I worked 2 weeks after giving birth - it's not a big deal

I can understand the indignation around Marissa Mayer's announcement that she'll take only two weeks maternity leave after giving birth to twins.

As the CEO of Yahoo, Mayer's high profile in the male-dominated Silicon Valley boardroom makes an even stronger case for her to set a "proper" example by at least taking the mandatory leave period. 

But you know what? Maternity leave is not all that. 

Childbirth and the three months after was (at least to me) a horrible period that I will never ever want to re-live again. I counted down the days to when this needy, incoherent being in my arms will turn into something at least resembling the babies in diaper commercials. 

That doesn't mean I love my children any less or want anything but the best for them. It's just not in me to put up with all the mess and chaos, especially when the source does not come with a 'pause' button.

So I accepted a project that would require travelling two weeks after I gave birth. I do not have a boss or board to blame as it's my business, but I said yes when asked to fly to Jakarta two weeks post-partum.

It required working in between feedings to prep for the project and a lot less sleep than a new mother would have anyway. But I truly relished it as I kept my identity as a working person and work was a calming distraction from trying to figure out why Baby Z2 is crying again. It helps that I love what I do.

The point of this post is: not everyone is cut from the same cloth. And when you give birth to a child, everyone (and their mother) has a strong opinion on whether you should go natural or Caesarean, breastfeed or formula-feed, cloth or disposable diapers -- the invasion into your personal space is real. 

The real way forward is to give every mother the liberty to decide how much time she wants to take off from work - whether it is two weeks or two years - or if that leave should be shared with the father.

Hopefully when my daughters join the workforce, they will not have to explain their maternity leave in terms of the opportunity cost - either in the baby room or the boardroom.

And let's cut Mayer some slack already.