Becoming A Stay-At-Home Mom
I decided starting a blog would encourage me to write about this wonderful time in my life that I know I will enjoy reading about when my children are grown. I’m also interested in finding out if anyone feels like I do, that the transition from career woman to stay-at-home mom is more of a shock than they ever anticipated.
Having a baby and becoming a mother should be one of the most natural stages in life, right? Isn’t procreating what we were all put on the earth to do? My mother, who began having children in the sixties, speaks as though it was the only thing she ever dreamed of doing. My guess is that the transition into stay-at-home mom was much easier for her. The million questions I had to ask myself like who should take care of our children, is the timing right, and how taking a few years off will affect my career were simply not crowding her mind. I feel as though my generation has been taught to make decisions about the future with only college and a career in mind. This is exactly what I did until the faint second line on pregnancy test #4 was still making an appearance. Having a family was simply never part of the discussions in high school with guidance counselors, teachers or parents when deciding what kind of future we wanted to have. As a result, I chose a profession that I do love, but that it is not easy for me to pursue part-time or work from home so I can care for my baby too. Had I factored in having a family before choosing a major in college, I might have pursued a career where the hours are more flexible so I could work nights or moved to a country where maternity leave is paid for one to three years versus six short weeks.
So as the parent with the smaller salary, here I am, settling into my new role with my two-month old daughter Caroline. On one hand, I am extremely fearful of what taking a few years off will do to my career. On the other hand, I can’t imagine anyone who isn’t totally head-over-heels in love with my little girl, like I am, taking care of her every day. Adjusting to this life was and is not an easy thing for a high energy control freak like myself. It is a much slower pace than I have ever been used to, which I’m sure will change when those tiny legs become mobile. And life is easier now that I have surrendered to my new boss, whose smile alone is worth countless sleepless nights and endless hours of nursing.
Having a baby and becoming a mother should be one of the most natural stages in life, right? Isn’t procreating what we were all put on the earth to do? My mother, who began having children in the sixties, speaks as though it was the only thing she ever dreamed of doing. My guess is that the transition into stay-at-home mom was much easier for her. The million questions I had to ask myself like who should take care of our children, is the timing right, and how taking a few years off will affect my career were simply not crowding her mind. I feel as though my generation has been taught to make decisions about the future with only college and a career in mind. This is exactly what I did until the faint second line on pregnancy test #4 was still making an appearance. Having a family was simply never part of the discussions in high school with guidance counselors, teachers or parents when deciding what kind of future we wanted to have. As a result, I chose a profession that I do love, but that it is not easy for me to pursue part-time or work from home so I can care for my baby too. Had I factored in having a family before choosing a major in college, I might have pursued a career where the hours are more flexible so I could work nights or moved to a country where maternity leave is paid for one to three years versus six short weeks.
So as the parent with the smaller salary, here I am, settling into my new role with my two-month old daughter Caroline. On one hand, I am extremely fearful of what taking a few years off will do to my career. On the other hand, I can’t imagine anyone who isn’t totally head-over-heels in love with my little girl, like I am, taking care of her every day. Adjusting to this life was and is not an easy thing for a high energy control freak like myself. It is a much slower pace than I have ever been used to, which I’m sure will change when those tiny legs become mobile. And life is easier now that I have surrendered to my new boss, whose smile alone is worth countless sleepless nights and endless hours of nursing.
posted by Alissa at 2:20 PM
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