Not sure which part time offer is better

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Morning everyone, looking for a little advice here.
My lovely DD has just turned 1, I’m a teacher in a senior school. As part of my return to work we agreed I would return home part time, 3 days a week or the equivalent. I have been given 2 set ups which are possible but I’m not sure which will be better and they want me to confirm by tomorrow evening. Obviously for timetabling reasons I won’t be able to change this once the school term has started or at least not with any ease.

Offer 1 - Work full days Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all day Tuesday and Thursday off.
Offer 2 - Work full day Monday and Friday, half day Tuesday and Thursday and all day Wednesday off.

We have 7 Lessons a day, half days would be staying until the end of the 4th Lesson (about 12.20) but leaving before lunch etc.

Now I’m unsure which to pick, DH thinks the second offer is better as he thinks shorter nursery days are better than long ones. I do agree that once DD is school age (though hopefully we will have another baby before then) the second offer would make more sense (breakfast club is cheaper than after school club and being available straight from school to do all the clubs etc. 3 days a week). But right now I’m thinking 2 full days off, no stress of getting up, dropping DD at nursery and getting to work might be nicer.

So AIBU to wonder what others would pick in this situation, the pay will be the same either way (equivalent of 3 full days).

I work Monday and Friday I get paid for those sneaky days off!!

you'll have to pay nursery though for the bank holidays

I actually think 3 full days in nursery is better than two full and two half, because I think it will be unsettling for her that sometimes she's picked up at lunch and sometimes not. On her full days she'll likely be wondering where you are come lunchtime.

Also two clear days off will make managing sickness easier potentially.

Offer 1 for me. Whole days off are lovely and you have more time together.
Also later on you may want to do something else those days.
plus, less to plan lesson wise.
I also bet on half days you’ll have creep in of stuff like inset, cover, switches etc when you are physically on site ‘anyway’ and it’s just a ‘few hours, we always stay after school’

Definitely option 1. Two days off is better quality time than one day/two afternoons. I’ve stopped doing a half day now as Half days have a habit of time creep so instead of leaving at 12.20, it’ll be 12.30, 1pm or later before you get out the door - time for which you are not being paid.

Also, if DC is doing long days at nursery on Mon/Fri, the half-days might be unsettling. (Is this a long day or a short day today? They might get upset after lunch on their long days) whereas 3 long days is a more stable routine.

Fun activities/groups tended to be in the mornings rather than afternoons or you can do something for the whole day. Afternoons can feel a bit squeezed between lunch and having to get back for dinner/bedtime routines.

Oh definitely offer 1! There is no way I'd consider offer 2, as essentially it's 4 days you have to go to work and not 3. I always feel like once I'm at work working I might as well just stay. Afternoons off will then often just turn into doing jobs, preparing tea etc.
Having 4 full days off a week is amazing (I did this with my first) it's a big difference to have more days at home than you work and much better work/life balance. Plus both of mine hated leaving nursery through the middle of the day and seeing their friends staying to have fun. Especially when they might have head through the day "this afternoon we'll go in the garden and make paint bubbles 🫧 or similar".
Plus it meant we had so many amazing days out and trips to the beach, theme parks, museums etc I loved those days.

Offer 1 gives you much clearer boundaries. The danger with offer 2 is that you end up staying a bit longer to “just finish something off” or the “could you just cover another lesson as x is ill” and your Half days suddenly become. 3/4 or full days. This then puts added stress on childcare arrangements.

I have always worked full time myself but managing those working part time have almost always preferred the full day off option so that the time is theirs and there is no job creep.

1 without a doubt

Offer 1.

My dc did mostly full days at nursery plus one half day. The half day was quite stressful as I'd be rushing to get there in the morning, then rushing to get him before they invoiced me for a full day (they had to be very strict about hours as people took advantage). The half day wasn't half the price of a full day either.

1 definitely. 2 half days will be much more expensive childcare wise than a full day. Your might also want to sleep after the half days so you might be restricted in what you can do in the afternoons.