I don't SAH, but I left academia right after finishing my PhD. Academia is just such a life-sucking career that I could never stay in there (additionally, my adviser was awful and made everyone's lives hell). My luckiest break was that my postdoc fell through (the PI didn't get a grant that he needed) and I decided to take a break for a bit. I was off for a month before I got a job in scientific editing/review. I'm sure the few classmates that got tenure-track jobs around this point (I graduated 6 years ago) make more than I do now, but I've outearned them for the past 6 years working from home on a flexible schedule while pregnant/dealing with infants/toddlers. And the pay is still probably comparable to the ones who are adjuncts/permadocs. But I remember seeing my would-be postdoc adviser when I first started my job, and he said "No, you can't be in a job like that. Come by and talk to me." LOL. It's probably easier for me to see this because I was so miserable and my adviser rarely published (7 papers in 14 years at this point), so I had few publications.
The flexibility of an alternate career/part-time work/freelancing compared to academia is worth something.
I do agree with the pp that it is easier to relate to other moms who are at a similar age and stage in life. Most of my mom friends are in some kind of alternate career/part-time/SAH post-PhD/master's. I just don't have enough in common with a 24yo with two kids and an art degree who got married and graduated college in the same month and never had to get a job/live on her own. That's the majority of people down here, LOL. So hopefully you can find some kindred spirits.
LOL, I was referring to my SIL. Since when do you have two kids and no job? Four-legged/hooved kids don't count.
Well in that case I should have only bolded the part about marrying as a bee bee and never having to scrape by on beanie weenies and toast...something I actually feel pretty guilty about. I missed out on that rite of passage!