Finding The Joy In Being A Stay At Home Mom

Have you been struggling to find joy in your daily routine? If so, keep reading to learn how you can discover the joy in being a stay-at-home mom.

Contrary to popular belief, being a stay-at-home mom isn’t as glamorous as the media and society make it out to be.

You work 24/7 with no pay and many times, all while sleep-deprived.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s such a blessing to be able to stay home with my kids, but it can be taxing physically, emotionally, and especially mentally.

That’s why it’s so important to find balance as a stay-at-home mom.

So whether you just transitioned to being at home full-time or if you’ve stayed home for a while now but have been struggling to find joy in your daily routine, keep reading to learn how you can begin to enjoy being a stay-at-home mom.

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Don’t neglect your morning routine

I struggled for the longest time when it came to sticking to a morning routine.

I was so sleep deprived that I just slept until my kids woke up.

However, I quickly learned that if I actually wanted to be in control of my day, I would have to wake up BEFORE my kids.

Once I started consistently waking up earlier, I finally started to implement a morning routine and my days changed dramatically – in a good way!

By having dedicated time to myself before the day starts, I’m able to sort through my thoughts, set goals, and spend some time in prayer.

By the time my boys wake up, my head is clear and I’m ready to tackle the day.

If you don’t have a morning routine, I highly encourage you to create one and stick to it.

To learn how to create your own morning routine, check out this post.

Find A Schedule & Stick To It

Ahh, yet another lesson that I had to learn the hard way.

See, before I had kids, I was totally a ‘go with the flow’ type of girl.

As you can imagine, ‘going with the flow’ with my kids meant that my days were all over the place.

I didn’t have a solid bed-time routine and I didn’t have any real control over my day.

Once that got old, I decided that creating a schedule and sticking to it would be the best way to add a little structure to my days.

I’ll admit, there was A LOT of trial and error in the beginning, and if I can be honest, there are still some days where our schedule falls by the wayside.

However, more days than not, we stick to the schedule as much as possible.

Having a schedule in place makes our day flow smoothly and even if we get a little off, it’s super easy to jump right back into the swing of things.

Since every family is different, there isn’t a such thing as a ‘perfect schedule’, but try adding a bit of structure into your day and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.

Carve Out Time For Self Care

You might have noticed that the concept of self-care is becoming pretty popular.

And rightfully so!

As moms, it’s so easy to put everyone else’s needs in front of our own.

As a result, we’re tired, irritable, and we’re just missing that ‘spark’ that we used to have.

I must say though, self-care is more than reading a book or taking a bubble bath.

True self-care happens when you are intentional about taking the time to unplug and recharge. It’s doing whatever YOU need to do to feel physically, emotionally, and mentally at peace.

That said, self-care will look different for every mom.

For me personally, I like to engage in the activities and hobbies that I did before I became a mom.

It helps me get back in touch with Kermilia, the woman, and disconnect from Kermilia the wife/mom/daughter/sister/friend/ etc.

So if you’re guilty of putting everyone before you and not making time for yourself (as most of us are), it may be time to carve out some dedicated time for self-care.

Connect With Other Moms

One of the best things that I have done since becoming a mom was connecting with other moms.

During my first year of motherhood, I felt pretty isolated since we lived in a new state and my hubby worked super long hours.

After battling postpartum depression, I set out to find a community of women that I could relate to and simply do motherhood with.

Since none of my close friends were moms, I knew I’d have to step out of my comfort zone to make some mom friends.

Being the introvert that I am, I wasn’t about to walk up to some random mom at the park and start a conversation.

So I picked the next best place – church!

I joined a small group for moms at my church and it has seriously been the BEST!

There is nothing like having a place where you can feel understood when it comes to the unpredictable world of motherhood.

The support, encouragement, and knowledge from the moms in my group have been such a source of joy in my life.

So if you haven’t already, get you a community of women that will walk beside you and do life with you.

I promise that motherhood will be just that much sweeter because of it.

Treasure These Moments With Your Little Ones

Finally, if you REALLY want to enjoy being a stay-at-home mom, take a step back and cherish these moments with your little ones.

Before we know it, they’ll be off to college and we’ll be wondering where the time went.

So often we’re so busy trying to make sure that the house is clean or counting down the hours until bedtime (I can’t be the only one), that we miss out on precious moments that we won’t get back.

Trust me, I get it.

When the days are long and it seems like I’m living in a never-ending loop, I like to remind myself of what Ecclesiastes 3:1 says:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

You see, although many of our day to day tasks may seem repetitive & mundane, there is indeed purpose in this season of motherhood.

So on those long days when the house is a mess, the laundry is overflowing, and you’ve just about had it with the kids, take a step back and be choose to live in the moment.

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There you have it!

These are the habits and practices that I’ve adopted that have helped me embrace and enjoy staying home with my boys full time.

It’s my hope that these tips help you discover the joy and fullness that comes with being a stay-at-home mom.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely still a struggle sometimes, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

How do you find joy as a stay-at-home mom?

Kermilia