Vets that have become stay at home moms, how was the transition?

Braquel - posted on 07/22/2012

Thank you so much Marsha that was much needed info.

Marsha - posted on 07/22/2012

As long as you get out and do things you will be fine. Expect a few bumps in the road and know that you will get through them. Find a group of moms/dads in your area that you can do things with. Bookoo, facebook, circle of moms, asymca and meetup.com are good resources to help you find other groups of with same aged kids. Meetup has groups for everything you could think of in your area. If you can find a good group you will have plenty of activities to do with your son great for him and gets you good advice, friends and adult interaction. Which is soooo important lol. Here in 29 palms the base library has a read and play, lap time and story hour for 0-5 yrs old. The same type of programs are in local libraries. The YMCA or ASYMCA have mommy and me play time, gymnastics, baby and me yoga and other classes. You should also look at your local park and rec center they will have programs as well. They could also direct you to other resources to give you more ideas like baby music lessons, swimming lessons and tons of other things. I could have used this info when my son was smaller. Just passing it on in hopes you and others have a better transition than I did.

Braquel - posted on 07/21/2012

Thank you so much I am just so nervous little man will only be about a 1 1/2 when I get out.

Marsha - posted on 07/20/2012

I got out in 99 and the first month or so was party central. Then the novelty of not having anything to "do" wore off and it drove me insane. I had a three year old at the time and was in the process of moving from Miramar (civilization) to 29 palms (bfe) for my DH's schooling. I went from having a job and life outside my family to no job no friends and living in the middle of nowhere in one week. It was brutal and I didn't handle that well. Once we got to Oki it was much better because my son was entering 1st grade and we jumped into doing so many things on the island it was great. So I guess I'm saying it depends on where you are stationed and what your options are there as far as activities because that will definitely influence your attitude toward the situation. You have to get involved in activities with other adults find something you like to do. Find a hobby, go to school, make sure to have some "me" time. It took me forever to figure that out and I was miserable until I did. Finding structure in school and other activities is what really helped me to get a sense of purpose beside my family and really helped the transition.

Rebecca - posted on 07/10/2012

I got out right before my daughter was born and it was fine at first then when my husband deployed when she was 3 mo it really sunk in. I became extremly bored there is only so much you can do cleaning and taking care of your baby I then enrolled in college when she was 6 mo. It helped a lot in helping me keep busy.

Braquel - posted on 07/07/2012

Well my son will be a little over a year and a half when I get out. I guess I am worried what activities and field trips we will be able to do .

Beth - posted on 07/07/2012

right now you think it's free time, when in reality free time is few and far between.
There is SO much to do.
What you can do really of course depends on the age of your child.
When the kids are out of school we do science experiments,play board games, build forts, etc. But mine are 10 and 7.
I also have started knitting , I read a lot, I paint war gaming miniatures. So I do have my own things that I do when I declare that I need some quiet time. I have instituted an hr of quiet time or me time every day so I don't go insane.