least give it a try. I’d quit my job tomorrow if I could lol.

Answer

I always loved working . I started working from
The time i turned 16. I loved making my own money, building relationships and just everything ! I always said when i got pregnant I’d stay home for the 6 weeks then go back . Welllll, i got pregnant and after 15 weeks the doctors were a little nervous and that was all my husband needed to hear . He told me to stop working until after my pregnancy . Well then i had her and we made the decision for me to stay home for the first year since a lot of the milestones / adjustments happen within that time frame . My baby girl is 6 months now and boy do i love it . I love waking up to her everyday, seeing her milestones , teaching her new things and the connections we have . I love that I’m literally with her from sunrise to sunset . It’s also very helpful for the nights she doesn’t sleep with teething and everything . However, i do miss working . I miss connecting with others , making my own money , pulling my weight in the household . But if i had to do it all over again i wouldn’t change thing because yes it can be financially harder and you kinda miss having a life outsside of being a stay at home mom( i just recently started having girls nights with my friends that REALLY helps) but it’s so beneficial that now when she ends up going to my moms during the day she’ll be a mobile, food eating 1 year old instead of having to pump bottles . And a lot of her milestones i would have already seen . My mom was a stay at home mom for our whole lives and i loved having her there for everything ! So my advice is take that first year off , after that re evaluate everything and if you still wanna stay home then do it , if not go back to work at that point

Answer

I am both a SAHM and a working mom. 🙌🏾 I own an Education Consulting Business and I run it from home. I was a second-grade teacher before becoming a mother. When I went on maternity leave, my husband and I had a long discussion. We both agreed it would be best if I resigned as opposed to returning to work and having to hire a nanny for childcare while we worked. We were not really worried about a budget because my husband makes a lot of money so we knew we could live our very same lifestyle without having to budget at all. After a few months, I started to miss my career in education. However, I still did not want to leave my baby girl so I decided to start an Education Consulting Business, which allows me to continue being an educator, just a little more "behind the scenes" while being a SAHM. I love my business! In the beginning, it was rough. Business has always been great. It was hard because I had time management issues. My days consisted of nursing, pumping, changing diapers, cuddling, etc. It was hard to fit my business into this. However, I eventually got the hang of things. I love working for myself. My daughter and I go on Mommy/Daughter Dates during the day. I can work from anywhere, home, the beauty salon, the nail salon, airport, beach, museum, aquarium, etc. As far as feeling unappreciated, I have NEVER felt that way. My husband expressed his appreciation through words AND actions. He is also very helpful. He is a college football coach so I know he is super tired when he gets off, however, he has never used that as an excuse not to be a father. When he gets home, I am off duty. I usually go upstairs and relax or I'll stay downstairs and go into my office to catch up on work if I am behind. He takes care of our daughter and any household chores I did not get to do. She is OUR daughter and it is OUR house so WE work as a team. 🤞🏾The only thing I do that he does not do is cook. He will help out with that as well, but I LOVE to cook so I have no problem with that. He also makes sure I get plenty of "Me Time". He books massages for me, spa dates, etc. I get my nails done every 2-3 weeks and get my hair done every 2-3 weeks as well. 👌🏾So I never feel unappreciated. Leaving my job as a teacher was the best decision ever!!! 👍🏾 I love being able to be with my daughter and experience all of her milestones. Not to mention, my business is doing great. I made six figures last year, something I never would have made as a teacher. My husband still makes a lot more than that, however, I LOVE my business! I do miss the classroom from time to time, but I am still technically an educator. Plus nothing compares to being with my princess!👶🏾

Answer

This mom stuff takes ALL my energy. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Answer

Honestly, I've always wanted to be a stay at home mother. I didn't think I would have the chance bc of our financial position before my first was born in 2016. But my husband got an amazing job and things switched in our favor. It was and still is the best thing I have ever done. I got to see every single milestone, every doctor appointment, and never had to worry about childcare and trusting others. There's always plenty to do at home and my husband makes sure I get a mental break and get to leave the house often enough so I don't go stir crazy. I'm not saying it was easy in the beginning in terms of feeling like the work load was shared. But now more than ever my husband helps, he listens, and he will take any chance he can get to spend time with our son. I just found out I am pregnant again, as we have been ttc a sibling. This time around I'm so much more excited. We have a better support network and we are not across the country. Its all about communication honestly. And making sure you're both on the same page. If you're both on the same page there is little resentment. ❤️

Answer

I love staying at home. I plan to at least the first year as long as we can afford it. Small budget isn’t really a problem even when we had a bigger one. We would live like we didn’t to save money only difference now is we aren’t really saving any. You don’t have to always stay home either you can get out and see family or friends. I do at least 2x a week and it helps keep my sanity. I don’t feel under appreciated either. I keep the house clean and the baby taken care of. My husband works 11hrs a day and makes dinner and I do everything else. He takes the baby for a little bit when he gets home and I get a shower or just get to relax. At first we did argue a bit over the stupidest stuff. Sleep deprivation played a major role in that tho.

Answer

I would love to stay home. I’m currently still on FMLA and due to go back to work full time on Mar 1. My husband says for me to stay home, but I’m financially concerned. My husband is a SPENDER and I’m very frugal. He literally said to me “if you stay at home I’m buying a bass boat.” Now, I’m not hating on him but I would like to know how in the world it would make sense to lose my full time salary and go into debt another $20K on a bass boat?! This is why I feel I’ll have to go back to work bc I don’t really have his 100% support.

Answer

I hated staying at home and not having money for anything. Now I gave lots of work and can pick and choose if I go in or stay home.

Stay home or work?? Give me pros and cons, tell me if you work or stay home. I'm puzzled.

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