As a child of a stay at home mom, married to another child of a stay at home mom, we always assumed that when the time came to start our family, I would follow the same path. When we bought our house a year after being married, I heard my Mother-in-law ask my husband whether or not we could afford it on one income, when the time came. When we told my Father-in-law that I was expecting our first son, he immediately asked about our plan for childcare. He shared with us his belief on the importance of staying at home, at least while the children are small.

For more information on this, check out The Two Income Trap. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/11/two-income-trap

When we first found out we were pregnant, we were ecstatic. We waited patiently through the first trimester to tell our friends, family and co-workers. After a doctors appointment and ultra-sound revealed a healthy baby, I took the plunge and met with my boss to tell her the news.

For the last 3 years, I’ve worked at an environmental non profit in Philadelphia. It’s a small organization with under 10 employees. It’s also a very young organization; only 2 of my co-workers are over the age of 30. Working in a young and flexible organization definitely has a lot of benefits. There is a lot of room for flexible policies and creative solutions. However, our organization didn’t even have a maternity leave policy until my co-worker announced her pregnancy in 2011. Working in a small organization means that we’re all fairly close. Losing an employee is not something that happens often or is taken lightly.

So when I announced to my boss that I was having a baby in 6 months, I also announced that I would be leaving the organization. Her response was…surprise, to say the least. The same response followed from my co-workers when I told them later that week.

One of my co-workers cornered me and asked why I would give up my job to become a stay at home mom. Couldn’t I just have my mom babysit my kid?

I’ll admit, the response I gave him was only a partial truth. I told him that a non profit salary would barely cover the cost of childcare. The average cost of daycare in the Philadelphia area is between $1,000 and $1,500 a month!

But the cost of childcare is only one of the many reasons that I’ve decided to stay home. As a child of a stay at home mom, I loved coming home from school and having my mom there to greet me. When she went back to work part-time when I was in middle school, it was a big adjustment to come home to an empty house. I loved that my mom could chaperone school field trips, volunteer at the elementary school library and being a room parent for my class each year. It’s not to say that a working mom doesn’t have time for these things—many working moms make time to be actively involved with their kids, but it’s definitely difficult to coordinate logistics.

I want to be present in the lives of my kids, especially in the early years before they head off to school. My mother-in-law was a homeschool mom. She spent most of her years as a teacher for my husband and his brother and sister. What a time investment that can be!

But as I’ve told people in my life that I’m planning to stop work when the baby comes, most are shocked. They have lots of questions about my very personal decision. Oftentimes I’m asked to defend why I want to stop working.

“Won’t you get bored?”

“Isn’t that a waste of your college degree?”

“How will you survive on one income?”

“How will you deal without any adult interaction?”

I know that transitioning to a SAHM will not be an easy one. There will be days where I miss the routine of going to work and feeling like I’m making a valuable contribution to society. Sure I’ll miss people watching on the train and talking with my co-workers, but I’m excited for the challenges that will come with being a full time mom. And I can’t wait!