Thanks. :) I've had a lot of time to think about it. I think it's possible to seek to minimize the medical interventions without using language that makes it seem like some kind of morally superior action. I.e., "I am having a natural childbirth. If you don't do the same things, you are therefore having an artificial…

But the sanctimony can be a bit much. All it takes is a few well-meaning, know-it-all mothers who tell you what you absolutely must do, and it grates, and the grating stays with you, like the memory of fingernails on the proverbial chalkboard.

Thanks for mentioning the problem with the word "natural." That is also a huge pet peeve of mine. So much so that I refused to use the word when discussing what I wanted with my ob/gyn... I said something like, "no unnecessary medical interventions"...

For the record, I did almost everything Elissa makes fun of here. I thought I would be all chill and everything at the beginning, but by the time I got to seven months, there I was, hiring a doula, doing prenatal yoga, signing up for natural pain relief classes at the Lamaze school, practicing accupressure with my…

Ha! Like that first paragraph. Yeah, the last sentence... I know quite a few men, especially in my generation, who think and feel that way. That's why I said the last sentences — i.e., plural. Taken together, that's not a sentiment I can imagine being said about a dude. "Well, he's CEO now, but pretty soon he'll…

I hear you... I also had a really easy, lovely, beautiful pregnancy, with a big ol' punch in the face at the end. It's only taken me about six months to start feeling human, or not to stay awake all night if I start thinking about it.

Good, good advice... I was shocked by the same. My mom has had to remind me *constantly* to take care of myself, basic things like eating, sleeping, getting away... I think it's easy for women to push themselves to fill the time.

I echo what pichou said about taking it easy on yourself after birth. I had the same shock, and it's really taken me a long time to recover, both physically and emotionally. And I'm a very tough go-go person too! Someone told me and my husband not to expect to get anything done in the first six months, and boy were…

Oh, I agree with that 100%. But predicting that someone will quit their job because of family needs in 5 to 7 years? I was wondering if IvyWilsonin81 would really have said that of a new male CEO. Because, you know, they don't tend to.

Would you ever write those last sentences about a man?

I'm a big believer in both men and women taking parental leave, but seriously, the CEO of a corporation is in a special position. Most of your average worker bees can be replaced for a while... but when you're the boss of all the bosses, you really kind of have to be on the job.

I get that... but I also... after I gave birth, I was so out of it for quite a long while. Of course my labour was rough and I had a cs, but there was no outsourcing how fucked up I was as a new mother.

Speak fer yerself, lady. My newborn was stunningly gorgeous.

Of course. He's totally right about the sweatpants. To me, sweatpants = depression.

I've met one. Exactly one.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. For me there are several issues:

Thank you, teacher, I'm quite comfortable with what I wrote, especially since you misread it once again. I never said that even an average SAHM "simply stays home all day and bakes cookies and sips tea." There's a difference between having more time for certain traditional pursuits and *only* doing them. The SAHMs I…

The key is in the word "all." I think being a stay-at-home parent, especially of an infant, is incredibly hard, relentless work. But I'd bet any amount of money that your average American SAHM produces more cookies, or hey, let's expand it to baked goods in general, than your average working-for-pay mom. And probably…

I don't think she was implying that at all. I think she was implying that staying home involved a greater devotion to traditionally domestic activities, which, yes, include baking cookies. But the cookie line is much punchier.