Child care struggles - day care or babysitter at home?

Question

My husband and I are expecting our first baby in April. I am fortunate to have 16 weeks of maternity leave which will put me going back to work roughly around the beginning of Aug. I work full time from home remotely. I am really struggling with child care options. Given that I work full time from home and do have some flexibility in terms of being able to take small breaks during the day or to step away here and there if I need to I just don’t know what option is best. Do we put our baby into daycare or could we get away with not so much a “nanny” but a mother’s helper? Part of me would feel super guilty sending her to daycare when I am home working all day and would love knowing she’s in the other room or upstairs if I want to take a quick break to see her or comfort her if I need to. Would love to hear from others who have some insight or have the experience working from home and being in a situation like this!

Answer

i worked in a daycare for 3 years, i always tell people to hire a nanny/sitter. people would be shocked at things that go on behind closed doors even at ‘great’ daycares. i’m sure some really truly are great, but it’s not worth the risk to me until the kids are at least in school and can tell me exactly what’s going on.

Answer

At home would be a much better option (at least while you’re baby is still a *baby*), so that you would have more flexibility in being able to see your child in the event of an emergency without having to drive somewhere.

Answer

I would 100% hire someone to come to your home.

Answer

My daughter goes to daycare and it has been perfect for us. We are lucky that it it onsite at my husbands office. We pay quite a bit for it though but honestly I think it is worth every penny. She has learned so much and loves the social interaction with other babies (she’s 7 months old). She is so much more advanced than babies of my friends who have one on one care with a nanny daily. But they do have live video feed I can watch from my phone at any time (and I do watch it quite a bit during the day) so I know she is treated well.  And we can drop in anytime and my husband often does when he has a free moment. 
Every family is different with different needs so whatever works best for you. I cannot work at home so a nanny at my home is not a good option for me. Just wanted to chime and say not all daycares are terrible.  😊

Answer

I work from home full-time and my son goes to daycare. I tried the babysitter/nanny thing a couple times and it was not for us. He knew I was in the house and he spent a lot of the time crying for me which was very, very distracting and bad for my productivity. My sister helped me for a month or so at one point and she said she hated it because he knew I was there and it could be very hard to distract him from trying to get to me, by the end of it she was just coming to pick him up in the morning and take him to her own house for the day. Might be different if you have a bigger house, I just have one floor so it’s easy to hear things and he can see me pop in and out to go to the bathroom or grab a drink or whatever. I also found that daycare was cheaper, which is an important factor for us, the nanny was like 500/week while daycare is only 200/week. We use a licensed in-home daycare nearby so I can drop in if I want during my lunch. My son has always loved daycare and I don’t regret it at all.

Answer

I work from home as well. My son was with me until 11 months old. During your official maternity leave, focus on getting your baby into a routine and introducing different “hangout” spots around the house. We had morning walks when I would take calls, and then we would move to the living room where he had some toys and was gated in - and I would work.
If you need to use the phone often, know this will be hard. People don’t take kindly to children’s screams in the middle of a call. I would schedule mine during nap time and morning walks, and it still happened to me unexpectedly several times. Now that my son is older (almost 3) he’s in daycare just 3 days a week. The other days I play with him until he’s bored of me, then just bring my laptop to his room and work on the floor while he continues. But the very first thing they want to do is mash on your computer! So I’m much more productive on the days he isn’t here. 
I appreciate the social learning and growth my son has gotten from daycare, but also have somebody on call that can help me fill in those other days on busy weeks. He loves when he gets one-on-one babysitting and definitely would prefer that if he had the choice.

Answer

I've worked a lead teacher in daycare and as a nanny. 
always go for a nanny.

Answer

Once you hire some to come in you are an employer, so you need to deal with their taxes and benefits.

Child care struggles - day care or babysitter at home?

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