As you all know I'm a stay (work?) at home mom. I spend almost every waking moment with Margaux excepts for naps and after she goes to bed at 7. I love hanging out with her most of the time. I love her all of the time. But let's be honest, when that poor kid is teething or sick noone is having any fun.
I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I love being alone. I don't mean single and lonely, but I love my alone time. The two hardest things about having a baby for me are lack of sleep and lack of alone time. I seriously miss just hanging out with myself. My husband and I are very different in that he gets bored easily and I never get bored. I can always find something to do. And my favorite thing before was when he would go out and meet up with some friends or go ride his bike, and I would just have time to myself to do whatever. Craft, read, look at old pictures, pretend to organize things, go through clothes in my closet, etc.
Since we've had Margaux I don't get very much alone time. Technically I'm supposed to have Sundays "off" but that doesn't always happen. And that's usually my fault. Because I do like to spend time with my family so sometimes we just end up hanging out together. Which I love. But being an introvert my mental sanity starts to suffer if I don't have any recharge time.
Now that I'm only nursing Margaux once a day (she totally weaned herself off and I suspect soon she won't want to nurse in the mornings anymore either) I'm guessing I'll have a lot easier time spending time by myself. Yesterday I got a whole 5 hours to myself and it was pretty glorious. And when I got home and the husband and the kid came back from my in-laws' house it was so great to see them again! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? And the best part? My non-cuddly baby was all for some (short-lived) mommy cuddles.
I've started to think about checking out a mommy's day out program or something that would give me some time during the week that I could get work done or run errands. Do any of you do anything like that? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I'm so glad you talked about this. I really crave having alone time and I feel bad about it sometimes because it makes me feel like I'm being anti-social.
ReplyDeleteI really need a day off myself! I've been feeling so overwhelmed with my two little ones. I love being alone too. I totally get what you are saying. I love just hanging out with myself, going for a walk or just sitting in a coffee shop is awesome. Aurora is starting preschool soon so I'll get a little bit of a break from one of them at least. I can't believe she's starting preschool!!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the time you have together but also enjoy the time you have apart. <3
i love being alone, too. i lived by myself for almost a year and really enjoyed it! xo kellychristine
ReplyDeleteoh man sometimes I seriously miss living alone, haha!
DeleteI totally here you about the need for mental recharge time. My mind basically stops working if I'm around too many people for too long.
ReplyDeleteI am married and have a 6 year old and they both know that I need my alone time. I think it is perfectly fine to want to have alone time. I don't ever feel bad about my alone time because I really need that if they don't want to deal with a cranky monster mom and wife. Usually I get all my alone time in the mornings but sometimes it does not seem like enough. I am just thankful I get to have some alone time.
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine how hard this is. Have you tried meetup.com? They have some cool groups based on your area!
ReplyDeleteyeah I'm in a few mom meetup groups but when I need alone time I mean away from interacting with people...
DeleteI like my alone time as well! I dont have kids but it's good for them to go to preschool/something of the like for a couple of hours a week to get social interaction which means you get free time :)
ReplyDeleteI agree! I've actually started looking into Mother's Day Out programs in our area so I can get a day or two a week to get things done...
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