This is by no means an easy decision! As my 12 weeks of maternity leave were
dwindling away anxiety started to kick in for me because I was grappling with a
difficult decision. Do I go back to work
knowing that we would continue our comfortable lifestyle and be able to provide
our baby with anything he, or rather we wanted, or do I stay home and provide
the best care possible to him each and every day? I went back and forth with this, while my husband
was resolute on me becoming a stay at home mommy. I definitely would have gone back to work (at
least in a part time capacity) if either grandmas would have been able to watch
Isaac, but alas, that was not the case.
Therefore, we had to make a decision on what would be the overall best
for Isaac.
I had to let go of my pride and put my family at the top of my
list. I would think, Omg I went to a fairly good university to
become a stay at home mom? And what will everyone think about me? Am I a
failure/loser? I prayed about this
constantly and God kept telling me that at this point in our lives I was to
stay home with our son. I kept trying to
fight it and take control, but He truly knows what is best. I also had to tell myself who cares what
people think. Do they pay your bills? Heck naw! I don’t know if this is part of me
growing older, but I just don’t care anymore about other’s opinions. Life is too short to worry about that!
I must say that I am soo happy that I decided to become a stay at
home mommy for the time being, even though it is a lot of work and at times waay
more stressful than working! This is
probably one of the happiest and most satisfying times for us. And although we definitely don’t have the
funds we did with a two family income, God has been providing in all the ways
we could ask for! This is certainly a
blessing and we do not take it for granted in any way. Every
now and then I’ll ask my hubby if he wishes I were back at work and he always
responds with, Heck no, you’re much
happier now and I love coming home to a happy and well taken care of family,
what more can I ask for? Hearing
this from him really gives me that boost I need on those days I get down on
myself because no matter what I do, I want to make sure I’m doing a darn good
job at it!
After a few living/lifestyle adjustments (clipping coupons, yes
maybe one day Issac will imitate honey boo boo child and say, “My mama nickname
is Coupon Queen!”; monitoring our spending; hitting up the farmer’s market;
cooking for most meals; limiting the vacays; finding free or cheap events to
attend, etc…) we have been able to tweak things in order to provide for our
family. Sure, we are no longer able to go
on our annual Sandals vacay or impromptu shopping sprees, but we know this is
temporary and we will appreciate it much more once we are able to do it
again. In the meantime, we continue to
look at the positive aspect in every challenge and work on being the best
parents possible!
By no means am I knocking parents who choose to place their child
in daycare or whatever means to get back to work. We as parents must make whatever decision on
what is best for our family and it is no one’s place to judge that. Priorities are different for everyone, so figure
yours out and make it happen! And either
way, get a great support system around you because I can testify that great
friends and family really make a difference! (I will brag about this, God has
placed the best people in our lives and we are always in awe of this!)
Whether you decide to stay at home or go back to work be at peace
knowing you are doing what is best for your baby given your current
circumstance. Also, if something isn’t
working, don’t feel trapped, make whatever changes to ensure happy living for your
family!
