So here we go again - to my constant subject of childcare. We're really getting down to the wire (I'm due end of August) and we still can't really decide what we want to do. I'm leaning towards bringing baby in to work with me as I did the first one and keeping Izzy at home. All preschools in this area are a little cheaper than what we pay my brother, and Izzy doesn't turn 4 until Nov anyway. Plus, there's the "risk" factors. Many childcare places will not take your child when they're sick, not past certain hours, etc. And unfortunately our lives are just too unpredictable. My husband works 3 hours away so I have no back-up if she should need to be picked up for whatever reason. My brother said he'd be willing to stay on another year, which is great. We are going to give her a little more structure and see how things go.
As far as bringing the baby into work, I was thinking of this:
- Four weeks maternity leave
- Come back to work alone 2, 3, 4, 5 days per week to extend over first month back
- Start bringing baby in for 5 days a week, 1st month
- 4 days a week 2nd month
- 3 days a week 3rd month
- 2 days a week 4th month
- 1 day a week 5th month
By this time baby will be 6 months old and I think I'd be ok leaving her with her sister and uncle at that point. I will be breastfeeding the whole time, so I'll probably voluntarily extend my hours to cover the extra time spent with baby. Also hoping that my brother will have his own vehicle by then, giving me a little freedom if she needs to be picked up. With this in mind, I now need to get together my proposal for employers. They were so wonderful last time I really want to just lay out everything this time to show I am committed to my new duties and what to expect from me with the baby. We have a few empty offices here, so I am going to ask to turn one into a nursery (and then I just freaked out because we don't even have a nursery ready at home yet!). So I need to think of the things I will need to have here:
- Diaper Pail
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Breastpump
- Swing
- Extra Clothes
- Crib/Pack N Play
- Bouncer Seat
- Toys
I think I need to add some things to my registry! I do think we have some stuff still in basement from Izzy, maybe those things will do for office items. Oh dear! I better spend the next 10 min or so looking over what I've got. Meanwhile - here is a great pic of Izzy at the office when she was little, and yes, she is sitting in a file cabinet (it's work-themed Anne Geddes style):
