As a stay-at-home mom, it is so easy to just stay at home. Everything you need to keep your baby happy is right there and usually within arms reach. It is so easy to fall into a rut where staying home seems like the only option.
You are exhausted and the idea of leaving your comfort space seems like it would take too much energy and effort that you are just not in the mood to give.
However, the truth is being a stay-at-home mom can be very isolating and getting out of the house (just like a shower) can be refreshing for you and your little one.
I am naturally an outgoing person, but I am a homebody as well. I can tell when I need to be home to regroup and when I need to get out to refresh.
Getting out of the house is not as daunting as it seems. Yes, it takes effort and yes, it can be exhausting, but sanity-wise it is totally worth it.
Whenever Calan seems to be having a whining kind of a day, I pack us up and go somewhere. Just a change of scenery seems to take him out of his bad mood and makes it so much easier. On days like that, I am actually less exhausted getting out of the house than if we had just stayed home.
When I am home too much, I feel like I am saying "No" and "Don't touch that" all the the time. Both my kids have curious hands and it zaps the energy right out of me.
When Calan was a newborn, I loved going to my favorite coffee shop for his morning nap. He slept and I read and it was fabulous. Those easy days of going out were short lived, but going out is still a priority for me. They need to learn how to behave when we are out in public and I need to feel like I am doing more than just feeding and changing babies (back to the whole feel-like-a-human kind of thing).
Plus, when you put yourself out there joining mom groups and clubs and playdates, you learn so much about being a mom. I love "mommy" friends. When we can talk about our ups and downs, I feel like I am not alone and I am not on my own mommy planet. I learn from other moms. I learn what kind of mom I want to be. I learn what to prepare for and what I might need to handle in the future.
So, go do something today and enjoy!
Mother-2-Mother is a blogging series where I am sharing some advice that I tend to give friends when they ask. Take from it what you will. Parenting is a touchy subject. I am by no means telling you how to parent.
No comments:
Post a Comment