Stay at Home Mamas Need Appreciation

Five months. A little over five months I have been a stay at home mama. I spend my days working to keep the house clean, and taking care of my little baby.

Why do I feel under appreciated?

I know I am working so hard all day long and never napping, resting or taking time for myself. I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt I am doing everything I can to both keep the house running smoothly and raise my child to the best of my ability.

Sometimes though, I wish I felt appreciated.

Being married to someone who works all day to earn a living so I can stay at home and raise my child is such a difficult experience.
I went to college to earn a degree, worked to make a salary I was proud of and handed that all over when I had my child. For the first time I’ve started to feel inferior.

I couldn’t tell you if it’s because I feel like everything I do is expected since I just “stay at home” all day. Maybe it’s because I budget for hours to save, pay off debt and buy necessities for as little money as possible-knowing full well I didn’t earn any of it. Maybe it’s because I feel guilty spending money I myself didn’t earn.

I don’t for a second regret staying home with baby, I just wish there was a handbook for the emotional rollercoaster that staying home has taken me for a ride on! I knew it would not be easy, leaving a job I loved and was really good at, I just thought with time everything would feel like it was a new “normal”.

There will never be a moment I will regret seeing my baby roll over for the first time, giving him his first solids, hearing his sweet laughter. However, I think if those who come in contact with a stay at home mama remember the things below-you might just make someone’s day by appreciating the small things they do to keep everything running smoothly at home.

Here are the top ten reasons why Stay at Home Mamas need to be appreciated:

• We stay awake at night, checking on the baby, going over finances, making plans, paying bills and overthinking every decision of the day.
• We listen to other people’s work problems and stories, wishing we had more adult conversation in the day.
• We wash, fold and put away more laundry than one could ever imagine would get dirty in a day.
• Meal prepping, planning and execution takes a lot of effort to accomplish while baby is present or even napping.
• We give baby variety of options in the day for play; tummy time, jumper, bouncy seat, our laps, the floor-all in an attempt to ensure they have diverse choices and surroundings to give them the best possible daily experience.
• We take baby EVERYWHERE. Up the stairs, down the stairs, to the kitchen, to the laundry room.
• There is a constant dialogue between us and baby. We are always talking and explaining our world, what they see, what toy they have, what the weather is, where we are going. We want to give them such a rich vocabulary.
• We are tired. Our body housed a little one for 9+ months, (sometimes more, sometimes less) even if she is an adoptive mama, she carried around the weight of bringing a little one home, we sleep less than we knew was possible, we are constantly rushing to get this or that done as quickly as possible before baby wakes up.
• We lose a giant chunk of independence once our baby comes. We are now 2 instead of 1, everything we do takes an extra step or extra bath or buckle, or car seat.
• We give so much love all day, we need a little recognition to fill us back up.