Being a Stay-At-Home Mama

Being a Stay-At-Home Mom (SAHM) can be a very tricky and, sometimes, very lonely job.

Growing up, I always knew that when the time came, I would be a SAHM because I knew I wanted to be there for all the things my kids experienced growing up.

I had sort of glorified the whole SAHM thing, as my mom was, and it just seemed like so much fun!! You get to hang out with your other mom friends during the day and go out for coffee and do all these awesome things during the day while the kids were at school and then after school you go to all their activities and all that; I didn't really think with the five years BEFORE your kid goes to school...you know, the years that they require 99.9 percent of your attention and your whole day revolves around when they take their nap and for how long (that is, IF they even decide to take a nap, which sometimes takes up half of your day trying to get them to do!)

I have read SO MANY blogs and SO MANY ARTICLES about being a First-Time Mom (FTM) and being a SAHM, but NONE truly prepared me for what I was in for! It's lonely, it's exciting, it's overwhelming, it's exhausting, it's all of these things and more, but above all it is extremely fulfilling.

Now, so I don't go off on too much of a tangent, let's get down to how I stay sane as a SAHM of a 20-month-old. :) (Please keep in mind, this is what MOSTLY works for me! Honestly, everyone is different in how they handle stress and everyone is different in how they get things done.)

1. Have a morning routine.

I have found that doing the same thing every morning brings about a sort of stability for me AND for my little, especially being pregnant with baby number two.I don't think it really matters what the routine is, just make one! My little wakes up slowly and then hands me my glasses when he is ready to get out of bed (we don't have a set time that we get up—I let him sleep as long as he wants), then we go to the kitchen, I warm up some milk for him and put his educational children's music on YouTube while I do the dishes from the night before.

2. I let him do his own thing.

• Being under the age of two, there is definitely a lot of things he can get into and cause problems with, but I have found that the less I control what he plays with, the less he plays with things he really shouldn't.
• When I have tried to control what he is doing, I find I just end up stressing myself out more and create unwanted upsets with my little.
• He is still learning about the world around him and how he affects it and vice versa, so if he wants to do something, I let him do it (for the most part—I don't let him do things I know will seriously injure him, I'm not dumb).
• I let him do whatever he wants with the toys in his playroom because they are HIS (I do clean up his room on a daily basis, sometimes several times lol) and if he destroys something, he destroys it and I throw it out—no replacement, but I also don't upbraid him for breaking something that was his.

As a side note, my son is one of the most independent toddlers I have met and has no issues with sharing, playing on his own or playing with other kids.

3. Clean as often as possible.

• This may seem like a silly thing to say, but if I don't pick things up DAILY, I GO CRAZY!! Even if the mess isn't that big, I just feel like I am not doing enough lol.
• I don't mean a deep cleaning, I just mean picking things up and putting them away—even if I have to pick up the same thing 100 F*CKING TIMES (AHHHH!!!!) I do still feel better about my space because it is tidy.
• For me, "a clean space is a happy place" and, really, I don't feel like I can function unless I have a clean space.
• REMEMBER THOUGH: Kids are messy and will continue to make a mess as you clean, so don't get mad if you decide to clean and your little follows you around making a mess of the spaces you just cleaned :)

That is all that I do! I know there are probably more things, like making sure we eat regularly and healthy, and drinking enough water, etc, etc, but those I mentioned above are the ones that I think of the most.

I hope this helps in some way... in any way :)