6 mos! that's awesome! nowhere near perfect, but so much better than in the states.

it's a tough decision going back to work and feeling good about childcare is so important. i went back to work when ds2 was 17 mos. and have felt very good about the local Montessori. they have been very respectful of both his and my needs. Montessori seems to be most closely aligned with AP Principles. it's been a really good fit for us.

Would your profession allow....
....you able to bring your baby to work?
....work shorter hours take lunch breaks..can you work from home?
Can you downsize the home or adult *things* to stay home and not work?

I wish 6 months was the norm everywhere!

Can you job-share with another working mom? Is your employer open to offering childcare at your office location?

Also, maybe your local API group might have contacts?

Yeah I dont get 6 months for leave, luckily we will be able to survive on my husbands salary for at least a year when the new baby is born.

Is there API support group in your area? Or any other AP groups? You might find a mom like yourself who wants to stay home, but needs some extra income and perhaps you could pay her to watch your little one. Or, couold you watch a child in your home which would enable you to stay home while still bringing in some income? Best of luck!

Amy

If there's not an AP group, maybe check w/ your local LLL group & see if there's a Mom there who is Attachmenty who would be willing to watch your son.

Thanks for the suggestions

I have a childminder lined up (she will care for Liam in her home) but have not yet discussed things with her. We found her before we even really understood what our parenting "approach" would be. I kind of discovered AP once I started getting into slings/babywearing. It seemed to go along with the decisions we were making and made a lot of sense to me.

I may be able to go back part-time. I guess I need to broach the sling issue with the childminder and see if she is open to it. I am a bit nervous though because when I start talking about baby wearing to people they give me such a blank look. I have looked into a nanny because I do have some flexibility to work from home and then I would have a bit more control. But nannies in the UK are very expensive and it could end up where I am giving up most of my salary to pay someone to watch my child which makes no sense!

When I was looking for an AP friendly nanny I posted a wanted ad on craigslist with two specific lists. One was things we expected from our nanny (non-negotiables: no CIO, no hitting, feed on demand, etc.) and the other was things we would like to see (ASL baby signs, babywearing, handling cloth diapers, etc.).

It worked out very well for us. So I would say just be specific on the things you absolutely want to see from a provider. Even if they don't know what AP is they may still be doing AP style childcare.