Soon to be mama

I would say do a hobby that you have been interested in. This helps pass the time, but you are being productive!

@Angelique ♎ thank you! I might get back into making dolls, gives the little one something to play with!

I always thought I didn’t want to be a stay at home mum but once my little guy was here and I saw how quickly he grew and changed every day I fell in love with it. I returned to full time work when he was just over a year and it was very hard to not be able to give him the time although the pay check was very helpful I am now pregnant and very much looking forward to stopping work again soon. Will have to reassess what I do work wise once my maternity leave ends and look at finances etc. Take the maternity leave and simple see how you feel. Not working does allow social time if you can find some other moms near by. Walks, coffees etc.

Also I agree with doing a hobby, I got a lot of cross stitches completed in the first year ☺️

Are you married ? Asking for legal reasons. My best friend met a guy and got engaged and traditionally (but not legally) married within 8months, she got pregnant and now baby is 2months and they have split. She had to leave the house they rented and he claimed she didn’t pay nothing towards bills and wouldn’t even give her proof of address. She quit her job at 3months pregnant due to health issues but she had planned on being a stay at home mum but she quickly realised he was cheating and lying about going to work. Suddenly everything that seemed rosey and perfect became all a lie. My advise is that you do what works for you but be smart and have your own emergency money (just in case), if you have a hobby that can become a side hustle or if you can go to school part time, whatever you can do to keep yourself occupied and be able to leave if ever needed.

Personally I think you would be missing out on so much. You should never really depend on a person because you never know what can happen in the future. If something happens and you have a job you would be starting from 0 no job you will be starting from -10.

@Ema we're not married and the house is in my name

1) Find an in person mom's group you can attend regularly. It takes 50-100 hours to make new good friends, so find something that is going to add up over time. SaHM life doesn't have to be lonely, but you have to put in the time to build relationships. 2) Work out a showering schedule for yourself with your partner before your baby is born. For instance, they will watch the baby on Tuesday and Thursday after work and one weekend day for an hour while you shower and take care of personal hygiene. (It sounds silly now, but trust me, this will save you headaches later) 3) Keep an emergency savings account, at least enough to cover your housing while you get a new job, in case it all goes south. Congratulations on your baby! 🎊

Being a sahm can be lonely for sure. It’s important to get out to groups and have a good network around you. It’s a lot of work and pretty non stop. Being a working mum is also an awful lot of work. I have done both. I ended up quitting my job as I felt I was missing too much and I don’t regret it, I find being a sahm mentally and physically harder but I wouldn’t change it. Honestly they are both hard in different ways and both rewarding in different ways. Do you have maternity leave? I would see how you do on thay before making any decisions.

Thank you all!