Transitioning to a stay at home mom
Life and Career

Transitioning From A Working Mom To A Stay-At-Home Mom

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Are you planning on making that big jump from a working mom to a stay-at-home mom? I can only imagine how you may feel. It can be a mixture of emotions if you are to ask me about my opinion of both worlds.

Sometimes as we transition through life, our priorities about family and work may change, which was the case for me. I worked as a Pharmacist in a very demanding career that took a lot more of my time away from my family.

Even though I had a career and was where I wanted to be initially, it didn’t feel the same anymore after I had children. I was missing being involved a lot more in the most integral parts of their lives.

I didn’t have the “cushiony” 9 to 5 working hours, most moms seek. It was more of the midnight shift. I was not able to take care of my children as I would have preferred and it took a toll on me mentally, emotionally, and physically.

When I decided to transition, I felt so much better in my decision knowing that I had to make the necessary changes that I needed to ensure that my family would be ok for the long term.

I am glad I was able to transition and I am still confident with my decision.

Here is what to expect when transitioning from a working mom to a stay-at-home mom.

Have you also found any ideas that you could share? Please feel free to add to my list, or ask your questions or concerns below. I would be happy to help you!

“Transitioning from a working mom to a stay-at-home mom requires a complete shift in mindset.”

Be accepting of your new phase

You have decided to stay at mom and for the most part, you are either excited about your new journey or not sure what to expect. Either way, accepting the new phase of your switch is integral to your transition as a stay-at-home mom.

For some moms it may be something that they always wanted to do, while for others, it may feel like a part of their independence in their careers is being taken away. Whatever the feeling or the need for transition, you have to be willing to let those emotions go and come to an understanding that you can eventually achieve a balance of both worlds in your new environment.

Embrace your role with confidence

As much as I was excited about getting more time to take care of my family, I was still a bit uneasy about my transition. What if I can’t do what is required or expected of me as a mom? How will I be able to balance anything? Will I miss working as a mom?

There are so many uneasy questions that may arise during your transition.

Even though it is not an easy task, it is still worth the sacrifice that you have made. So embrace it with the confidence that you already have. You will do great!

The transition will take some time

Transitioning from a familiar situation to an unfamiliar situation will take some time for adjustment.

Be understanding that things may not transition as smoothly as you make like initially, but will eventually iron themselves out once you get into a more established routine. If you are anything like me, “perfection may pop its ugly head” at the beginning stage and you may want to start being this “I can have the perfect home and kids” all the time 24/7.

It doesn’t happen that way and when you do get a reality check, motherhood at home requires a lot more time and demand than you actually thought of before. You may get a bit overwhelmed.

My initial advice is to give yourself a break, and some well-needed time to transition with grace. Do not sweat the small unnecessary things that may flare up in the beginning. Later on, it will all make sense. Perfection will not be required.

Beating mundane

This is something that you may not think about initially, but it may happen as you progress. The mundane feeling in motherhood kicks in after going through the initially excited or fearful phase of transition.

When everything is going smoothly, you may feel a little bored with a routine day-in day out especially if it is the same routine each day. The best way to move around this feeling is to be spontaneous in your daily activities.

Depending on what you plan to do with your children, whether you have them at home or you drop them at school, keep a flexible and changeable routine so that you can escape that feeling of mundane.

avoid criticism about your role

There are going to be persons in your life who will never accept your role as a stay-at-home mom, whether it’s a family member, friend, or co-worker. You have to be comfortable with your decision and not let anyone make you feel less than significant about your choice and your role.

“Your role as a mother is significant, never let anyone undermine it.”

Life comes with choices and your choice to be a stay-at-home mom is nothing different than a mom who works. We are all here doing our best in our roles in whatever capacity we choose to do it.

feeling unaccomplished

Motherhood has its struggles from time to time. It never ends. One minute we are high on the rollercoaster, and then the next minute, we come crashing right back down to reality. You may or may not understand what I mean. There are so many changes taking place every step of the way, especially with the younger ones.

At some moment in time, you may feel a bit unaccomplished in your goals, plans, desires, or even career choices. It is normal and sometimes yes, we may need an outlet to pour our talents and gifts into. It’s ok to have those moments. However, when you do get to that point, don’t let the bitterness of it get you off track on your long-term goals.

Just find little things that you can do each day to balance both motherhood and life. For me, that was blogging, journaling, or creating Mommy Inspired Products.

If you do have a passion for blogging as well and would like to know more about it, read my blog post on How I Started A Blog.

trying to do everything

We get to this stage of being a stay-at-home mom and we are thrilled for some or nervous about the transition for others. But what do we do as mothers? We want to do everything all at once to perfect. We want our house to be immaculate, we want to do DIY for everything, and we want the PERFECT everything.

Guess what ends up happening! We are burned out and completely frustrated when that doesn’t quite work the way we intended, the house is a constant mess, the kids may not stop calling you, hubby thinks you are on vacation all the time (what is his problem?) and then you crash and burn in all the perfectionism.

My solution for this madness is that It takes time. Give yourself the grace that you need each day to accomplish the task you have on hand. It will not be an overnight process and sometimes quite frankly will take a lot of time to balance everything that motherhood and home-making have to offer.

For more information on time management for moms, read my blog post on Overcoming The Hurdles And Struggles Of Motherhood.

No regrets

After you have plunged full force into becoming a stay-at-home mom, you will get the constant feeling of going back to the working world, or regrets about leaving your job, family responsibilities, feeling overwhelmed, etc. It happens and can really bring you on an unwanted emotional rollercoaster ride now and then.

The biggest takeaway from my choice of switching to something different, new, and unexpected is to think about the greater picture.

What do you desire to see in your own life and family? Does it fall into alignment with those goals? If it does then the past is the past and embrace the newness of tomorrow.

I have to constantly remind myself that “I may regret the job I chased, but I may never regret the kids I raised.”

Not everyone gets the opportunity to be a stay-at-home, and I completely understand, but if you do, consider it both a blessing and a joy to be able to help your family to be better in the long term.

If you would like more uplifting quotes about motherhood to get you through this journey or tips on time management as a mom, visit my other blog posts:

Also, grab a copy of my book: A Balanced Life: Moving from a dysfunctional life to a more purposeful one to learn more about how to transition gracefully in every stage of life.

Did you find the strategies listed in this article helpful? What were some of your favorite tips? How have they worked for you? Leave a comment below, I’d love to know what you think.

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I am Donae! A wife and a mom of 2 kids, ALL boys! I would love to share with you my experience with motherhood. Let my life Inspire, Encourage and Motivate you on your journey through motherhood.

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