How did you transition?

[KTinNYC]

I am seriously considering quitting work to become a SAHM. I stayed at home for the first year of both my kids' (now 5 & 2) lives; the first time was great, the second time a bit rough. I was in school then, and had never really had a "real", respectable full-time job for any length of time. Now I am a doctor, working 80 hours a week as a resident. And I hate it. I know it will get better after residency, but I'm not sure I can (or want to) hack another 5 years of abuse (for real) before the light at the end of the tunnel- and still work well over 40 hours per week. And I sooooo miss my kids. Even when I have a whole weekend off with them, it just doesn't feel like enough. AND I want another kid, and will likely be perimenopausal by the time Im done with my training.
The problem is, I have a lot of student loans. My husband supported us ok when I was in school, but we weren't saving much, didn't have monthly loan payments, and my husband was enjoying his job a LOT more back then.
So how did you financially make the transition to SAHMing? We live in one of the most expensive parts of the country (moving is NOT an option) and were relying on my future high earning potential to ever afford a truly middle class lifestyle (eg owning a home). I like- even love- the idea of frooging out as part of my SAHM lifestyle. But I don't think I have any marketable skills to help us become "secure" if I leave medicine, and I can't practice if I don't finish a residency. Which I just wouldn't do if I left now.
So back to my question. How do you make ends meet? Scrimp non-stop? Have a high-earning partner?Encourage a barter economy with friends? Desparate minds want to know.

[pearl2]

Here is what we did, which may or may not work for you: 

The first practical thing is to make a budget. List every expense you have and then see how much your household right now takes in combined. Then eliminate your entire monetary contribution and see if that leaves you in the red or black. If you're in the red, see what areas of your budget you could do without or what areas you could reduce. Then start by living your life with your paycheck except sock it into savings and do not touch it at all--do this months before you quit. We did this for an entire pregnancy. We're just now getting to the point where that money is running out, so we are refinancing our house and I'm going to look for supplemental work soon. We do not have a lot of debt, so I can't imagine how those school loan payments will impact your budget.