Mother-of-one Sarah Russell wishes this year's Budget had come five months and 16 days earlier.
That way, the office clerk from Redditch would have had a year, not six months, of maternity leave when baby Sophie was born.
But the 26-year-old is not bitter. She believes this year's Budget has recognised how valuable it is for mothers and newborns to spend the early days together.
She said: "I have missed out on the double-maternity leave, which is such a shame. It is coming up to the time when Sophie starts to wean and I am preparing to go back to work because my six months is nearly over.
"I would really have loved to have been at home to help her.
"The money I will earn when I go back to work will go on childcare so it would have been better all round if I had had her after the Budget!
"I'd imagine it would also be much less stressful to go back to work after a year's maternity leave because babies are at a different stage then.
"I'm quite surprised at how generous this announcement is. It is absolutely fantastic and although I'm disappointed for myself, my boyfriend's sister Laura is pregnant and will benefit."
But Sarah was less impressed by Gordon Brown's announcement of 15 hours of free nursery education by 2007.
She said: "This is a token effort. I think it should be more than 15 hours. Nursery education is absolutely essential."
Sarah said she was encouraged that the Chancellor had promised to increase computer education in schools to £1.67 billion and pledged billions to refurbish and build thousands of primary schools.
She had mixed feelings about the added 7p to a packet of cigarettes because her partner Adam Pemberton, a 27-year-old store detective, is a smoker.
"Adam will not be pleased, but deep-down I agree with the increase and I'm hoping it will push him to give up," she said.
