New mom Amy Poehler returned this weekend to “Saturday Night Live” for a last giggle and a goodbye to her loyal viewers as she prepares for her own sitcom on NBC.

News of Amy Poehler’s plan to leave comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live” broke out in mid-September, as “SNL” already basked in widespread critical acclaim and appreciation for its take on the 2008 presidential election.

The eighth season had started off brilliantly, with former cast member and head writer Tina Fey having returned for what would become her recurring role as Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin; Poehler portrayed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the opening skit, to the delight of viewers laughing their heads off across the nation.

Poehler has been a regular cast member of “SNL” since 2001; in 2004 she started presenting the parodic “Weekend Update” with Tina Fey, replacing Jimmy Fallon and when Fey left a year later, she co-anchored with Seth Meyers.

She made a surprise return this past weekend and took the opportunity to announce viewers from behind her “Weekend Update” anchor desk that this was her last show. Putting aside her usual naughty, acidulated humor, Poehler told the audience, “I love you and I will miss all of you very much.” Poehler called her experience with “SNL” a “dream come true.”

In an interview with Men’s Vogue a couple of months ago, Poehler joked that leaving the hit sketch-comedy show would be “really hard - Boyz II Men hard - to say goodbye to yesterday,” and described “SNL” as “dangerous, late-night, last-minute and star-studded.” She added that, “like any good drug, you need to know when to put it down.”

Poehler went into maternity leave in October; she and husband Will Arnett, of “Arrested Development” fame, welcomed son Archie on the 25th of the month. That weekend’s episode of the show included “Weekend Update” co-anchor Seth Meyers explaining he was accomplishing anchoring duties alone because Poehler was having a baby. Special guest Maya Rudolph and current cast member Kenan Thompson gave their own rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” for the new mommy.

While we may be quite certain to see Poehler return to the show in time, we can console ourselves with the thought that she will soon star in her own sitcom, a yet-to-be named project from the producers of “The Office.” While originally thought to be a spin-off of “The Office,” the show will actually be a brand new project. “The Office” writers-executive producers Greg Daniels and Mike Schur are on board and Aziz Ansari also stars.

Amy Poehler received SNL’s first ever nomination in the outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series category at the 2008 Emmy Awards.