do people who have 2 kids work? and what sort of childcare do you have?

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considering options ds went to a nursery but might niot be affordablke with 2 kids, wsondered what everyone else does.

you muddle through and use the whole lot of child care as and when it is necessary. From very young to school age as follows:
Pre- school
I had help from my mum
Nursery (used about 3 as they got older and we moved)

As they start school and have school holidays thats another matter: You become a real juggler then.
Nursery Student in Summer Hols from local college - friends daughter.
School Summer Clubs
Local Sports centre summer camps
Share days with other working mums who I know very well.

I work from home so that helps.

nursery.
had them close together.
v.expensive though, a nanny would've been cheaper but dd1 loves nursery.

DD was in nursery and I was working part time during the day. When DS was born we couldnt have afforded for me to go back to old job - even if i had wanted to.

I have to rely on a mix of dropping at IL's, childminder 2 afternoons a week and my Dad and MIL taking it in turns to come to us one afternoon a week. But, I have a job with hours 3pm till 10pm 4 afternoons/evenings a week so that childminder is only for a couple of hours. They charge about £5 + an hour per child around here and currently I dont earn over £10 an hour. Its only through family helping that we are surviving, tbh.

Will use nursery again when dc2 arrives - but we have such a big age gap that ds is already at school, so never needed to have both in nursery together. We do also have before and after school clubs available, and holidy playschemes based at the school.

Yes.

I work days and DH works evenings and weekends.

We cannot afford to pay for childcare for 2 children.

1. We found a nanny was cheapest. When we had 3 under 4 and both worked full time. My ex husband is a teacher. Also if they were ill they were in our house and the nanny wage did not differ depending on numbero f children and when the older ones started going to nursery school and then proper school she could do the taking and fetching too. She came to our house each morning and left about 6 or 6.30pm.

DH works shifts so has DD's some of the time and we are very lucky as my mum is a cm so has them when dh is working. They are both at school.

DS was 3 1/2 (and so on nursery grant) and DD was 5 months when I went back to work 3 days/week. They both went to the nursery until DS started school the following September when he started with a local childminder. There is no breakfast/after school club provision at our school. So currently DS is nearly 6 (in Y1) and goes to the CM before/after school 3x week and in the hols and DD is 2 1/2 and goes to nursery 3 days/week.

My childcare costs for 3 days/week are between £500 and £600 per month but will go down next September when DD starts to receive nursey grant.

We used to have 2 in nursery, now we have 2 in school (and sometimes after school club) and one in pre-school (and after school club). We did look into a nanny or au pair option but for us, even with 3, nurseries and after school clubs have been quite a lot cheaper. That's probably because we both work in very flexible jobs and can both take time off in emergencies. Also we (and our dds) like the institutional set-up - the dds are all happy in groups being told what to do.

DS1 started school 2 weeks after DS2 was born. The school has no after-school club and 17 weeks holidays per year. When I went back to work (4 days per week) a nanny was the best option, although not financially.

why not work from home?
you could set up as a childminder yourself

Both in nursery. Once the older one follows school hours, include afterschool clubs and au pair. I shudder to think how to cover school hols.

I used nursery initially, though it was expensive. Basically the whole of my dh's salary went on nursery fees, but he was happy to do that, as he'd just started the job and preferred to try to establish himself in the job than to give it up to look after the dds. (I was, and I suppose I still am, the main breadwinner...)

We moved house when dd2 was 18 months old and since then have used a childminder. Can't recommend it highly enough. Greater flexibility than nursery, probably slightly cheaper (may depend on where in the country you are) and a nice homely atmosphere.

full time use nursery, no rellies nearby. No vouchers from work either.

Live-in nanny. Both DH and I work in the city so sometimes the hours are unpredictable and we found this to be the most flexible childcare for us.

Mine are teens now but have used; grandparents, nursery, school, and a massive dose of swing door parenting or pass the parcel as lionheart calls it! Have also stayed at home, worked full-time, part-time and a jobshare. None of them were perfect, you just have to do your best.

I did work full time with dd1 ad paid a child minder. However, when dd2 came along in may I thought I might go back part time (I worked for Civil Service so quite good job). However, when I calculated how much I would be left ith ater payig a childminder fore 3 days care for both girls (dd1 in nursery half days until Sept) then it was not worth it. I therefore have taken a 3.5 year career break and got a part time job at ASDA 3 nights a week which pays me more than I would be left with after paying out for childcare.

Live-in nanny. When DS goes to school, we will probably get an au pair and use a childminder for afterschool care. So, the au pair would do domestic chores (laundry, clean kitchen, etc.) and the school / childcare run.

live out nanny for the DSs, 19 months apart. When we just had DS1 we had a live out nanny share

We will keep her as long as we can, but she LOVES babies, and having DC3 to keep lovely nanny is not really what I have in mind... No Idea what we will do next!

Mine are 3+4 we shoved them into bunks and got an Au Pair which so far is working well (childminder was doing to cost in xs £250/wk, AP is £65!)