What made you become a stay at home mama?

What I'm about to say may sound a bit judgemental but it in no way is meant like that!

For myself, I feel once I decided to have kids all my decisions needed to be in their best interest and not my own. One of those decisions is to not do daycare. There's enough research that suggests daycare does harm to children (creates anxious kids basically) for me to not want to send them. I want to create a healthy attachment in their early years. Especially 0-3 years is soooo important for brain development. And it's very important for children to be in a safe environment with their primary caregiver to fully develop healthy attachment.

Its a lot to do with finances. I'm lucky enough my husband earns enough so Im a stay at home mum to 3 kids.
I do work as a relief lunch time supervisor when my husband is off to look after the kids.
I worked with my eldest and now being a stay at home mum I have no idea how I did everything....I'm exhausted 😴 but love being home and watching them grow up and going to baby groups with them while they are young. Also childcare is so expensive so I wouldn't make anything if I did put then in nursery and I went back to work.

SAHM to a nearly 3 year old. No regrets here. If you can afford to do it without putting yourself in debt/constantly worrying about affording basics then I would absolutely do it!
I’m one and done so this is my only chance to do it.
What made me do it was sitting down and overhauling our finances and actually realising that it was even possible (although tight initially). I never thought I’d be able to do it in this day and age, we have no family nearby so it literally would have been all or nothing for my job. I’d already started over career wise 1.5 years prior to getting pregnant, and in that short time in l climbed the ladder quickly so I know I can do that again in the future. I have my hobbies and down time, a fully supportive and on board husband who never makes me feel less for not working. And I’ve never felt unaccomplished or guilty, there’s been times I’ve earned more and kept us going, and now it’s his time.

I will say that the only reason I probably would have gone back to work was if I had wanted more than one child, so that I’d get my maternity package again. Because I knew that wasn’t for us, it made the decision easy.

I became a sahm after ab 7-8 months post partum, I found a new man during that time, and when I moved up here with him, we talked ab the difficulties it’s be trying to find care considering I was with my parents(lived at home), before this, so I always had people who COULD care if I needed something done. Same as you I’ve always wanted to be the one to raise my children, as well as homeschool my children, we are now married, with another on the way, and he’s expressed that he wouldn’t want me to work UNLESS I wanted to, or we absolutely needed it, which even then, he’d find another job before me looking. The only regret was constantly being home, not having my friends close anymore(I moved 3 hrs away), so it’s not like I can just pick up and go over whenever anymore. I found things close to me(mommy groups) that have helped tremendously! While my kids are young, I wouldn’t want to do part time considering so many milestones can be missed, it’s a guilt feeling if I wouldn’t have been

We couldn't afford daycare and the only ones we can afford didn't have an oping for a newborn so I sated home and now we have a 3 month old primary who cant go to daycare because she can get sick easily. Now im wishing that I had a small bisnes that I could make a little bit of money

I'm a stay-at-home mom simply because daycare is so expensive that we can't afford to enroll both of our daughters at the same time. We are looking into part-time daycare for our 3-year-old daughter but it's more so she can socialize with little ones her own age.

I'm hoping that my husband will be on the same page with me when I eventually tell him that I want to stay home even once both of our daughters are in school though because I know my limitations and I will break under pressure if I have to work and still do everything I need to do for our home and our daughters, even though he said he would do 50% of the housework if I go back to work. I'd much rather continue to stay home even once our daughters are in school so I can take care of our home and be available to take them to their appointments and whenever they are sick. He thinks I shouldn't stay home once they are in school because he thinks it will cause unnecessary drama due to being bored. But I know I would be too busy with housework and

As said, we wanted to keep our kids out of daycare and be present parents. It meant shifting our careers to make it possible, ultimately with both of us having WFH jobs.
At first, becoming a SAHM was not by choice. I got laid off from my WFH position when youngest was 9 months old. It was difficult to find another WFH accounting job that was flexible enough for my eldest's busy schedule. I was feeling the burnout/stress of juggling a full time job, my kids' schedules, keeping my house clean, and the household finances while my husband traveled for work with no additional support. So dropping the job was the most logical option. We could afford it (on a tight budget) with husband's salary plus Medicaid waiver payments.
I don't have regrets. I got my EA license and started part time WFH tax prep this year now that my youngest is in pre-K part time, so I was out of the workforce for 2 and 1/2 yrs total. Day to day is chaotic, but I feel a different kind of accomplishment seeing my kids progressing.

cooking to be bored. And worst case scenario if I have free time I would plan to volunteer somewhere for an hour or 2 once or twice a week. And by all means I'm not suggesting what you should do based on what I do, this is just my plan of going about it.

My eldest could not be able to attend all his therapies, my youngest would not have received my full, undivided attention during the important 0-3 years, and my daughter would not have been able to get evaluated for AuDHD if I kept up a full time WFH job.
Ultimately, do what feels right for you and your family. If you can find part time work and be as present as you want for your kids, do it! Talk it out with your SO to make a decision together. Hope all the stories/advice will help you make the best decision and it will work out for you!

I was able to be a SAHM when we moved out of CA (My job wouldn't let me work remotely). For me personally, I don't want to put my LO in daycare until he can talk so that he can tell me how his day went. Plus the price of daycare is wild. If we had someone we knew/trusted or family to watch him everyday, I wouldn't mind working remotely to help my hubby with finances, even if it's part time. My ideal way to make income would be to do some work remotely where I can clock in/out whenever as long as I got it done before the timeline. Being SAHM, you can sometimes feel stuck/repetitive. I do like daycare for the idea of my LO socializing with other kids. I try to do a weekly playdate with my LO or take him to an indoor playground for him to play and interact with other kids.

Thank you so much, these are all great responses. I appreciate all the advice so much 🩷

Don’t get me wrong I love my unborn baby I just regret getting pregnant I just don’t know it’s hard not having a job or having anyone to help so I’m still going to take care of her but I wanted to get a abortion but the laws changed so I’m stuck taking care of somebody I never wanted but god had other plans