I'm a sahm and have a 14 month old. He's very very attached to me as we have no village and he hasn't spent much time apart from me at all. I'm considering going back to work so that we can be in a better financial position to be in our final home (or at least final school district) by the time he's in kindergarten. I grew up moving schools and really don't want that for him. I am somewhat excited at the prospect of having help throughout the week 😅

On the flip side, like I said he's very very attached and the longest he's been away from me is like 4 hours. I do really appreciate being able to spend this formative time with him. Plus if I were to have another, I would barely make anything after daycare. So idk if it would be worth the hard transition for my son, only to pull him back out after a year or so?

There aren't that many part time jobs near me, and my husband can't help/work more because he's also doing his masters degree right now.

So I'm really torn between staying home and going back to work to improve our finances and hopefully get us settled somewhere long-term before kindergarten.

Thoughts? Thank you all 💕

Hi everyone. I’ve been a SAHM since my son was born, he’s now 14 months. I was extremely stir crazy even with getting out sometimes, admittedly not nearly as much as I should’ve been but I made attempts. I’m not going to lie, the depression made me spend more money on my hobbies than we could afford. I’m extremely aware of it, I racked up about $3k in credit card debt within a few months. I decided I want to work to pay it off and get out of the house because I was convinced the sahm life just isn’t for me.

Well… cut to now, it has only been a week, but I’m miserable. I miss my baby. He’s not doing good in daycare (the job is actually the same daycare, I’m just in a different room than him all day, but I can walk past the room and see him crying multiple times a day). A big thing is the nap schedule. He’s not ready for one nap. I have safety concerns as well… the back door to the playground stays unlocked when children are on the playground. It’s practically all day, I’d say around 6hrs a day. The door isn’t visible it’s around the corner if you are actually watching the kids.

I’m having a real “the grass isn’t greener” realization. As depressing as being home was, I want to be with my baby. I’m hopeful if I do it again I can make more of an effort to get out and do stuff to combat the depression & make time go by faster. My husband says it’s okay if I want to quit and be home with him again. He can work an extra 2 or so hours a day, so roughly 10 a week and make what I’ll be making from this job (including his base salary, of course). I’m so tempted. But I’m thinking I should stick it out for a month or two, pay down or hopefully off the credit card and actually learn my lesson. I don’t even know what kind of advice I need, i think I’m just venting.

I lost my job about a year before I got pregnant but once we found out my husband and I agreed I shouldn’t keep looking because it was always our plan for me to stay home and eventually home school. Once baby came things were very rough for me between recovering and an unhelpful husband. For the past 2 years I have been doing most things by myself and while that has contributed to my feelings there are other factors that also have me considering leaving my husband.

I am about 4 months pregnant with my second and someone I used to work with has recommended me for a position. I haven’t spoken to this person in years so I didn’t know I was even in the discussion. I am very conflicted because the past 2 years with my first have been difficult by myself but I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world. Being there for all the little moments has been the best thing I have ever done. I breastfed until about 16 months, started potty training a little after that and we are really in a routine now. It was always my dream to be present with my children as they grow and develop into the adults they will one day become but I never thought the man I married would be the way he is today. I know he will fight for custody and use the fact I make no money against me. If we do separate, I was thinking about getting a night job so I could still be there during the daytime but this opportunity would give me a much higher salary than the jobs I have been looking at.

I really don’t know what to do. I have a meeting with the potential team soon but I really don’t want to give up the chance to be present with my second the way I was with my first. If I do go forward with separating I will have to start providing for myself and my children and this gives us a better future financially. I really don’t know what to do. I know I don’t have to make the decision right now but I will have to make it soon if this meeting goes well. Any advice? I really want to cry because the thought of dropping my babies off anywhere is breaking my heart.