In this paper I argue that the "balancing two lives" approach to motherhood and work has particular limitations for academic mothers. I interrogate the perceived oppositionalities in being mother, traditionally associated with nurturing, love and emotion, and being academic, traditionally associated with reason and logic. My purpose is to show that motherhood needs to be inscribed into intellectual work if the academic mother is to find a wholeness of self. A related point I make is that separating motherhood from intellectual work is tantamount to abandoning thinking and intellectual labour to be the preserve of a masculine terrain from which motherhood, emotion, love, nurturing is excluded. (Contains 5 notes.)