My husband's employer allows (and, in fact, encourages) him to take 18 weeks of paternity leave... He has suggested that he take just a week of vacation when the baby is born, and then take his full paternity leave later on, after I finish up my 3-ish months of maternity leave and go back to work. Taking consecutive maternity and paternity leave is a growing trend in his office, and by doing it that way, our baby wouldn't start day care until about 7 months old. Although I like the idea that our baby could be at home with one or the other of us for the first 7 months, I always imagined that we'd take our leave at the same time. Also, based on everything I have learned about the first few months, I would prefer that he take it all as soon as the baby is born, so that we can be at home at the same time and can work together to find our rhythm with a new family member.

For couples who have already gone through this phase, what did you do? If you and your partner were in our situation, would would you do?