Everybody's free.. (to choose what they want)

Recently, my best friend (also a first time mom) and I were talking about some things we often hear people say to us. My friend, went back to working her full time job when her baby was three months and I became a stay-at-home mom when Baby A was seven months. One of the assumptions is that a mother should take time off (a year or more) after the birth of a child. In realoty, not all mothers can afford to give up their jobs and some are faced with no choice at all. Ofcourse, you should  never put anything else before your baby but if you have family or friends to support you it becomes easier to get back to work mode. It's simply your choice and no one has the right to frown upon it. However, as things usually are, you will get asked this question even before your baby is born! Everyone will want to know how long you're taking time off to enjoy motherhood, if you plan on quitting your job and how you plan to manage once you do get back to work. There is no perfect or correct answer to this question. Infact, if someone does ask you this question, you must just smile and say "only time will tell".