According to the Wall Street Journal:

Gov. Palin…and her husband, Todd, also an athlete, named their first son Track because he was born in that sport’s season.

See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122002155637283431.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

FYI -I don’t know about the Palin’s being Nascar fans but I do know their kids were not named for this-

Track – is named for the fact that his dad is a major snowmachine racer (the track on a snowmachine)

Bristol-she is actually named for the town of Bristol Bay (a very major part of the Palin’s life)

Just a little info if you cared!!!

And the state of Alaska is very excited for our governor!!!

“I honestly don’t see the point of a fifth child if you aren’t going to be around.”

It’s really sad to see a mother accused of “not being around” just because she also happens to have a job. There are plenty of working mothers who still spend a great deal of time with their children, and there are also stay-at-home moms who totally ignore their children. There are loving involved mothers and also negligent mothers on both sides of the fence. Whether a woman works or not is not the determining factor in what kind of mother she is.

The other sad part about the criticism this woman is getting is that I don’t ever see men being judged in this way. Men routinely go back to work days (sometimes even hours) after their children are born and I don’t see them being attacked, accused of being absent fathers or being labeled as a parent who has their priorities screwed up. The double standard is both disheartening and infuriating.

Fay,
I was having the same concerns as you- after graduating from an Ivy League school, everyone seemed to think that I was somehow throwing my life away by wanting to be a SAHM. You really can’t let it bother you. Ultimately it’s your child and your life. I actually feel somewhat empowered, being the “rebel” who had a kid instead of becoming an investment banker

I agree with many of the posters above. It is discouraging and sad to see how some are so quick to judge (and often judge negatively).

Let’s try to be positive for each other! Or at the very very least, let’s not negatively judge others based on so little information!

I think it’s good she went back to work. One of the reasons why women get paid less than men (besides just sexism) is that women take time off of work after having children, causing them to lose seniority, raises, and promotions. I’m sure as an educated and powerful woman she realizes this. Men go back to work right away, and if a woman feels well enough to do it, why can’t she? I think Chrissy is assuming the woman as the primary caregiver, but she doesn’t have to be.

Fay, you are right. We should support other women in their choice to continue working or to stay home. Being a parent is hard enough that we don’t need to get down on our “sisters” about their choices for a career. And I do consider a SAHM to be a career choice.

I didn’t have a choice when my kids were born, not only because of the positions I had at the time, but because my husband was still establishing his career to support us. Since August I have been a SAHM and in many ways it is even harder than working outside the home.

Do I miss working? Yes. There are many things that my job gave me that can not be fulfilled while changing diapers all day. But there are just as many things that now are fulfilled that I wasn’t getting from working outside the home.

Each woman should make a choice that best suits them and their family. And the rest of us need to either support them, or shut up.

Interesting info. Her name is on the short list for VP consideration with John McCain. One thing doesn’t really have to do with the other, but have a Veep who is breastfeeding (if she does choose to do that) is an interesting prospect.

i think its funny that people are so quick to jump to hate on her for going back to work so quickly, but if she said she was going to take however long off after what as april said is one of the busiest times for congress then her constituents (whom i’m sure she’s a little bit more loyal to than us) would be up in arms… and we would be saying that they were wrong…

as we all know, everyone raises their children differently… i’m going to say, i’m only 26 years old, and to hear older women fight about what this woman should do and what that woman should do really makes my head hurt… because didn’t we fight so hard in america’s women’s suffrage movement to make the decisions WE WANT TO MAKE for our bodies, and our children… u don’t want to go back to work the day after having a baby, DON’T but how dare you judge another woman for what she decides is best for herself and her family? isn’t that what america’s all about, and why we’re always telling people from other countries we’re so great, because we have the power of “choice” i can CHOOSE what career i want, i can choose what president i want, i can choose if i wanna take 3 months or 3 days or 3 hours off after having a baby… thats not good for you and your family, YOU have the choice not to do it…

i sometimes worry about when i do become a parent how’s this world gonna work out… i’ve got a m.s., and i’m prolly gonna get an m.ed, and definitely a j.d., but if when i have children i’m gonna be a sahm… am i gonna have to worry about all the other women i go to law school w/ telling me how horrible i am as a woman because i choose to stay home… sometimes u guys are really just… discouraging…

Not only is she responsible for the care of her children, which I assume she does quite well, she is also responsible for her constituents. Her job responsibilities would place her in the same category as the President, doctors, pastors, and ministers who always have to put others before themselves and their families. I don’t think anyone would question her decision if this was a man in those circumstances. I didn’t hear that criticism of Tony Blair a few years back.