I was 'lucky' enough to find myself unemployed when my daughter was born and ended up putting off getting a new job for the first three month. It was amazing. If I get another kid I'm definitely staying home for at least the first 8 weeks, and one way or the other my employer and I will have to come to some sort of agreement.
This cannot be overstated. The first few moments/hours/days/weeks/months of your child's life (especially your first) are insanely awesome/frightening/joyous/exciting/sleep-depriving/stressful/fun/inspiring/just-freaking-cool.
It's not an experience I would want to miss for any reason. I'll probably never understand people who go back to work after a week or two.