I disagree with the above. 6 weeks was plenty for me. Like a previous poster said, it really depends on the individual.
1. How much maternity leave did you and your spouse/partner have? Was it paid?
I used 5 weeks with my first, 4 weeks with my second. It was fully paid. I saved up vacation time for two years in preparation for each. It was hard to leave them as sweet babies, but a part of me was also ready to get back to work. I had saved extra time to work half days, but I never needed to use them. I had vaginal deliveries, so my recovery time was much quicker than a c-section. I did get 2nd degree episiotomies with both, but after three days of being stuck in a hospital bed, I was ready to go home and move around. As another previous poster said, newborns sleep A LOT, but just in 3-4 hour stretches with maybe 30 minutes of wakefulness in between, so if you sleep with the baby, it's really not too bad at all. I finished reading the entire Twilight trilogy during my first maternity leave (haha), so I must have had a good amount of downtime. I was in so much discomfort by the last month of my pregnancy, that the delivery was like nirvana for me and the month after of actually being able to sleep without my nose getting stuffed or hips slipping around, even if only for hours at a time, was completely luxurious. Our kids didn't sleep through the night until at least 8 months, and I nursed for 23 months each, and it was fine even working full time. Not saying it's not A LOT easier now that they are 4 & 7, but it wasn't anything like the horror stories we had heard. We were lucky that we didn't have any reflux or colic to deal with, but my SIL's baby now is even easier than ours were. We coslept so all I had to do was roll over to nurse at nighttime. Really, the discomfort of full boobs was the worst part of having a newborn. I am so glad to be done with breastfeeding.
DH's job is based on the tourist season, so he didn't have any time off. Luckily, it rained on the weekend of both deliveries, so he was able to be at the hospital with me. He gets winters off though, so he spends plenty of quality dad time with the kids.
2. How often did you have family come visit or help after the baby was born? What visiting schedule was most helpful?
My mom came to stay with us for a week the week after each baby was born. She did all the grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning, so that was really nice. My in-laws are local, and they help A LOT, but I actually liked the bonding time alone with DH and baby during my maternity leaves. We spent a lot of it just cuddled up in bed or on the couch.
3. What did family do at your house that was most helpful?
Left us alone. :) BUT, at 6 months, I was calling in all the babysitting time I could so that I could have grown up time again. We didn't have our first full night away until after a year, but it was glorious. ...except for the painfully full boobs.
Anyways, congratulations! You will be fine. We all survive, and many of us go on to have more. Either it really wasn't that bad, or nature finds a way to wipe out the pain and leave only a warm glow of happy memories. I'm good with both. Honestly, six months to about a year was probably the toughest time for me. When they are alert enough to want constant entertainment, but aren't able to properly communicate was the most tiring time for me. It gets soooo much easier after they can talk, but I would take the first newborn month again in a heartbeat.