anyone else already thinking about childcare?

LadyBirdPgh · April 2012

I haven?t even had my first appointment yet but I?m already stressing about what to do when I have to go back to work after giving birth! Struggle money/health insurance wise to stay home full/part time or suck it up and put LO in daycare? Anyone else struggling with this decision?

daniellemiddleton · April 2012

I feel the exact same way! I don't know if it worth it to put him/her in childcare as it is so expensive around here and about half a month's pay anyway. Decisions!!

anniebmaher · April 2012

Yes !!! I am 6 weeks and my husband and I had a long talk about that last night. I would LOVE to stay home - but it does not make sense. BUT Daycare is SOO expensive! I am totally right there with you!

blabbe · April 2012

I have my 8 month old in daycare right now and its so expensive. When I have LO in November I will be a SAHM. Theres no way I can afford x2 in daycare. I wish I would have stayed home with my first to begin with. I can barely keep up with housework right now and Im so tired! I think it will become clear to you when you're on maternity leave what decision will be best for your family! Good luck!

elisabethb29 · April 2012

Yes. I've definitely been thinking about it. Hoping to maybe cut down to 4 days a week at work, DH usually has one day off M-F (he works every Saturday though), so then that would only be 3 days a week at daycare... it's tough! Hoping to find a great in-home place, because it seems like those are usually more reasonably priced.

LadyBirdPgh · April 2012

I'm glad i'm not the only one! I'd pretty much be working for the Health Insurance after commuting and daycare costs but DH is self employed so our other options are not ideal. This is not going to be an easy decision

ejlynch · April 2012

I just got off Mat leave from DS (we get a year), now I'm trying to work enough hours over the next 7 months to qualify for another year of mat leave. We are very lucky to have FIL look after DS when I am at work but when the 2nd LO comes along there would be no way he could handle 2 kids. So I'm going to have to SAH, which I'm happy about but very nervous about finances!

Meagan0528 · April 2012

We have already started discussing this as well. But I have no idea what we are going to do. The hospital I work in has two child care centers, but they are expensive. I would love to go in home with someone we know, but so far we can't think of anyone...

sdwyer0202 · April 2012

I am beyond stressed about this! My dd is 12, and we were so excited that this summer she can be much more independent etc. Starting ove with the $1000/mo daycare bills freaks me out. as a PP said, that's nearly half my monthly income. I'm hoping to find someone at my church or DD's school that stays home and would watch him/her for a reasonable price.

mick64 · April 2012

I took a 12 week maternity leave with DS and really really wanted to stay home, but since DH is self employed, we really needed me to work for the health insurance plus a little extra cash. Fortunately I was able to cut back to 50%, and while I'd still love to be home full time, it's a nice compromise. Where I work I get full health insurance benefits working 50% or greater. Only about $100 comes out of my paycheck for our family insurance and it's really good insurance ($5 copays, free generics, no deductible etc). DS is in an in home daycare that I love, but I have thought about possibly having a nanny part-time when baby #2 arrives. Mostly because it would be so much easier to not have to get 2 kids ready and out the door early in the morning. We live in a college town, so my thought was to maybe find a college student from our church, but we'll have to see.

kerkkil · April 2012

I feel the same way, around our small town there is no more room for childcare because everyone is full so I need to start now finding an opening! I hope somewhere has a place open in January or I don't know what I will do. Never thought I would be looking into this so early in my pregnancy....plus it is soo expensive!!

IdahoLakeLady · April 2012

Something to keep in mind when considering giving up a job to SAH: don't look JUST at your net pay, look at your gross compensation. A lot of people make the "Day care is too expensive, it's better for me to stay home" decision without taking into account the loss of employer-contributed retirement or other benefits.

For example, my net compensation is about $2,000/ month. Day care will be $750-1,000. DH makes enough money that I could stay home, but I'd be giving up $1,800 in retirement savings, health insurance premiums, gym membership, graduate school tuition reimbursement, etc.

I FULLY believe in a woman's right to chose to do whatever is best for her and her family. I posted the above information as a reminder to look at the FULL compensation picture, not just the net income vs. cost of daycare.

... regarding childcare for us, I have two friends having babies this fall too. We're talking about splitting a nanny...

srleine · April 2012

I run a licensed home day care, so I kind of have the best of both worlds. I get to be with my kids all day while still earning an income. Although, running a day care is a lot of hard work and long hours. Once my kids go to school I will probably do something esle. My children count in my ratio, so its not really like I'm saving money, because they are taking a spot that I would get paid for. But I love love love being with my daughter all day and I can't wait to do the same for this baby.

CarolinaGirl82 · April 2012

If you feel you can't afford daycare, maybe you can look into a nanny. I know it seems like it would be more expensive, but you can find some amazing women to watch your children one-on-one in your own home for much less than some of the exorbitant daycare tuitions out there. I work as a nanny in my town, and generally find my jobs through sites like Sittercity and Care.com. These sites allow you to see if nannies have had background checks run, all of their education, certifications and qualifications, plus their hourly or weekly fee. And I see tons of women in their first tri, posting about needing childcare in about 6 months when the baby is born, they just want to get the searching and interviewing process done early

keiral · April 2012

CarolinaGirl82:
If you feel you can't afford daycare, maybe you can look into a nanny. I know it seems like it would be more expensive, but you can find some amazing women to watch your children one-on-one in your own home for much less than some of the exorbitant daycare tuitions out there. I work as a nanny in my town, and generally find my jobs through sites like Sittercity and Care.com. These sites allow you to see if nannies have had background checks run, all of their education, certifications and qualifications, plus their hourly or weekly fee. And I see tons of women in their first tri, posting about needing childcare in about 6 months when the baby is born, they just want to get the searching and interviewing process done early

Thanks for this!! I've been thinking of going the nanny route, but assumed we couldn't afford it. I run my business from my home. Technically, I'll be home, however, I do have to work (full-time or more), so I can't really be watching LO when working. I'm a photographer so office stuff is done at in home office and when I'm shooting, I'm on location somewhere. I would love to have LO be home, with nanny, while I'm also home, but working. That would be ideal! I haven't started the search process yet though. I figure I will take a couple of months off after LO arrives. I guess I should start this search soon though? So crazy!!

anao2020 · April 2012

We were discussing it before we were even TTC! We're pretty decided that DH will be a SAHD when I head back from my mat leave, but I'm active duty military. Daycare around here is astronomical!!

ParisDreams · April 2012

We have discussed this for a while also. DH is currently unemployed, and will be in grad school so it actually works out for him to be a SAHD. My benefits are fantastic, including tuition reimbursement for grad school. Once I'm finished with my Master's, hopefully DH can start job hunting again and we can switch off.

railcitybaby · April 2012

I totally am. Staying home is simply not an option, and I think that daycare is good for socializing kids, but I must admit that I am squeamish thinking about our tiny little potato being left in someone else's care. MIL has offered her services, but we don't feel 100% great about that, as there are already some boundary issues, and this would invite weirdness. So yeah, not sure what we will do.

www.railcitybaby.com

fusionbride · April 2012

I'm definitely going back to work, so I'm not struggling to decide b/w SAH or work. But I AM thinking about childcare! It is hard to figure out where to start researching and what to do when. We're thinking of moving from the city to the 'burbs so I'd be looking for childcare in a new area I am less familiar with... But I'm HOPING it will be a little cheaper and have less crazy waiting lists than the daycares in the city...

This kind of research is going to be a lot of work!

mccrazy · April 2012

Thinking, stressing, freaking out! Yes. There's no way we can afford for either of us to SAH, but affording child care will be a huge stretch for us too. Definitely won't be able to put much away for retirement or college the first year or two. The hospital I work at has a great daycare, but it's definitely not the cheapest option. What I do like about it though is that they don't close for holidays and are also open during inclement weather since obviously hospital staff can't stay home during a snow storm. It would be convenient for sure. I'll admit, I'm way jealous because my BIL/SIL get free childcare right now from my MIL and take it for granted. I'm sure she'll be burned out and not willing to look after our LO

sumati · April 2012

My boss was asking me to apply for another position in our dept. This would possibly allow me to work from home a few days a week. My mom is also about to retire from teaching and she has offered to nanny our LO after I start back to work. We can't afford to lose my paycheck as I make more than my husband.

JasonKristen · April 2012

I am already thinking about DC, but that is because I already have a LO in DC. They are getting a new baby there in June. She is scheduled for a c-section on Tuesday and I am nervous that DC won't be able to take our new LO. It is an in-home DC that is near our home and she is amazing with our DD! I am so nervous to tell her we are expecting!

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