Daycare vs. nanny while WFH

[u/Cautious_Optimist_]

Perspective needed. My husband and I both WFH. We’re trying to quickly decide on childcare for our first little one who will be 3 months old when we need care to start. We were originally set on finding a nanny to watch our son until he is mobile and verbal, but have pivoted to strongly considering daycare. The high cost of a nanny in our area (at least $750/month more than daycare that could be put towards a 529 or other investment account for our son to use down the road) and the thought of him crying throughout the day in the next room while we work are reasons for the pivot. Both of our jobs can be high stress with days filled with constant meetings and I already struggle hearing him cry in the next room with my husband when I’m not working - having him away from the house so we can focus on work seems more manageable. At the same time, I don’t like the idea of our 3 month old going to daycare with a 5:1 teacher infant ratio and the increased risk of him getting sick, plus some workdays are slower where I love the thought of being able to spend some extra minutes with our little one in between meetings/work tasks. My husband supports whatever I’m comfortable with doing to make sure I don’t have regrets later on. I keep going back and forth on what the right thing to do is, but need to make a decision in the next few weeks. Any perspective on other experiences with this would be very appreciated!

[u/grad_max]

My mom watches my kid at our house while I WFH. He's 2.5 now and while I have enjoyed being able to see him more, it has absolutely made it more difficult to focus at work. If I wanted to prioritize my career (and could afford it in my area) I would have sent him to daycare. It's less of a problem now but in the baby days it was very hard for me hearing him in the other room constantly.

There's pros and cons as you know, but if your job is demanding and you need minimal distractions, daycare is better. It also allows for more flexibility to run errands etc without feeling like you need to bring the kid along. If you want to see your kid more often especially in the early days, the nanny is worth the monetary and career sacrifice.

[u/Emotional_Win9441 → u/grad_max]

The focus thing is so real - I had similar struggle when working from home office and could hear everything happening in house. For me the distraction was too much during important calls and deadlines

Daycare at 3 months does seem early but if both your jobs are demanding it might be better solution in long run. You can always reassess later if things change with work schedule

[u/Rough-Organization73 → u/Emotional_Win9441]

Can you put noise cancelling headphones in? I love listening to music while I work.

[u/Cautious_Optimist_ → u/grad_max]

I so wish we had family close to us! That would make this so much easier.