It's certainly a hard one but as someone else said, often the thought is worse than the reality.
I work a 5-day fortnight and have done so since DD was 11 months old. That has been really, really good especially as DP is a shiftworker and often worked 9 days straight which meant I didn't really get a break.
I find that I really do need a break from the routine of looking after DD and we are lucky that we qualify for in-home care so someone comes into our home to look after DD.
I think you have a few options. Perhaps look at your budget again and see how much longer your savings will last. Sometimes, it's helpful to give ourselves a milestone and say that we're going to stay home for 12 months.
Otherwise if you don't think the money is going to last, make the preparations to go back in Jan. You can always change your mind OR resign and find an alternative that suits you better. But really you won't know how you feel until you do it.
Tricky question. I hate thinking about this too and I'm only 26wks pg!
I have a friend who is a teacher and she went back when DS was 12 months I think... she has also gone back PT, I can't remember what allocation, but she works four days but only an hour or two on each day.
So she has a little time each morning away from DS and then is back to him.
She loves it and it is working well for them.
I think the key is making it an empowered choice - if you feel like you "have" to go back then you will end up resenting it and missing your bubba. Whereas if you sit down, look at the finances and say "Right, if I go back these two days, we can afford to do X, Y and Z" and get motivated for going back, then it'll work.
You need to make the decision that is right for you and not feel like you're being forced into it.
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