5 Tips to Keep Your Sanity as a Stay at Home Mom

If you can be a stay at home mom and raise your kids, then you are truly blessed. Even though you may start to long for more adult interaction, SLEEP, your identity, a change in routine, to use the bathroom by yourself, remember how blessed you are. ?

You really can’t get this time back. I have two kids ages two and 5 months, and I truly cherish the time we spend together because I know within a blink of an eye when they become teenagers they may want nothing to do with me.

Even though being a stay at home mom is a blessing, it doesn’t take away from the fact that you can almost lose yourself and sanity.

Today I have some tips that can help you maintain your sanity through the frustrations of motherhood. See if you can implement some of these today!

{ Guest Post by Max at Tried and True Mom Jobs }

 

1. Create a Routine

Having a routine and a plan for the day will help you keep your sanity as a stay at home mom. Children thrive on routine, and they’ll know what to expect throughout the day. It’s also good for you, so you’re not just looking at your kids trying to figure out what the heck are we going to do today.

Try and plan your schedule for the day the night before.

I LOVE my current routine with my kids right now, I’m not sure how long it will last, but this is how it looks:

• I wake up around 7 or 8 (Kids are still sleeping!)
• My son wakes up to ask for some juice and falls back to sleep until about 10 or 11! (It’s 11:13 am, and my kids are still sleeping) My daughter sleeps just as good as my two-year-old son (Thank you Lord!) but she may wake up once or twice during this time.
• We eat breakfast, wash up, I clean up from the night before, we play, sing, and read.
• Around 2 I bathe them (this is my little trick to help them take a long nap)
• Then it’s NAP TIME!!!!!
• They wake up at around 3 or 4 (Yes, this hurts me at nighttime)
• I start dinner, and we play some more until my husband gets home around 6:30 pm.
• We take the kids outside, or we play inside after dinner to tire them out, and then I wash them up, and we get ready for bed.
• Unfortunately, sometimes bedtime looks like 10 or 11 (because they nap so darn late) but I can’t deny I love how much time I have to myself in the morning and during naptime.

Every kid is different so find what works for you. I know my nieces are early birds and not big nappers, so my sister has to think of more than I do to keep them busy.

I also want to add that I do allow some screen time if I’m cooking or need to get something important done the tablet or tv is a great distraction for the kids and even beneficial (depending on what they watch).

 

2. Stay on top of Household Work

My husband likes to come home to a clean, smelling good, dinner-ready home, and I don’t blame him.  Although it seems like men will never understand what we go through (There are some stay at home dads out there, shout out for the understanding!) I try to make sure that what he expects to be done is done.

I do the household chores while the kids are up, it’s so cute to see my son try and help straighten out the pillows on the couch during cleanup time. He knows what cleanup time is and how to clean.  I could get it done a lot faster if I did it when the kids were sleeping but I’ll explain why I choose to do it this way next.

If you stay on top of household work every day, it eliminates the frustration of having loads of laundry, a sink full of dishes and more.

I get to keep a happy husband, and it’s just a good feeling when your house is clean.

To maximize your time, I recommend surface cleaning during the week and deep clean once a week and if I’m honest, maybe every two weeks.

 

3. Use the Morning or Nighttime for Some “Me Time”

I write for my blog to help bring in some extra money which I also consider “Me Time” so getting some time to myself is imperative. I use the mornings, naptime, and some nights to get work done.

Want to start a blog? Take the 7 day start a blog challenge!

When the kids are napping I know a lot of moms like to knock out the household chores, watch some tv, browse the internet/social media, cook etc. but that’s my time to work.

I love blogging but it’s not for everyone, there are some other things you can do that are flexible enough to work with your schedule as a mom and make money. You can see a full list here.

Not everyone needs to do this, but I do think it’s good to have something of your own. What did you like to do before you had kids? Can you even remember?

Being a stay at home mom can cause you to lose yourself, and that’s understandable because you are giving all of yourself to your kids, but as much as you love your kids you HAVE to have something for yourself because if you don’t, this is a for sure way to lose your sanity and can cause you to resent what you’re doing.

My life is far from perfect, but I think I’m finally able to experience the best of both worlds to make money and raise my kids.

 

4. Enjoy your kids

It’s bad when your two-year-old tells you to put your phone down. I have had to remind myself that I chose to stay home with my kids so I would be “there” and not just there so I don’t have to pay for daycare.

Try to get some uninterrupted time with your kids and be completely engaged. Put the phone down (note to self), stop thinking about all the things you need to do because children know when you are not giving 100% of yourself.

If you let go of your worries and live in the moment with your kids this can help you remember your purpose.

I also like to do play dates or Storytime at the library because I love watching my son have fun and be around kids his age.

 

5. Make Time for Your Marriage

If you’re married, making time for your marriage is so important. To be in a happy marriage, I believe you BOTH have to give 100%. Although my kids are up late sometimes (most nights they’re sleep at 9) we use that time to spend together.

We try and do a date night at least once a month (this is the best we can do) just to enjoy each other without our wonderful kids.

Continuously working on your marriage will help you as a person and as a good example to your kids.

Husband work overnight shifts? Here’s how to stay connected.

 

What works for you to keep your sanity as a stay at home mom?

I’m trying to get to the point where I’m motivated enough to start working out again so I plan to add walking in our daily routine.

I hope you can implement these tips into your life and keep your sanity, your children need the best you ?

 

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Max is a stay-at-home mom blogger at Tried and True Mom Jobs who writes about ways moms can have the best of both worlds, to make money and stay home and raise their kids in addition to ways to save money and invest.

Find her on Facebook and Pinterest.