I am a new mom to a very sweet 3-month-old boy. I am lucky to work somewhere with a very generous (for the U.S.) parental leave policy, and am preparing to go back to work when my baby will be 4 months old. I'm looking into childcare options, and feel torn. In our area, daycare is very expensive (everything is expensive), and hiring a nanny will be more affordable. This is very surprising to me, but that's how the numbers seem to be working out.
I handle day care drop-off most mornings, which is at 8 a.m. The timing makes it hard for me to catch the ideal 8:20 a.m. train, which gets me to the office just after 9 a.m. - when everything runs on time. The day care is 4.5 miles away from the train station, where parking is first-come, first-served, and finding a spot can sometimes turn into its own adventure.