For the last 6 years, I have been a part-time stay at home mom (SAHM) and a part-time nurse. I feel very fortunate that my employer has been so understanding of Sayla’s needs and the intermittent medical leave I was able to take when necessary. After eight weeks of maternity leave at the beginning of this year when Pax was born, I returned to my job. Pax attended daycare a few days a week while our LPN, Peggy, continued to watch Sayla while I was at work. It has been very difficult maintaining a job, being a mother of a special needs child, and an infant, wife, caretaker of the home, and managing Sayla’s healthcare, even though I really want to do it all! I was also accepted into a part time Nurse Practitioner online program starting this fall. This is hard to admit, but I’m choosing to be real with y’all right now…one of my biggest struggles is taking on too much, and not being able to commit myself 100% to any one role, so not giving each one my best. (Another struggle is my habitual run on sentences) The stress I have put on myself to try and do many things, is just not fair to anyone, so I have decided to stop being a “part-timer” with many roles, and focus on being a “full-timer” at home. No more work, and no school. My children (and the hubs) are my priority and they need 100% of me right now. Sayla has her upcoming surgeries with many pre-op appointments, and I am excited to stay at home with Pax, just as I did with Sayla the first years of her life. I am blessed to have this option, and thankful for a husband who supports my new full-time gig. This will not be for forever, but for right now, it’s the best choice. To celebrate the first week of my new full timin’ mom status, baby Pax and I decided to road trip it with my sister in law and niece to Charleston, SC, to see my brother and other sister in law. Sayla was with her dad and is not stable enough to travel right now, but she would have loved the ocean breeze as much as we did!
I look forward to many more adventures with my babies. Out of all the part time commitments I had, I chose the hardest role to commit to full time, but I know it will be the most rewarding. Any SAHM sanity tips would be appreciated, so leave a comment!
