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I found almost the best of both worlds for me. I am a college instructor and I work in the evenings and online. So I get more time to be with my LO and also get to work. He does go to daycare a few days (it would be great if he was old enough for school) so I can do my prep work.

It's definitely not perfect and there is totally an ugly side. I don't know, maybe it's different since I have two kids at home, but I literally barely ever have time for myself. I'm constantly doing something for the kids, house or husband. We have some part-time help that comes in to especially entertain my older one and give me a break sometimes, but even when she is here there are still things my kids need only me for and it's hard for me to do anything uninterrupted. There are hardly ever any breaks as a SAHM (well, especially for me since DH works long hours and my fam isn't always around or available)... I'm constantly multi-tasking all day.

Don't even get me started on me doing simple things like calling the bank with two kids around... it can be really tough to do something so simple... Maybe people can't fully understand til they've been through it. I know I knew it was hard to be a SAHM before becoming one, but i didn't fully understand til I was one for a while.

But there are also days where things just go really well too. You just never know what kind of day it will be like (like with any job though). The biggest perk though is being able to focus 100% on my family.

I've been a working mom too though and I miss it as well sometimes. I think I was really balanced going to work and being a mom. It was tough and tiring as heck, yes... But I was happy now that I look back on it. I'm happy now too as a SAHM, but in a different way. I guess I have just learned to try to be happy with whatever circumstances I'm in. Easier said than done though, I know.

Also... before staying at home, I thought I'd have time to study for a certification exam I've been putting off for years... Or I dreamed of starting a little etsy business or something, too... But right now, staying home is more than a full-time job for myself, so I don't see how others do it unless they have just one kid, older kids and/or more help than I do.... Or just more energy, haha. I do love my sleep, when I can get it!

@Mrs. Superhero: lol, people don't talk about these things before we have babies! It's all lack of sleep and baby poop .... not you're never going to be able to poo in private again!

@regberadaisy: I'm in the opposite boat!!

I am a SAHM and wish I could work.

Of course I love and adore my son, but I'm not sure I'm the type of mom that is fit to be a SAHM. It's hard being needed 24/7. It's hard feeling like there is no break, or when there is one while he naps, that I have a bajillion things I have to do.

I worry about money... A LOT. I might be a better SAHM if $$ wasn't such an issue too. We get by, but barely.

I am also not a very patient person by nature... so having someone who constantly needs attention and entertaining definitely is not easy!!

I know everyone says being a SAHM is the most rewarding and fulfulling job, and for some women I'm sure it is, but I doubt if it's that way for me. I feel like there is something else I should be doing... and want to be doing.

On the weekends I have to have DH help out A LOT with DS or else I'd go completely crazy.

Maybe it will be easier when he's older and able to do more? But right now I'm having a rough time!

@Coco Bee: You summed up my thoughts perfectly. I am a SAHM right now and I really miss work. I love my LO to bits and know it will be tough to leave him, but what I wouldn't give to focus on a task for any length of time. And yeah, it would be nice to go to the bathroom alone again.

When LO was born I couldn't imagine having to work the long hours I had been working. I also hated my job and having LO really solidified my disdain for the whole thing, not just the place I was working.

If I really liked my job it may have been a different story because I don't completely want to give up a career and finding a job you love is really hard sometimes! But even in a job I loved I think I would have a hard time working long hours anymore.

I agree with the others that being a SAHM isn't all rainbows and butterflies though it is the best job I've ever had but it is hard and busy and demanding and to an extent never ending since you don't 'go home' from the job.

I really want to work part time. I think when we have our 2nd child DH will let me go to a part time schedule.. we just moved into a new house so DH is still adjusting to our larger mortgage payment..

I was just recently in the same boat! Loved my job before baby m, but maternity leave was nearing its end and I just couldn't imagine going back! Honestly although I'm loving it and glad for the decision, we are having to live differently and we stress about money a lot now! Just sold one of our cars and we are trying to cut lots of corners. I did make the decision to pick up very part time work on Saturdays only, I do still think its worth it though!

I want to go back to work! The days at home can be very trying, especially when the weather is bad and we can't get outside. My son also fell and sprained his foot on Tuesday, so now, he wants to be carried around! The hour before my husband gets home is the worst...he's tired and hungry, I am tired and hungry and we're both just sick of each other! But I do love him, I just wish that I could have a break!

It's tough. The grass is always greener. I gave up a lot to stay home but I am also giving up a lot to go back to work. There's no perfect answer.

@Andrea: I am planning to, we're moving back to the US by the end of the year and I've got the feelers out.

@Andrea: No problem! I am DYING to get back, it's been 4 years since I moved...I was fine while working but since I've been at home I've been really homesick.

I was unemployed through my first pregnancy and the first 7-months postpartum so I got a taste of being a SAHM. I loved staying at home those first 7-months, but I did often have to carry my baby while going pee or eat with one hand while the baby is in the other (she never wanted to be put down). It was tiring, but I didn't mind because she was so little and helpless.

I think it would be nice to be a SAHM for the first year because they're so cute and little and cuddly. It's amazing watching how fast they change and grow, but by the 2nd year they get more demanding and take up a lot more energy. She is very verbal now and always demanding something. I can't imagine doing it all day every day with no break.

I loooove my daughter, but being a working mother makes me a better mom. At least I get a break in a typical workday- whether its just zoning off in front of the computer, or taking a lunch break with my kindle, or conversing with coworkers. It's so nice to have that balance of interacting with adults and having quiet moments at work... then coming home and spending a few hours with my daughter before she goes to bed.

And I love feeling like my weekdays and weekends are distinct. Those 7-months where I stayed at home, it felt like my days were nonstop and the days blurred together. I never felt like I got a break. But working on weekdays and family time on weekends really breaks up my week. It makes me a better parent too because weekends become even more cherished and special.

@looch: I hear ya sister! I'm sooo there.