I followed a link over to a post in the CafeMom forums a couple weeks ago, and I confess that I did so entirely because of the title. I kind of hate when I click things that I KNOW are going to make me crazy, but it's like when someone says, "Oh my god, this smells awful," and I'm all, OH LET ME SMELL IT TOO. Why, self?

Anyway, the post is titled "I think the death of the SAHM ruined this country" and the author posted the opinion that if "more women would/were able to stay home and raise their children this world would be a better place."

That's not actually the part that made me crazy, though. It was the follow-up comments, which featured the argument that anyone can be a SAHM—if they know how to manage a budget.

Be Like the BabyHere's something else for us all to stress out about: Your stress is hurting your kids. In fact, you may be personally responsible for everything from asthma to autism -- just by stressing out over your job, your mom, or your neighborhood association. Let's assume the stress one feels during pregnancy counts double, okay? Since after all, the stress crosses the placenta and your baby is born all kinds of upset because your boss is a d-bag who believes giving you maternity leave is a "free vacation."

The author of a new book, Kids Pick Up on Everything: How Parental Stress is Toxic to Kids, David Code, explains how a parent's "anxious mind" has a negative effect on a child's "sensitive body." Yes, even in utero.

Is anyone else stressing about this?

Forget everything you've heard about (the lack of) maternity leave. Ignore the mommy track, and the high cost of day care that makes it prohibitive to have a job. It's time to look on the bright side of tiny people completely upending your life and making it all about them, them, them. You know who I'm referring to: babies.

Maybe you're one of those ladies who decided enough was enough with the day job and are now staying home with your new baby. Good for you! Sure you'll avoid the headaches of day care to office commutes, wondering if your sitter actually remembered your baby was lactose intolerant, or cursing your husband for not realizing that you've been working hard all day as well. But you might also be missing the biggest career opportunity of your life.

Here are the five ways that baby's can actually boost your career, instead of tearing down your mental acuity little by little.

This lady was part of our familyWhen I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I looked into the day care down the street and shook our heads at such extravagances like nannies. Nannies, we just knew, were only for the rich. As we were barely hanging on in the middle class, it wasn't even on our radar. And then reality hit, and we discovered three things about parenting in New York City.

1) Day care can be incredibly inflexible, and work hours in New York City can go much longer than day care hours.

2) Most day cares won't take babies until they're at least 3 months old, and even then, there's a waiting list.

3) Your baby will be sick all winter long, thus making day care an expense you're paying for but not using. A nanny with a tough immune system makes sure you don't get fired from your job.

And with that, we started a part-time nanny search and began to realize that all of the stereotypes we believed about nannies and the people who employ them are wrong.

I Should Be Getting Paid for ThisIn the ongoing struggle of making motherhood work in the modern world, one leader has stepped forward in an attempt to give value to stay-at-home moms. Monetary value, that is, I think we can all agree that stay-at-home moms true value cannot be overstated. Yes? Yes.

Wendy Luhabe, a South African businesswoman who is consistently recognized as a leading entrepreneur made a proclamation for all the right reasons. Luhabe is suggesting that mothers who choose to stay home with the children get a "mommy salary" of 10% of their spouse's income in order to give monetary reward to moms making that choice.

While I can get behind this idea, I do think that number is a little bit low.

The Breastfeeding Mom’s Golden Flange Award goes to ... the University of Pennsylvania! This prestigious college has put the rest of the Ivy League to shame with a stated policy, right there on their website, that breastfeeding moms can return to work knowing their needs will be supported. The program is called The Nursing Mother’s Program, and it applies to anyone -- full-time, part-time, faculty, or staff -- in the first year of breastfeeding.

Was that so hard? Why can’t you be more like Penn, everyone else?

Christina Applegate & Will Arnett take on
new parenthood in Up All NightWho's seen the super-funny previews for the new Christina Applegate and Will Arnett sitcom Up All Night, and who's as excited as I am for it to start? Why? Because we REALLY NEED A GOOD, FUNNY SHOW ABOUT NEW PARENTHOOD. I mean, Desperate Housewives gave it a go in its first season (I'll never forget Lynette's perfectly pitched SAHM "breakdown"), but it was all downhill after they changed writers. Then there were short-lived shows like In the Motherhood, which never took off. Raising Hope is great but mostly because of its brilliant celebration of the nontraditional. Modern Family and Parenthood take on parenting with honesty and humor, but not new parenthood, not the days of sleepless, erratic, mind-blowing, love-filled, craze-filled, OhMyGodI'maMotherNow parenthood.

So I'm putting an extra lot of hope in Up All Night because I want it to be good so badly -- for the sake of new and old parents everywhere.

For all of us who cannot wait to see Natalie Portman in her first post-baby role, we're just going to have to -- for now. Portman has turned down her first role in the film Adaline, so we're thinking she might be stepping out of the spotlight for a long time. Especially since Portman mentioned she might be interested in walking away from work in order to raise a family while she was pregnant. Looks like she might be making good on that random thing she said in an interview and emulating her idol, Audrey Hepburn.

Like Hepburn, I'd hate to think of all the talent we'd be missing as consumers of every awesome thing Portman does. But as a mom, I say, "You go, Natalie!"