Opinion about child care options...

aishabyron · May 2012

Hello Fellow Preggers,

So my situation is... My husband and I had to relocate to a VERY small town 2hrs from family. My husband is a Doctoral candidate for Psychology (Psy.D) and he is in his last year working at a Prison 40 mins away from where we live. I am an LPN also working 40mins away from our home. Because my husband is an intern his base pay SUCKS. When we got preg. our income was amazing and with this internship it has dropped 80% . By the time baby will be born we will have 6 more months of internship pay then in April 2013 our income wll increase by 150% . So to get to the point...we were researching child care in the area...

Daycare at like a kindercare or childtime (those are the only good reputable -sorry for my poor spelling) is $875/mo. That is almost 75% of our income for the month

Nanny is about $20/hr which is 3,200 roughly (my math my be off) which is WAY past our income

me staying at home will take out our paycheck, but it wil save about 200/wk because of gas and since my husband is still in school he gets a decent amount of student loan money that will use to help pay house bills. That loan $ will then take over my half of the bills

I also could stay home and work PRN at night at a nursing home or hospital so we can have some income for me coming in..

ultimatly I am wondering what you guys do for child care and how your family is going to adjust to the newest edition and if you guys may have an option that I have not thought of....

Thanks ---sorry this is quite lengthy

JayMOOMOO · May 2012

Sorry to hear about your dilemma. You may have to sacrafice and work opposite shifts until you can afford it. Im an LPN but in school for RN BSN. My Husband is an Artist (entertainer) so he works from home we have a recording studio in the house. So he will be able to take care of our LO. When he has to travel, my sister lives 6 minutes up the street from us and she will keep the baby. I work as a school nurse so im out for the summer and all holidays.

[Deleted User] · May 2012

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drubie · May 2012

You might also look into whether you qualify for subsidized childcare - it would be worth it to hold you over for a few months. If you can't, I would do one of the options where you're working when your husband isn't, so you won't have much, if any, time in daycare.

hmp1 · May 2012

LoisLane23:
Longest siggy ever.

aishabyron · May 2012

I work at a donation slinic hrs are 7a-7p so working a night shift or a less desired shift is out the question. The LPN that responded?? How do you like you LPN-BSN program. I will hope to start a BSN program next year. I already have a bachelor that has a HEAVY emphasis in science so I'll only need 2 pre-reqs. so far

kelnyc · May 2012

LoisLane23:
aishabyron:

I also could stay home and work PRN at night at a nursing home or hospital so we can have some income for me coming in..

ultimatly I am wondering what you guys do for child care and how your family is going to adjust to the newest edition and if you guys may have an option that I have not thought of....

Thanks ---sorry this is quite lengthy

I would stay home or pick up a job that allowed you to work when your DH is off. That way, you can avoid some child care costs. Can you do PT daycare? We have T in daycare 2x per week and we are both working and pay a decreased rate, only paying the days she is there.

If you can suck it up for a few months, maybe work extra while pregnant to make up for it when the baby is born, you will be ok once DH gets his $$ back.

This is basically what we are planning too. We aren't moving back to Brooklyn until LA is a few months old, and the waiting lists are already outrageous for next year! So, we'll get a nanny for 3 days a week and then each work from home 1 day a week so that they are only there part time, even though we are working full time. Once a spot opens up for us at a daycare center, the nanny goes away and we pay less for PT daycare instead. We will have a pretty sizable amount in savings by then to supplement H's income (like, over $25k, but some will be eaten up by the cross-country move costs) if I am not working for a while, until we find a good nanny that we can afford.

kelnyc · May 2012

LoisLane23:
Longest siggy ever.

Dude, right?!

JayMOOMOO · May 2012

LoisLane23:
Longest siggy ever.

if you mean mine its not the siggy. My student came in and put her binder on my keyboard. It was laying on the spacebar. so i just saw this myself

opaque1997 · May 2012

Honestly? In that situation I'd lobby to stay home. I haven't taken the time to do this or really get serious about it so I'm no way an expert - but I have plans of some day opening my own business where all I do is consult couples on daycare options for money, time, location, etc. A few things I think are worth considering. With driving 40 mins away each way every day - you put the kid in daycare - then you drive - then you work - then you pick kid back up - you are finacially stressed and now you are exhausted.. that is worth some money.

Relying on loans can be scary - however you know that in the long term you will have more money in a short period of time - and thus can 'bank' on being able to pay it back.

A child under 1 in daycare (really any group care which it sounds like you are leaning towards) is going to be sick.. unfortunately - a lot. How does that work? (time off - but still having to pay for daycare on those days)

I'm kind of 'anti' home care - but sometimes they are the BEST options. Have you looked into that? Or could you work something like 2 days a week and do a nanny share or kid swap with someone in yoru community (or at the hospital?)

Night shifts may be a good option for you - another thought on that - when will you have time to see your husband? Is your marriage set up that that is ok? (some are - and some struggle)

SO I hope I didn't add to it - bottom line - in my opinion in my life faced with those choices - I'd find a way to stay home (and coupon, penny pinch and do everything I could to save money during those months)

JayMOOMOO · May 2012

i love it! i can do some classes online, but sometimes the schedule only have that class as a campus class and i have to go.

Dncr251 · May 2012

Sry about your situation! Have you researched any in-home daycares (if that is an option you would consider). Usually they will be a little less expensive and you can interview beforehand to make sure you are comfortable.

tiffhiam · May 2012

My hours are crazy at work and our baby would have to be in daycare all day from 7 or 8 am until about 8 pm which I dont know any daycares that are even open that late plus I dont want someone else raising my baby. So I am cutting back to part-time and working opposite days as my sister so she can watch the baby while I am working and I can watch her kids while she is working. This is the hardest part about the baby for us, its gonna suck missing my whole check but it would be even worse to not be with my baby.

Good luck!!!

dragossoul84 · May 2012

We decided for me to be a stay at home child care in our area is so expensive I would literally be working to pay for the day care. We have money saved and I do what I can to cut coupons and find the best deals on things to save more.

garnet10 · May 2012

Are you really say you are paying 200/wk in gas. That would mean you are only netting 400 a month. That is not worth it. I would stay home and research what programs are available to you and what sort of income you can make from home or at night. Maybe private in home health care at night. Even babysitting in your home, or a few night shifts at a grocery store, Walmart etc.

marisha1021 · May 2012

I have friends that work that do in-home day care or nanny shares (1 nanny, 2 families, less cost). We are considering a nanny share as well for this reason, and some days the kids are at your home, and others at the other kids house.

teresamartini11 · May 2012

Does your husband have weekends off? If so you could work weekends. If you don't mind doubles you could work 2 doubles a week and it would be almost full time. You could also look in to low income child care programs like head start.

Daniebanes · May 2012

Hi there!

I have just started looking into our childcare options and me and hubby are in same boat as you. My job provides daycare at a "discounted" rate, 900/month for only 3 days a week! It is laughable. We both work and 900/month is too much for us to spend right now. I do have the flexibility to work from home twice a week which means I am only looking at 3 times a week daycare.

I am doing some research around my neighborhood and the prices are rather high especially for 5 days a week. I found a place that is 750/month for 3 days a week.

Good child care is expensive! Right now I am not sure what we are going to do. Unfortunately, I must work that is not an option.

Hopefully the grandparents will offer to help out a bit! Luckily for hubby and I family are very close in location to us.

Goodluck to you

aishabyron · May 2012

Thanks for ALL the suggestions!! They really helped and allowed me to explore other options that I had not thought of. But when the hubby and I looked at everything on paper as far as projected costs of Low income daycare with me working we decided that me staying home we would spend less $$.

I also forgot to include that once the LO is born my check will drop signifigantly bc it will be on my health insurace.

We decided that I would stay work for 2 weeks after my maturnity leave while my mom comes up and watches the baby. Once I return to work I will put in my 2 weeks notice. After that I will sign up for medicade (wrong spelling) for myself and the baby. Then once the HUBS becomes licenced in April we will go off of that and go back to major medical.

I would only just put the baby on gov. insurance, but I have severe asthma and going w/o insurance for a month would be detrimental to my health.

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