Way back in 2012, when my first child was born, I reluctantly returned to work full time at the end of an almost five-month maternity leave. I was honestly miserable, and even though I enjoyed my work, leaving my baby behind all day was an emotional struggle. Most days, I was out of the house for 10 or 11 hours, so I would only have about an hour with him a day all week long—just enough time to nurse him, feed him dinner and put him to sleep.
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Some nights, I didn't even make it home for that. But at the time, I was the primary breadwinner in our little family and I had no real hope of things changing any time soon. Then, a major career opportunity for my husband presented itself and we were faced with some big decisions that ultimately led to me quitting my job to stay home full time.