New SAHM, HELP!

[mkmoro311]

I will offically become a SAHM on Monday to my 2 & half yr old daughter Now What? Would love help, advice, etc....

[cakemama579]

What a great age to be able to stay at home with your daughter! The opposite is happening with me, and I've already posted elsewhere about my own situation, but DS is going to preschool this fall and I'm going back to school as well. I'll tell you, one of the things I'll miss most (well, there are tons) is our morning routine-- you will now have the opportunity to create your own routine, and being with your child in the morning is very different than the evening stuff (when there is bath, dinner, etc.). So have fun with it! We love to get creative with breakfast most of all-- heart shaped pancakes, making bread, etc.

Also, I recommend taking a class or two with your little one-- like music, art, yoga, etc. The mommy/child time is priceless.

Above all, have a blast mama. And good luck!

[mkmoro311]

I plan on home schooling in the future so HS Pre-school is on our horizon as well!

[hotmamacita]

Originally Posted by mkmoro311

I will offically become a SAHM on Monday to my 2 & half yr old daughter Now What? Would love help, advice, etc....

Play with her. Cook with her. Read to her. Cuddle with her. Feed her.
Take walks with her. And clean up only when you absolutely must.

Enjoy your time with her. Your heart, guidance, and playfulness are so important!

[Climbergirl]

I did this about 9 months ago. One of the challenges I have found is that DS was very used to a schedule from daycare. Eat, then this, then that, etc. When we moved, and finally got settled, you could tell there was a sort of hunger for that. And that is not me! So, I have spent a long time working on trying to create a "rhythm" (to borrow from Waldorf) that will provide the structure he has learned to depend on but have enough flexibility that I don't go nuts.

I am still figuring it out. I feel like I am not so good at this stay at home thing (but I got pregnant about 4 months into it, so I can't say that feeling awful doesn't help). I hope to spend the next 4 months working on getting the house more organized and have a better flow as well as a better flow for our days to help with the transition of the new baby.

I enjoy staying at home. I wish I felt I was doing a better job, but I think that comes with time.

It will help that you were a teacher. I was an engineer surrounded by men all the time. This is so absolutely completely different

Find some other SAHM friends. That has been invaluable!

[mkmoro311]

That will also be a concern for me as well. I plan to start trying for #2 soon and my 1st pregnancy was so typical with the morning sickness, round ligament, etc. I wonder how I will be able to get through the day!

[emilysuek]

An older woman friend of mine really helped me when it came to staying home with my kids. I have a 3 and a 2 year old, both boys, with another on the way in a few weeks.
She told me to spend the morning with the kids, even doing chores together. My older son loves to help me wash the table, soapy water and all. And they both love to stand next to me at the washing machine and help move the wet clothes into the dryer. They aren't actually helpful, but I don't mind anymore. I feel like I'm teaching them to work without them knowing!
After lunch and that clean up (I'm usually watching the clock at this point), it's nap time. Once they are laid down and asleep, I pick one chore to do for the afternoon. Clean the bathroom, or organize a cupboard, or sweep off the front porch, whatever thing needs to be done. But I only do one. Then, it's my time. Put up my puffy pregnant feet, turn the ringer off the phone, put a sign on the door. Blessed Sleep! By the time they wake from their nap, I'm refreshed and ready to start on dinner or whatever comes that night.
Those are my two cents for staying at home, schedules are good for kids, and staying side by side and enjoying each other's company no matter what you're doing is the important thing.

[mkmoro311]

I feel like we need to have an outing everyday just to get out of the house! Is that too much? Park, water fountain, lunch, zoo.

[mamazee]

It helped my sanity, particularly early into it, to plan an outing every day. Also, I think it's good to let kids wear themselves out somewhere every day. Older kids can wear themselves out running around the neighborhood, but it isn't as easy for toddlers to do that, so going out can help.

[peainthepod]

Originally Posted by mkmoro311

I feel like we need to have an outing everyday just to get out of the house! Is that too much? Park, water fountain, lunch, zoo.

Too much? No way! Getting out of the house is a great idea, because it keeps you from feeling all house-bound and sequestered and cut off from society, and it gives the little ones stimulation and the opportunity to run around and burn energy, AND it keeps your house cleaner because you're not there messing it up.

I wish I were better about getting out every day. I'm such a homebody though that most of the time we just hang out in the yard.

Also, I agree that meeting other SAHMs is vital. It's so much easier when you can talk to people who know what you're going through and can commiserate. And play dates at a local park or beach are much, much more fun with another adult there to talk to (at least for me).