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/treeworld]

I had a nanny while wfh. I loved it. Not having to get baby ready and out the door saved so much time. I had a chill kid who didn't get upset when I left if I visited at lunch, and he got used to the nanny quickly. Mentally I also wanted him closer. I have 0 regrets even with the cost. Another thing that went amazingly is that a few months in we found a nanny share where they brought their kid to our house for 5-6 hours everyday. Still a 2:1 ratio and saved us money and my kid still got a couple hours solo with the nanny. And good exposure to another kid.

Hopefully not an unpopular opinion but I think there's almost no way babies are cared for in a really great way with a 5:1 ratio. If you do do daycare I bet you can find a better ratio. My state is 5:1 but I did find a daycare that did 3:1. Even on the few tours I saw of 5:1 daycares it made me sad, you just can't meet everyone's needs on a regular basis like that.