@stormie_renee OP, really listen to this - if your wife is not on board please do not try to persuade her. It is HARD on the body, on your relationship and especially for the first year. If you’re planning for her to stay home and she isn’t excited then she can easily get postpartum depression and rage and you will not only be unhappy around her but also fear for the baby’s safety and wellbeing. Nothing can prepare you for the reality of life with a baby until you experience it yourself and you both need to be mentally strong to not only avoid neglecting and harming a child who you feel is depriving you of every ounce of your independence and freedom, but also to support your wife in what will be some of the darkest moments you may experience until you get out of the newborn phase until around 5 -6 months.
The reality is that childbearing and rearing is fundamentally unequal. You cannot take on the entire burden or half of it by virtue of your biological sex and also the fact you most likely are the breadwinner who must continue earning. Even if you are not the breadwinner, the process of pregnancy and the fact it will essentially last an entire year, can destroy even the strongest of relationships.
Right now, it seems that you may not know the repercussions of what you seek and that’s okay - naivety is what allows our species to procreate and you will no doubt be happier long term with kids if that is what you believe you want.
However, in the short term it is hellish and you and your partner both need to be on board to make it work. If your mother looks back at the time when you were a child with rose-tinted glasses, just remember that that is all they are - rose-tinted glasses. It is NOT easy.
If you and your wife go to counselling and cannot seem to agree then you may need to part ways amicably. Don’t force this on her or ‘persuade’ her. Tell her it needs to be HER decision and that you do not want her to make the decision out of fear of losing the relationship. Time heals and if the decision is made to leave the relationship you will eventually move on with a new partner.