Stay At Home Parents: Love What You Do!

*This post was done originally by me and posted on Skinnymom.com when I blogged for them in the past*

Today, before I was headed off to the gym and scrambling around my messy house looking for my son’s boot and his hat, I was listening to the TV and stopped. There was a woman on there, a mother of two, who was begging for attention from her husband. When I say begging, it wasn’t like she was holding her thoughts inside; she would cry and tell her husband that he needs to validate her every single day. She was a very pretty woman so I was bewildered. I kept on listening and this woman became a stay at home mom and she “loved it.” So what was the problem? She thought her husband looked down on her because she didn’t have a “real job.” From what was being said, her husband never once said those words to her and actually said that he was grateful that she stayed home with them to take care of the kids. This led me to assume that maybe she didn’t really believe what she was doing was fulfilling enough for her, or that people looked down on her and she was insecure about it. Naturally, during my workout I pondered this scenario for a bit.

and foremost, if you love yourself then you do not need validation from anyone. Validation is nice every once in a while, sure, just to know you are appreciated, but it should not be necessary. Being a stay at home mom, there are no tangible rewards. You do not get a raise or promotion for a job well done, you do not get paid, you do not get breaks, you do not get a “good job” from the boss, etc. There is none of that. But if you love what you do, then none of that matters; those are just added bonuses. If your children grow up to be respectful, polite, and hard working individuals, that is the reward. You learning about how to have patience and explain information in such a way to little but expanding minds so that they can learn is the reward. You being there for them learning to hold their head up, crawl, smile, hold their own bottle, walk, talk, etc; that is the reward. Having faith in yourself that you can have multiple tasks to accomplish which seem impossible and somehow you accomplish them because you have super powers is the reward. These are the things you must see, whether you’re a stay at home mom or dad, or even a working parent.

Raising a child(ren) is difficult. When I was younger I dreamed of being a rock star, professional sports star, and a psychiatrist. I’ve had plenty of jobs in the real world since I was 16, and being a mom is the hardest job I’ve ever had. Between raising your child, cleaning, working (if you work), cooking, packing lunches, making bottles, doing laundry, making time for yourself, making time for your significant other; it almost seems impossible. Even if you don’t accomplish EVERYTHING, if you are there for yourself first and foremost, then you can be there for your family; and that is the biggest accomplishment of all.

Milestones

The past month has been huge for growth with Johnny. We started swimming at my college Alma Mater which is a really special thing to be able to share with him. The swimming itself really threw me for a loop because it's a class for 6-18 month olds (Johnny is now 17 mo) so I expected it to be sort of a free for all type of class. Well, no, it's not. Our instructor has them trying to learn actual strokes, dipping their heads in the water backwards, having them "swim" on their backs, blah blah blah. It's very structured and me and the other parents aren't really keen on the whole idea. All our kids want to do is blow bubbles in the water, splash, and kick around. Let's face it, they're not ready yet! We have fun nonetheless and we have made some friends there which is always fun, so that definitely makes our time very enjoyable. And don't get me wrong, Johnny actually does VERY well, considering it's his first time doing this, so I'm not completely unhappy with the class, but let's face it this time is supposed to be enjoyable and when my son is screaming because he hates laying on his back in the water, it's just, not.

Something else that is quite the change is we took away his "bippy" last Sunday and he hasn't used it since. He wasn't using it a lot during the day and would usually spit it out once he fell asleep so I figured he was indicating that he was "ready." He has done extremely well and hasn't asked for it once. He is able to go to sleep without a fuss and does so quickly. The only issue I'm having is he's been screaming (not out of anger) but just screaming with a smile on his face every so often. Actually, it's a lot. And it's driving me insane. I've had what seems like a constant headache this whole week and his screams are just really frustrating me. I try to tell him no, and try to ignore it, and relax, but DAMN it's annoying! SO, let's hope this weeks transition goes much more smoothly.

For the past few months he has been Mr. Jabberjaws and spewing out lots of new words and some "words" here and there. This has been really exciting to watch and makes me really proud. Proud of myself and of him of course! Some words are clear as day such as "No, no no!" And others are not so clear "dfuihernvpoiwrqijbskdvnbliu." But both are EQUALLY as awesome! I have compiled a list of "Johnny Talk" so that I can remember this and so that I can also share the funny stuff with you guys.

Words:
Mama
Dada
Papa
Non (Nonnie)
Pat Pat (Patty Cake)
While singing Alphabet (b,g,p,v,z)
Me
Go
No
Bwoon (Balloon)
Keeeeeey! (Mickey Mouse)
Gee (Doggie)
Baby
Up
Down
Wa wa (Water)
Shoe
Kee (Cookie)
Choo choo (train)
Hi! (With the wave!)
Bye (With the wave!)
Hewwo (answering the phone)
Why
Ha-ee (Holly)
Book
Car
Key (Monkey)
 Ball
Bwoom (Broom)
Caca (icky)
Boo! (scaring me!)
Mwah (blowing kisses)

And of course, his FAVORITE sentence:
"What's that?"

He now gives hugs, kisses, blows kisses, reaches EVERYTHING up on the counters, in the drawers, in the cabinets, under the table, etc! He's into everything and as crazy as things may get around here, he's still the very BEST thing in the whole world.

ALL of these are so exciting and I'm so proud of the little boy he is becoming. He amazes me every single day and he is just so smart, I LOVE IT! This is by far my most favorite time with my sweet sweet boy. I can't wait to share more milestones so that I can keep these memories fresh forever.

XO,
Jessica