Research shows stay-at-home moms are on the rise, nearly doubling in the last year.
Adrianna Osepowicz gave birth to her son, Bodhi, in June.
“The first few months was rough. He didn't sleep at all, but now that we're kind of settled in a routine, it's just a lot of fun,” Osepowicz said.
Osepowicz’s maternity leave ended in October, but the Sullivan County resident decided not to go back to work at Children's Home in Liberty, and became a stay-at-home mom.
“I had a high-risk pregnancy, and it was pretty overwhelming and made me rethink whether I wanted to go through that again. So, he might be my only one, and I just really wanted to enjoy my time with him and not to rush back to work and like split the time between caring for him and a job and all those responsibilities,” Osepowicz said.
Osepowicz is one of the 24% of mothers in the U.S. who are stay-at-home moms, which is up 9% from 2022, according to Motherly’s State of Motherhood 2023 Survey Report. The research found 52% of working moms say child care costs have made them think about leaving the workforce; 64% need flexible schedules to be able to work; and 67% are paying at least $1,000 each month on child care.
Osepowicz said she and her husband discussed their finances and decided it was better for him to work and get overtime when he can and take on a second job during the summer.
“At my job, I was making about $1,600 a month, and daycares in the area are around $1,200 a month, so it's pretty tight there,” Osepowicz said. “And then we considered, you know, having to take off when he's sick, or if we just want to spend extra time with him, or if there's snow days, which we have a lot of them around here, and if the daycare’s closed, we'd have to stay home, and it just wasn't worth it.”
Although she worked for about 12 years before this, Osepowicz said it wasn’t difficult for her to find a routine as a stay-at-home mom. The challenge was not getting a break, but she found ways to take of herself while balancing Bodhi’s needs.
“I’ve discovered it's easier just to include him, so I’ve always liked doing yoga and meditation and so I just do it next to him. If I want to read one of my books., I read out loud,” Osepowicz said.
While she’d eventually like to finish her bachelor’s degree, Osepowicz said she wouldn’t change being able to watch her baby experience things for the first time and discover who he is.
“I’m definitely grateful, you know, that I’m able to do this because I know a lot of moms can't, or they're torn between the decision of being a mom or keeping their career. So, I’m just glad that this is a situation that I’m able to do,” Osepowicz said.
Motherly’s State of Motherhood 2023 Survey Report says 58% of moms say they are typically the ones running households and caring for children. That’s up 2% from 2022.
