Really looking for opinions as to what to do

[lizardqueenie]

Posted on here a few weeks ago for advice regarding what new career path I could take but now I feel quite confused again about what to do & also what to do for childcare for my dd.

Bit of backgroup, i was on mat leave for one year from civil service job & at the end decided to take voluntary redundancy. I was really not enjoying my job at all anymore.

So now I'm at home ft with dd 17 months. She is 2 in oct but I have out her name down for new local nursery to start in Aug. had to get her a place as they were filling up fast. Have got a decent payout from redundancy & have paid off all my personal & student debt. DH is managing all the bills at the mo except food shopping & activities for dd which I pay for.

I will have to work eventually but we would also like to have another baby at some point. I'm 30 so feel time is fairly on my side.

So my dilemmas that I'd really like your opinions on are:

1. should I return to work before having another dc. Taking into account redundancy money won't last for ever, nursery is bloody expensive but do-able if I find the right pt job. If I have another dc then I'll want to have some time at home with them so how does that figure with no pay but paying for dds nursery time?
2. should I look at preschool place for dd rather than a ft nursery place for a couple of days a week. This would mean perhaps starting dd at pre-school when she is relatively young & also then trying to find work around pre-school hours.
3. should I take dd to nursey for 2 days a week, my mum have her one day allowinge to work for possibly 3 days & then move her to an actual pre-school web she is slightly older given the cost of private nursery?

This is completely doing my head in(and I'm sure that of my friends too as I keep going around in circles) I think it would be easier if I had a clearer idea of what I want to do but I'm really stuck.

And if you have read all of that, thank you & any words of wisdom/ advice would be much appreciated :)

Given that you do have several options, why not have a good look round at what jobs are available?
Part time can be mornings or afternoons rather than whole days, but it depends on the job.
When you see what you could be doing it may help you make your mind up.

Thanks hanging I've kept my eyes peeled
To see what is about. The type of thins I've seen are receptionist / admin type
Roles. I think they would "fit in" if that makes sense but not really sure of I want to do that forever but maybe it would be good to do for a while & earn some
Money & then go for something else if it comes up.

Does anyone else have any ideas about my muddle?

If you are happy and money is ok, then maybe have another baby now? By the time baby is born your DD can go to a pre-school. Then you can re-visit at the time of feeling ready to go back after DC2.

To add, we do 2 days nursery, one day with grandma and it works pretty well. However, I feel that 4 or 5 mornings might be better at some point in the future, so am thinking about a pre-school if we move.

Thanks Branching. How old is your Dc?
Ooh that sounded scary when you said have another baby now- he he, gave me the willies! (not in that way of course!)

Ah yes so that's another thing- whether it's a good idea to change from nursery to an actual pre-school where they go 3/4 mornings or a full day here & there. I wonder if they resettle ok?

I do worry about getting another job though having had time out of the market for so long and also, as much as I love my dd to bits I do feel like I need some time to myself but saying that I could always use a crèche at the gym for an hour or get my mum to have dd for a day whilst I actually get some housework done!