Smart Thinking Lifestyle Tips for Stay-at-Home Moms

Thanks to Tervis for sponsoring my writing. Visit their website http://www.tervis.com to learn more about the world’s first smart cup.

After my daughter was born, I took off two months from work. I didn’t want to leave her each morning, but I felt I needed to keep working to keep our income at a reasonable level and I had great health insurance at the time.  We fell into a routine and it didn’t seem so bad, but I still hoped to becoming a stay-at-home Mom.  That didn’t become a reality until about three months ago when our daughter was about two and a half years old. I feel great about my decision to quit working especially since she was getting sick a lot at the child care center.

Living with a two year old full time is not always easy.  Her communication skills are improving each day, and she’s starting to say simple sentences, and she can usually let us know what she wants, so the crying to let us know she needs something has mostly stopped, thankfully.  I try to schedule things to do with her each day, like reading time.  She loves to have a book read to her, and it doesn’t bore her if we read it ten times a day, she enjoys it each time.  I also set aside play time each day when we sit together and build houses with blocks, or pretend phone calls on her toy cell phone, anything to have time together where she’s learning new things and improving her thinking skills.  I’ve seen a big improvement in her speech and learning since I stopped working, and I enjoy every minute of it. 

We’ve been going through potty training over the last three months, and she’s doing really well at it, and almost has it mastered.  It would have been much more difficult if I was still working.  We make a big deal of it each time she goes potty, and she joins in the celebration.  Our being enthusiastic about her achievements has made her a very eager learner and she just absorbs anything we try to teach her.

Trying to work at home while taking care of our daughter full time is challenging, but the tradeoff is that I get to spend all day with my daughter.  It was a little difficult at first, but through scheduling things each day, I’ve found that it’s easier now.  One other point I need to make is to be sure to get out of the house sometimes, it’s hard to stop going to work each day and stay home without getting bored occasionally.  Make sure you schedule some time for yourself and let your significant other take over with the child care for a while each day so you can relax on your own.

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Tervis, visit their website http://www.tervis.com.