I get asked relatively often if I have liked my transition from being a full-time, working, career-oriented woman to being a full-time, stay-at-home, family-oriented mom. The short answer is yes. There's probably no change or transition in life thus far that I have enjoyed more. It's been easier than I expected in a lot of ways, but certainly different than I ever anticipated. One of the main things that has made being a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) easy is this:
That's Liliana after her bath. She doesn't mind baths, but she HATES the move from the warm tub to the towel. I've gotten fast enough at moving her from tub to towel that now, by the time I get her wrapped up, she's still in the wind up stage of her scream of protest. Once she's bundled into her towel and all warmed up again, her attitude changes and we usually get a few big smiles like the one above. The picture doesn't really do her justice - her smiles could melt the north pole... so I guess it's a good thing we don't live there!
Another thing that has made being a SAHM an easy thing has been this:
These are 3 of my very best friends from college: Candice, Nicole, and Rachel. We're only missing 1 (Cara) out of our little group from college. When we were in college we used to talk about all getting together when one of us had a baby or a wedding, but you know how those things go - sometimes they happen, but most times they don't. Well these wonderful friends booked plane tickets from Texas and California, and drove out from Omaha to surprise Lily and me for a short weekend visit. The only two downers were how short the visit was and that Cara, our missing amiga, couldn't be with us. With support and encouragement and love showered on us from these women and so many others surrounding us, I am learning to love being a SAHM.
That is my sleeping baby. Lily has been a champ of a sleeper since the day we brought her home. (For all of you who have experienced a baby who isn't a good sleeper, I can only say that I am SO sorry! I don't really know what that's like and I don't particularly care to.) At 6 1/2 weeks she slept for more than 8 hours through the night! In addition, I can count on at least one 3- to 4-hour nap during the day and many times two such naps. All this baby-sleeping means that mommy gets sleep and has freedom to get things done for at least a little time during the day. Our laundry, house cleaning, and cooking haven't suffered due to lack of sleep on mommy's part. (They only suffer from occasional laziness on mommy's part...)
That's my DH (Dear Husband). He's doing one of the sexiest, most "make-my-wife-feel-loved-and-cared-for" things in the world: caring for our daughter. Admittedly, on this first bottle, most of the milk ended up on Lily's clothes and on the burp rag that doubled as a bib. But still. Last night as I folded laundry in Lily's room, I could hear the two of them having the most delightful conversation in the living room - half of it unintelligible baby cooing. In addition, this man has been excited to have a SAHM watching his children since we got married. His support, encouragement, listening ear, and definitely his counseling skills have been invaluable to this SAHM.
These are 3 of my very best friends from college: Candice, Nicole, and Rachel. We're only missing 1 (Cara) out of our little group from college. When we were in college we used to talk about all getting together when one of us had a baby or a wedding, but you know how those things go - sometimes they happen, but most times they don't. Well these wonderful friends booked plane tickets from Texas and California, and drove out from Omaha to surprise Lily and me for a short weekend visit. The only two downers were how short the visit was and that Cara, our missing amiga, couldn't be with us. With support and encouragement and love showered on us from these women and so many others surrounding us, I am learning to love being a SAHM.
On top of a great baby and great support all around me, I have this to make my SAHM experience wonderful:
That is my sleeping baby. Lily has been a champ of a sleeper since the day we brought her home. (For all of you who have experienced a baby who isn't a good sleeper, I can only say that I am SO sorry! I don't really know what that's like and I don't particularly care to.) At 6 1/2 weeks she slept for more than 8 hours through the night! In addition, I can count on at least one 3- to 4-hour nap during the day and many times two such naps. All this baby-sleeping means that mommy gets sleep and has freedom to get things done for at least a little time during the day. Our laundry, house cleaning, and cooking haven't suffered due to lack of sleep on mommy's part. (They only suffer from occasional laziness on mommy's part...)
Perhaps the biggest reason being a SAHM has been so easy is this:
That's my DH (Dear Husband). He's doing one of the sexiest, most "make-my-wife-feel-loved-and-cared-for" things in the world: caring for our daughter. Admittedly, on this first bottle, most of the milk ended up on Lily's clothes and on the burp rag that doubled as a bib. But still. Last night as I folded laundry in Lily's room, I could hear the two of them having the most delightful conversation in the living room - half of it unintelligible baby cooing. In addition, this man has been excited to have a SAHM watching his children since we got married. His support, encouragement, listening ear, and definitely his counseling skills have been invaluable to this SAHM.
The constant battle around our house now is how to continue making the SAHM-thing work. We have so many things on our to-do list that as soon as I feel like I'm catching up, I blink and the list doubles (fortunately, because of mommy-brain, I forget about 1/2 of the list on a relatively regular basis, so when it doubles it ends up getting halved again quickly). But I think that's just life as a SAHM, right? What a privilege to be in this constant battle.
Excellent post, Stephanie! I agree that supportive friends and an involved husband make all the difference!
ReplyDeleteTotally jealous of your good sleeper, though :) I, too, hope you never know what it's like to have a night owl!