The Key to Staying Sane as a Stay at Home Mom

As a new mother, I have found what I believe to be the key to unlocking my sanity as a stay at home mom (SAHM). Now it seems to be a no-brainer, but before, I really had a hard time with this. No, I am not a supermom however hard I try; and no, I am not full of all the wisdom in the world when it comes to “mommyhood”.

However, I am who I am and I had to accept that whether I wanted to or not and simply embrace being a mother and just create my pathway towards sanity.

To introduce myself, my name is Mara. I am a young newly made mother who is completely 100% head over heels for my 8-month old little boy, Sawyer. He was born in April of 2013 and has forever changed my life. I never thought that being a mom would be full of all the joy and excitement that I have come to discover, and I find it to be a daily journey that I embark on upon the 6am wake-up call through the monitor beside of my bed. Every day presents a present that I get to unwrap; a new milestone is to be had, and just simply watching my little boy grow and develop like he is and has just can’t be put into words – it is just simply wonderful.

Now, don’t let me mislead you because I am far from perfect and I have one of “those” days every now and then where I want to pull my hair out. I have to say though that my husband and I have been extremely lucky when it comes to the behavior and personality of our son. Sawyer is extremely easy-going, fun loving, enjoys long walks in his stroller, and has never been a victim of colic or any of those baby problems many moms go through. The only issue we have truly had is the sleeping one – this child does.not.sleep.at.all. But! I have to be positive; at least this is one issue and not many.

But back to the reason behind this article: “The Key to Staying Sane as a Stay at Home Mom.” After Sawyer was born I began discovering some things, being a stay at home mom isn’t all the roses and fluff that it has been quacked up to be. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love waking up every morning and spending my whole day with this adorable sweet little boy and being a part of his life every second.

The downside for me was I felt trapped. I felt trapped behind all of the unending “advice” given by all of my family; I felt trapped behind my door and thought I couldn’t get my little guy out (which I came to find that I CAN! And he enjoys getting out of the house with me); I felt trapped behind the expectations. But as I continued on this mommy journey I learned a few things, the key to staying sane despite all of this entrapment I was feeling. I will share with you my idea of becoming a sane mommy.

Wake Up With An Intention and Plan

When I began my “mommy life” I would always wake up thinking, “Ok, I gotta be supermom and I gotta get it ALL done today – the laundry, the dishes, vacuum, get dinner in the crockpot, etc. – and it all has to be done TODAY, or else I’m a failure.”

Oh my goodness, this is such a lie and well, let’s face it, impossible to do as a mom of a little guy who requires so much attention. And not to mention, I just want to snuggle with him and enjoy him! This all became so overwhelming for me, so I started doing something that really changed the game for me. I started waking up every morning telling myself I will get what I can done today, but I’m going to enjoy my little boy and do what makes me the most happy. And so I started scheduling fun activities for the two of us to do. Whether this activity was getting out for story time at the local library, or doing a simple craft together. I was going to have a fun day and make it last.

I Became Selfish

That’s right, selfish! As a mom, you have to have time for yourself. Yes, you must sacrifice and yes, you must give 100% of yourself as a mother to your little one, but out of that 100% I found that it was ok to take 5% out for myself each day to do something I enjoy. After a few months of Sawyer’s life I found that doing yoga for 30 minutes out of the day by myself gave me that much needed “Me Time” and I felt refreshed and renewed after the fact. After that “Me Time” I was better able to give of my whole self to my son without any resentment. For you, I don’t know what helps you to breath a little better – maybe you enjoy painting, or you like reading, or just taking a 15 minute shower with the radio blaring is your ideal getaway to clear your mind. You NEED it as a mother, and I found this out quick. Being selfish and giving a little time to myself made me a happier and much better mother, and not to mention a bit more sane!

So there you have it, my key (or rather, keys) to sanity as a stay at home mother.

And like I said, I’m not an expert, I learn something new every single day! I never thought that a little 8-month old boy would teach me more than I ever knew about life. I thought I knew it all, but he proves to me every day just how clueless I am about life! It is truly amazing.

With Motherly Love,

Mara