You know, I think this highlights the city v country divide. Out here it is the working mums who cop *the look* and SAHM's are congratulated - especially from older women in my experience. When I had my first baby I got asked all the time was I going to go back to work or not and depending on the age of the person asking I got either the 'oh, I couldn't stay at home, I'm going back to work' (younger women) or "oh, that's really great, children need their mum at home' (older women) when I said I was staying at home. In the city it is almost the norm to go back to work whether it be by choice or by necessity so for someone in the city to say that they are a SAHM it is a big thing because it is just assumed by others that you're going back to work. Out here though it is completely different with almost all mums staying at home for a number of years before entering the workforce again, if at all. There are some who go back before their child is one, but not often. I guess there is just a different value set in country areas that places the importance on staying at home with your children because often we have the luxury of being able to stay at home for longer because the cost of living is so much cheaper so one income is usually more than enough in a lot of cases.

And yeah, I've had a run in with a career woman (wife of BIL's friend) and she told me that she could never give up her career to change ****ty nappies all day and that I was less of a woman for doing so (yep, she really said that) and I told her "what career? you work in a dead end job in a country town - that's not a bloody career" We don't speak anymore LOL