has anyone been through this and what should i do?

I haven't been through this personally but have good friends who have. I think it depends on how important the full time wage is and what your employer will offer. One friend has gone back part time but has set shifts each week so that she can have a permanent child care arrangement. Another works different hours from her partner so that both can work but child care isn't necessary.

I would find it difficult to do part time if the hours were not the same each week. You may just have to try one and see how it works.

Have you considered trying an at-home daycare situation? This is what I'm doing. I watch other people's children in my home so that I can be a SAHM to my own kiddos. This way, you won't have to worry about day care for your own child, and you could possibly help another mother who desperately doesn't want to put her child into "regular daycare". I watch 1 little 7-month old baby and 1 after-schooler. It gives me the same amount of money as if I was working part-time outside the home. Plus, it's tax free.

Just food for thought!!

Good Luck!

Hi, I am just going through this myself. I had many, many sleepless nights, trying to find a way around leaving him at all. What I finally came up with is starting my own business. So more sleepless nights, and I came up with something which suits me, and I can work when I want, will make enough to survive, but most importantly, I do not have to leave my son. I can take him with me. There must be a talent you have that can have a dollar sign attached to it.

E-mail me if you want to.

EDIT: I think if that is not feasible then maybe try part time and slowly build up your hours. Ease both of you into the change. My plan had been to just work short shifts, gradually building up my hours over months. But then I came up with my other plan.

well i am a full time worker but i work at A department store so i can get phone calls and i have to work for 7 hours to pay the bills so i work from 9-4 and that works nicely cause i can get the kids up and take em to daycare and than pick em up and put them to bed later after sometime and than weekends i have off so if you are looking to save money idk what u can do but Daycare is always nice to have!!

Hope i helped good luck and congrats on SAHM

I tried 9 to 5 and went insane being away from my son. I made up excuses to leave early and called in sick for about three months and then knew it would not work so I changed my thinking. I literally HAD to work part-time for sanity reasons, and I ALWAYS found good jobs paying good money working the hours I wanted, usually school hours.

I got into sales for this reason - I found part-time sales jobs and worked 9am to 3pm from the time my son was 5 1/2 months until my son turned 13. I took him to school and picked him up every day. I was dedicated to finding jobs that gave me THE HOURS I WANTED and I always found them. I was a recruiter at a business school and gave talks at schools (so I had school hours) and I was a telemarketer and took morning to early afternoon hours, and I was a merchandiser.

I ALWAYS FOUND WHAT I WANTED AND MADE GOOD MONEY - roughly $25 an hour part-time. I do not have a 4 year degree. I had to take jobs that scared me...public speaking. I grew from the experience. Love will make you do funny things.

Get what YOU want. Don't limit yourself by your own thinking. BEST of luck! : )

Go with B. You won't need daycare, so that saves money, and you still have the day to play with your son. If you do A, you miss all day. When will you spend time with him. And part-time is O.K, but there can be no routine with pt tme.

Believe it or not the 1 to 10 pm hours would probably work best. When my oldest came along I took the "night shift" hours because my husband couldn't take them where he was working because he was also working at his own business in the evenings from our home. There was no day care costs which helped us out financially and when I got home from work I would get our daughter up and put her on the potty snuggle with her for awhile before putting her back to bed. Her and I got to breakfast together and "play" during the morning before I had to start getting ready for work. No I wasn't there to put her to bed but I was there when she woke up and getting her up in the middle of the night to go potty meant a dry bed the next morning since she was potty training, (no sheets to wash!), she also got to spend some "one on one" time with her father and that lead to daddy becoming more involved with his other two children and they had a very close relationship with him before he passed and they have some wonderful memories to take them through their lives of him.

This can be a great time for your little one to develop a relationship not only with you but with his father.

B- because even though you dont put him to sleep you dont have to pay for daycare and you get to spend more time with him during the day.

sounds to me like you have never worked.

Why don't you work part time like alot of women, because believe it or not, your not the only one with a child, we have people working hmmm 9 til 3, then others who do 8 to 4, ask your employees about flexible working periods.

.first you be a good mother and then .....

This was the ans I got by my professor Das when I was in your shoes 11 years back