There were approximately 5.8 million mothers staying at home with their children in 2006, according to United States Census Bureau estimates. More and more women are opting to leave their careers to stay at home full-time, most often choosing to live on the other spouse's income.

The decision to stay at home can come about in a variety of ways, whether you're a mom who had every intention of returning back to work until you locked eyes with your newborn or one who crunched numbers throughout your pregnancy to figure out the best way to make the arrangement work. But staying home with your baby isn't always an easy feat while juggling bills, budgets and the threat of boredom on both the kids' and the mom's part.

"I was a stay-at-home mom with my three sons," says Missouri resident Sherri Stanczak, author of From the Heart of a Mother (Publish America, 2007). "They are grown now and we have this awesome relationship that I think started when they were very young. Being able to stay home was not always a piece of cake, but I had more time to spend with my boys and I had a lot of patience because of that. I watched them take their first steps, heard their first words and took them to school on their first day of school."

There are plenty of ways to be resourceful even before your baby is born to help prepare you for making the switch to living on one income. Take Melissa Sheehan, a mom from Springfield, Va., for example, who worked with her husband to pay off their cars and credit cards before she quit working, a savings of several hundred dollars each month.

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