Do you ever have a night out without the kids or the hubby?

Yeah.. as a stay at home mom, i do believe we do need a mom's night out. However, as I am still pretty young, most of my friends aren't married and are out clubbing or getting wasted or doing whatever people my age are doing. They do call me up to join them but i just can't get in tune with all that. I'd prefer a dinner with close friends where we can catch up and probably go out for a movie.. But then again, 1)my husband is away most of the time. He's in the airline business and now commuting between another state and where I live in (not every day mind you, every 2 weeks) 2)my mother doesn't want to indulge me in being a babysitter because she doesn't want me to make it a habit. 3)my friends get bored with just dinner and a movie. :) I don't think we should feel bad at all.. when I'm getting antsy and complaining of a lack of social life, my mom would start her "During our days as a housewife" lecture. It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with my 3 year old son, but it does feel great to be out for a couple of hours from house chores and wind down. It's great that you have mommy friends that you can meet up with once a week.. It's good so you don't feel burnt out and you shouldn't feel bad about it at all. :)

I think it is very important-- It's also important to go out with your sig. other or spouse without your child too- this gives you alone bonding time- I do girls night outs- they are so much fun- I go on a girls vacation- Shopping, eating and traveling- It's in November- No kids- no men- Just laughing and fun- I'm glad that you got to get out- You don't have to go to bars only- try the movies, or dinner, or shopping (for you of course)-- Enjoy your time away!

I never get away. I have a disabled son and it has been about 6 years since we have even had someone keep them for a while. He is too big for my mom to handle and his mom hardly has anything to do with him. I do get my time away when they are in school, but that is all.

A night out without the kids and the hubby is a good idea as far as a woman fed up with child caring and other home making chores. But is that necessary with this frequency?- a night out every week? Won't it be nice if you take a night out once in a month? Also, won't a weekly night out with the hubby and child be more enjoyable ? - to all- you, your hubby and your child?

I used to do this a little bit but the kids were always in the next room with a sitter so it was never totally adult time, but it was still nice to have some adult conversation with only occassional interuptions. Now my youngest is only almost 8 months and exclusively nursing (meaning no bottles, he gets solids though) so I can't leave him for very long. Even if he doesn't get hungry he still "needs" me since he's so used to me being there. I think it is important for little ones to learn that mommy will come back. Even though it has rarely ever happened, my biggest fear is that I will need to attend to an emergency and will have a terrified child missing me on top of what I'm dealing with. Right now I really don't know what I would do with the baby under those circumstances. As long as the "girls night out" isn't abused I see no problem with it and think it can make moms even better moms just because it gives them a little break to refresh before going back to work as a mom. Like you said, every now and then is great. I once knew a mom that left her small toddler with a babysitter almost all of the time for one reason or another. It would all start on Sunday evenings when he would get dropped off so she and her husband wouldn't have to drag him out of bed at 5:30am Monday mornng when they went to work, Then monday through Thursday evening they would "visit" him at the sitters after work because they thought it would be too hard on him to bring him home and put him to bed right away so they could get some sleep. Then he would stay at the sitters on Friday night so they could go out, come home Saturday afternoon for a few hours before they went out again, and then come home for a few hours on Sunday before they started the whole thing all over again!

I would love to go out without kids or hubby to get my hair cut and my toes done. The week of July 21 I'm going to pump the whole week so I can go get my toes done and hair that day without them. I can't wait.

Having 'me' time is so important. I have found that out over the years of being a mom--you spend all day, every day, giving so much of yourself that I think you just need some 'me' time to recharge. And just because you take this time does NOT make you a bad parent--only a better one because you realize that you have to take time out for yourself too.

I agree with everything you have to say. Mothers need a time to recharge their battery and one way to do that is to touch base with that part of yourself that you were before you were married and had kids. That doesn't meant going out and trying to pick up other guys. It means getting together with your friends for a night out alone, no kids, no husbands. My friends and I will try to meet at a local coffee shop. We can sit and talk for hours and we usually end up closing the place up. We also have a book club where we meet for good food and we talk about the book we read, or other things going on in our lives. When my kids were little, I joined a local mothers' group. We had childcare when we met each week and it was something I dearly looked forward to so I could just take a mommy break and my kids needed a break from me too so it was great for everyone. I never felt like I was a bad mom for doing it. On the contrary, I felt that by doing something good for myself, it ultimately would trickle down to my kids as well.

I'm also liek a child in my mother's hands,lol...I think the mom's care is very important,but we can not take care in all times,we must make the child realize that mom will cannot take care of he/she in all times.I think your child can know your means....The best wishes..

Do what feels right for your family and daughter. She may need you right now all the time, but within the year she will be asking for some space away from Mommy. That is what happened to us. Once our daughter developed her language skills and could speak fluently, she wanted to watch DVDs and television more and needed Mommy less. It's completely her choice, and not mine. I would spend all day hanging out with her if she would let me. Don't worry! You are not a bad mom. Your relationship with your partner is just as important as your everyday mom job. If you don't keep your relationship strong then your daughter won't have a two parent household to grow up in. So, do what you feel is right for everyone, including yourself! Be well and good luck with the situation.

You are not a bab mum! Everyone needs some time to rediscover who they were before husbands, kids and mortagages came along. Also it is good for your daughter to realise that you can go away and come back. What if you were ill and someone had to look after her? This way she will be used to you going out. When she gets older she will know that 'your time' is just that. Time for you to be a woman, friend, and all the other things that you used to be. Enjoy your nights out!