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Daily Mess - Returning To Work - Need Advice

I just had my second child and I can't help but think about being a stay-at-home mom. With my first, a son, it was hard to go back to work but I made it through the first day without crying. With my second child, a daughter, I'm finding it so much harder! I'm not quite sure that I have the full option of being a stay-at-home mom, but I would explore the idea if I felt strongly enough about it, and at this point, I'm so torn!

I only have a few weeks left on maternity leave and I find the need to list out my pros and cons of returning to work, in the hopes that this will make the task easier. So here goes:

Pros: (returning to work)

I get to have more adult conversations (for the most part at least!)
I get to still advance my career
I get to provide financially for my family
I get to build more fondness for my family (distance makes that heart grow fonder?)
I get a sense of value from my career (being a stay at home mom is much harder than most people give it credit for)

Cons: (returning to work)

I may potentially miss out on some of our children's 'firsts' (1st crawl, 1st word, 1st walk, etc).
I don't feel as though I'm as valuable of a person in their lives particularly because I'll have less time spent with them
I disappoint my mother (who wholeheartedly thinks I should stay at home and raise the children ... I think she's disappointed that I didn't marry a rich man). We don't have the best relationship but I still want to make her proud.
I'll get less sleep (because I will want to spend more time with them and use their sleep time for me-time)
I get a sense of value from being there for my children and making them THE only priority

Thankfully we have the option of me working days and my husband working nights so we don't have daycare costs to contend with; otherwise that would have been on my list. This is all I could think of just now ... of course, the value I place on each of these items is a whole 'nother story! So in looking at my lists, I still don't feel any better about going back to work or being a stay-at-home mom.

Any thoughts from my readers? I'd love to hear from you ...
I'm truly, ATCrossroads!

Posted by atcrossroads on 2009-08-17 17:14:57 | Rating: