It’s Done!

Yesterday was a Big Day. Yesterday was the day I transitioned from “mum on maternity leave” to “stay at home mum”… I handed my resignation letter in!

Ok, so officially I have a month’s notice period so my official finish date is not until the last week in March, but still! The deed is done.

There were a number of reasons for our decision for me to stay at home instead of working..

1. The main reason is without a doubt that I just plain wanted to be at home with Georgie (and any subsequent children) at least until they are in school, if possible. I want to be here for her firsts, her upsets & her discoveries. I can’t imagine a world where I would want to hand my baby over to someone else while I go to sit at a desk all day.. But then I have never loved my job & have always just wanted to be a mum more than anything else!
2. Financially it makes more sense for me to stay home. I know some people say that they couldn’t afford not to work, but we would lose out financially if I did! Childcare is cripplingly expensive these days, and my wages weren’t even high enough that I had to pay my student loan! The two things just do not add up, especially once you add in transport costs into the equation – even counting childcare vouchers. James earns just enough that we don’t qualify for more than the basic tax credits so there isn’t a lot of help financially for families in our situation.
3. We have no real support network where we live. Unlike many families, we don’t live near to our parents. James’s mother is the closest and she lives half an hours drive away, and works irregular shifts for several different veterinary practices. Not only would I be incredibly reluctant to impose on a parent for our childcare, but we are just not in the situation where we can call someone up to pick her up from nursery for us in an emergency, or to have her on a regular basis in order to cut costs.
4. I am healthier when I’m not stressed out. Although my headache & migraine conditions have improved so much during & after my pregnancy, there is no doubt that I am still susceptible to bad days when I haven’t had enough sleep or am really stressed. Staying at home and being a full-time parent isn’t easy but I love it so I don’t find it as stressful as a full-time job, especially some of the jobs I have had in the past! I am so much happier these days and it is definitely having a positive impact on both my physical & mental health.

I’m not going to pretend that things aren’t going to be tight money wise, but we started trying for a baby with our eyes wide open as to our financial circumstances! I do a small amount of self-employed web design work on the side and will continue this for some extra income, but we will manage on what we have got when need be. Treats such as new gadgets and extra things for ourselves or the baby will be funded from my earnings so it’s not to be sniffed at!

Georgie will be clothed & fed, and even have fresh toys and books.. And sometimes as a treat we might even buy her something that’s actually brand new! 😛