For Bryan Grossbauer and his wife, the decision was easy.

Before their son Finn was born, nearly three years ago, they discussed who would stay at home and handle the daily tasks of raising a child.

"We hemmed and hawed about it," Grossbauer, 35, of New York, told FoxNews.com. "We asked, 'What makes the most sense?'"

Grossbauer is a teacher by trade, while his wife, Erin O'Callaghan, is an attorney. The decision, like so many made over the kitchen table, took into account the household budget as well as the skills of the parents.

"With me being an educator I have experience with early childhood development and my wife, being an attorney, specializes in making money."

Nationwide, the number of stay-at-home dads has more than doubled in the past decade, as more families are redefining what it means to be a breadwinner. There were only about 81,000 Mr. Moms in 2001, or about 1.6 percent of all stay-at-home parents. By last year, the number had climbed to 176,000, or 3.4 percent of stay-at-home parents, according to U.S. Census data.