Have you guys figured out what you’ll do about childcare (assuming you need it) when baby is here? Especially if you have more than one under school age.

I’m due near the end of April with our second boy. Our son has been at the same daycare facility since he was 3 months old. He just turned two in November. I feel like the daycare has been a major part of why he’s so smart and outgoing. He loves going there every day, he loves his friends, and all the teachers love him.

My dilemma is, we literally will not be able to afford two kids in daycare. We’re barely making it right now and our cost per month would be almost double the amount we pay for our mortgage. That’s insane to me. I tried talking to the owner about it and she won’t budge on her prices. She’ll only give us a $50 additional child discount. I’ve looked into other places but their cost is about the same. All the cheaper places are completely full all the time. We also make too much to qualify for any state childcare assistance.

We have a close family friend who has offered to watch our son starting the first of the year. She would charge us half of what we pay for daycare right now. Then when it’s time for me to go back to work after baby #2, she would increase our charge by $100. She would supply all food and formula, help us potty train our oldest, and do some educational activities. We’d only have to supply diapers.

My biggest question is, do I take my son out of daycare, and away from other kids his age, so that we can save some money and try to get ahead with our expenses before baby comes? Covid closures haven’t been very good to us financially and our friend knows how bad we’re struggling. She wants to help us and this is a huge offer. I guess I just need an outside opinion...

Edit: thank you to everyone who has responded. I really appreciate it. We’ve decided to pull him from daycare and start the new year with our friend watching him. I’m nervous of course, but I think it will all work out fine. Thanks again ☺️