Advice 4 becoming an At-Home-Mom?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Advice 4 becoming an At-Home-Mom?
8
Sun, 04-11-2004 - 4:02pm
hi to all! i'm new here...only a mere 6 1/2 wks pregnant expecting our 1st child. i resigned from work almost 1 mth ago, since environment was very stressful w/neg. energy.

now that i will be an at-home-mom, well now while prego and in dec. when baby arrives, just wondered if, from experience, any of you have advice on what i can expect? since i have months to prepare for baby and being pregnant, is there anything you'd do in these next few months THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE PREPARATION OF BECOMING AN AT HOME MOM? i do have time on my hands, and i just want to make the best use of it.

thanks for your thoughts!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Sun, 04-11-2004 - 9:46pm
save save save save save....... cuz once that baby comes, the money will just FLY out of your hands.....and stock up on diapers now........
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2004
Sun, 04-11-2004 - 11:22pm
I agree with 3kmom. When you are stocking up on diapers, buy lot's of size 2 and 3. That's when they're really filling them! Go to garage sales, buy 12 to 18 month sizes, they look big, but it won't be long and your little peanut will be in them. Most kids don't follow the size chart, and sleep, sleep, sleep while you can! Congratulations!
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-06-2003
Mon, 04-12-2004 - 6:06pm
cook and freeze!

in the month before my daughter was born, i made huge batches of french toast, waffles, pancakes, cassaroles, anything that i could freeze. (we have a small deep freezer in our basement, so i put it to good use!) it made a huge difference to be able to still eat decently after she was born. a quick bowl of cereal is ok, but being able to take a couple of waffles out of the freezer and pop them in the toaster was really nice! there's a cookbook i got from our library called the freezer cooking manual. it was very helpful!

also start looking now into "free" activities in your area. our area libraries have free story time once a week, and a local mall brings in children's entertainment tuesday mornings. it's nice to have things to do for free.

good luck and keep in touch!

:-)

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-09-2003
Tue, 04-13-2004 - 3:08pm
congratulations on your coming baby and that you can quit early! I was surprised by some of the other answers. The freezing might be a good idea. I would say look into a Mom's club the isolation is the hardest part. Make sure you have a good stroller and carseat, bouncy vibrator seat and swing. If you can hook up with someone who is giving away handmedowns that would be so helpful. I would highly suggest that you go to a bed and breakfast and see as many movies as you can! This is your last chance for awhile. I find I spend less money when I have a baby! (I honestly don't understand the stocking up on diapers in advance) Make sure you have really comfy new baby clothes and comfy lounge clothes for you. Have fun! Jules
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2003
Wed, 04-14-2004 - 9:48am
Here are some ideas:

Read!! Get whatever books you'd love to read and start reading. I have a 10 month old and I can't tell you the last time I read a good book!!! :)

Figure out what you're going to do when you child-proof....be ready. I bought all of the things ahead of time and had them ready to go.

Home improvements...anything you can do while pregnant. You won't have time (or want to spend you time doing that) after the baby comes!

Start a home-based business to bring in extra money. I wish I had started while I was pregnant, but I waited until my son was about 5 months old. I'm seeing success now, but it would have been nice to start earning that money while I was still pregnant!

Prepare some meals and freeze them...you won't want to cook those first couple of weeks. Cassaroles, Baked Ziti, Lasagna, things like that freeze really well.

Those are the only ideas I have for you. Good Luck! I would say to definitely exercise too...even if it's just walking.

Good Luck!! Being a Mom is wonderful!!!

Jennifer

SAHM to Tyler (10 months)

Turn a Monthly Expense into an Income!

http://www.stayinhomeandlovinit.com/cgi-bin/team.cgi?id=je57771&action=show

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Wed, 04-14-2004 - 10:53am
The best advice I can give as a SAHM/WAHM to 4 active kiddos is spend lots of time on yourself and your relationship with your s.o. I definitely did not do any of that. And now regret it. Having time for yourself before hand is a good idea. once that baby comes it's all about the baby. congrats!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2004
Wed, 04-14-2004 - 12:25pm
Hi. Congrats to you! SLEEP, SLEEP, and SLEEP! If I were you, I would be watching TV with my feet up most of the time. I agree with the other SAHMs: cook and freeze, read and prepare your nursery. Look for sales and stock up on diapers. The Pampers Swadlers are the BEST for newborns. Wash all the layette now, so when you get home with the baby, you can concerntrate on him/her and not have to worry about laundry. Sign up with pampers.com, huggies.com, gerber.com, etc..., so your coupons will be ready when you are. Enjoy this time because your life will change when the little one arrives.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Sun, 04-25-2004 - 11:06pm
wow! what great advice! okay, now i feel overwhelmed with soooooo much to do in the next few months before my life changes! LOL---no, not overwhelmed, just pleasantly anxious! resigning from my job in march(counting my blessings for the ability to do so) was the best thing i could've done! all the stress/tension at that place was never worth risking a healthy PG! besides, i have so much to do now!

i thank you all for such incredible wisdom...you've all inspired me to really make the best use of my time in so many different ways! THANKS AGAIN...i'll be in touch.

danni

1st baby edd 12/1/04!