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@NeekieRose: I took her down to 2 days because that's the minimum to maintain her spot. The 2 days were a nice break for me, I have to admit. But I don't think it's crazy! SAHMs don't get a "maternity leave"!

If we don't have to pay I'll do the same thing. My leave is unpaid so it'll nake quite a difference financially. If we have to pay he'll probably go at least a few days per week

Right now I have a 1 month old and an 18 month old, so exact same age gap you're looking at...and I'm a SAHM! I'll be honest, it's a lot tougher than the first time around since I can't nap during the day at all because even if baby is sleeping, the toddler is awake! But it's definitely do-able. I'm starting to establish a bit of a routine, which makes it easier. And newborns sleep so much that you still have pretty decent chunks of time to devote to the toddler, although I'll admit he's been getting wayyyy too much TV time to hold off on tantrums when I'm nursing and he wants attention.

It's an extra challenge for me because I had a c-section and am still not allowed to lift the toddler for another week (and he just started walking when his new brother was 3 weeks old!), I highly recommend having help for the first week or two regardless of your delivery type, because all the lifting with a toddler (in/out of the car, the changing table, the high chair, etc) will really slow down your healing. We've had to modify our routine a lot to minimize how much I'm picking him up. Oh, and if you don't have a Moby or K'tan or something to wear the baby, get something! My K'tan is a lifesaver when baby wants to be held but big brother wants to play.

I'd suggest keeping at least part-time to minimize the impact of the transition on your older child. My daughter is currently 16 months and I think it would be very difficult on her if we kept her home for a long period and then brought her back.

@NeekieRose: Just be REALLY careful about not lifting the toddler then. I healed amazingly well and fast from my first c-section, but this time around Im having a very slow recovery because I overdid it physically and had a lot of irritation to my incision, it actually ended up having bleeding at one point! Recovery can be slower/harder with a RCS because of the scar tissue. I thought I was being careful - having picnics on the floor to avoid the high chair, switched to a toddler bed so I wasn't lifting him in/out of the crib, etc., and I still managed to damage the stitches!