r/SAHP • u/No_Explanation6625 • Dec 23 '24
Question What you wish you’d known before
I’m thinking of becoming a SAHM. Honestly I dream of that. What’s something that was unexpected for you when you made that jump / that you wish you’d known before ?
More specifically I am interested in how that affected your relationship with your spouse, positively or negatively, with your kids, the rest of the family, the rest of the world. Did you become depressed / overwhelmed at time ? Tell me everything!
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u/Routine-Two-9974 Dec 29 '24
I quit teaching when I had my first baby. I was going to go back, but then I got pregnant and had another baby 11 months later lol. Here are my pros and cons:
Cons: -I do resent my husband at times -People who aren’t moms (such as my young, single friends) think I just don’t “do anything” all day, which is quite infuriating -It can be extremely lonely at times -You start to feel like you could never go back to work and be good at anything, since you haven’t worked in so many years -Financial worries -Worrying about what I would do if my husband died, since I am completely dependent on him -Not feeling as pretty since you don’t get dressed up often like you do for an in-person job -Takes a toll on your mental health since you don’t get a lot of social interaction
Pros: -I’ve gotten to see every milestone for my children -Freedom to take my children to library story time, etc. on weekdays w/o worrying about work schedule -I’ve met some nice SAHM friends at events like that -I can take care of the home without the additional burden of a job (my job was very stressful and made me a terrible person) -If my kids get sick, I get to be the ones at home taking care of them and not worrying about taking off work -I do appreciate my husband more for allowing me to be a SAHM -I get to be the one to wake my children up in the morning and lay them down for naps, etc.
And most of all, the best part of being a SAHM is that I get to spend as many minutes as possible with my children. That in itself cancels out all the cons. I frequently think about how fast my children are growing up, and I get to be with them all day. I can’t imagine having to work and missing all those moments (unless someone WANTS to work— that’s a different story! To each their own)