I agree that mothers should stay home as long as possible. I like being a stay at home mother and being able to take care of my kids. If it weren't for my hubby working overtime, I probably would be going to work sooner or we would have to cut back on some things. I still think a year is too short to leave them with a babysitter/daycare everyday but I'll probably be looking for a part time job in a few months and working 2-3days a week to help out.




Thanks for the comments

I've notice that most of the mum's stay home with their children. I hope that when I find somone, that they would want to stay home with the kids and I could go to work. I would only perfer to take 6 weeks off then go to work and have my partner take pertinity leave. lol. I'm not very traditional so it wouldn't bother me if I worked and my partner stayed home and tended to the children and house. But I guess it depends on what works for everyone.

I took quiet a bit of time off. I think my son was 2 1/2 yrs old before I went back to work, but my circumstances were sort of unusual. I was discharged from the military in August 1982. I married my husband in Jan 1983. He left a month later on Valentines day for Germany. I met him there in May. Had a positive pregnancy test in August, and delivered my son the following year in April of 1984. Whew!

So...basically I got pregnant almost as soon as I arrived in Germany. There was no way I could look for a job and work through my pregnancy. I had morning sickness almost constantly, and at one point I had to be put on bedrest for a few weeks.

Anyway, I digress...even though my son was not planned, I'm very happy with the decision my husband and I made for me to be a stay at home mom. The most difficult part was the isolation. We lived in a small village, and I didn't really speak the language that well. Most of the other Americans that were there worked on base, and at times my husband would be gone for maneuvers or training, but because of that I got to spend an inordinate amount of time with my son. If I could have stayed at home longer (like forever) I would have, but we really needed the money when we were stationed in California (Jeez, it's expensive to live there)!

You know, there was nothing I missed. I saw everything first hand...his first smile, first laugh, sitting up, rolling over, first steps, first tooth, etc... There's no amount of money that can make up for someone having to miss that. It's priceless, and hearing about it from someone else, or seeing it in a photograph is just not the same. So, if it's at all possible for you to stay home then do it.

The only way I'd consider going straight back to work would be if the family was in desperate need of money, or if someone had a career and needed to stay in the loop so to speak. Some careers you can't stop working for a year or two and expect to just jump right back into things. Maybe, in that type of circumstance working at home even part-time might be a feasible option.

I'd also, like to say that staying at home was helpful in other ways that you might not have thought of. We were able to eat healthier, because I had time to cook (and shop) for healthy food. I wasn't killing myself trying to get home from work, and picking up a pizza because I was too exhausted to do anything else. Being at home gave me time to do housework during the day. So...I was able to spend the evenings with my son and my husband. The only "work" I had to do after my husband came home was put the dinner dishes in the dishwasher, and give the baby a bottle, and a bath. It was wonderful to have some private time together after the baby was put to bed.

So...think about it, and discuss it. Hope whatever decision you make works out well for all of you! Good luck!