Keeping first child out of nursery?

Hello, I am a working Mum 4 days per week and my boy (20mo) goes to nursery for those 4 days. We don’t have a village to help with childcare. Our second baby is due in June and I will be off work on maternity leave for one year. I was thinking of still sending my son to nursery? I found the first year of his life very difficult, with PND and PNA, so I’m worried about overwhelming myself. Anyone in a similar situation? If so what are your plans? Anyone have any advice etc? Thank you x

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My daughter goes to nursery term time and will still be going when I'm off with baby #2. I'm even getting the husband to take a few weeks off over the summer holidays so I'm not with a 6w old and a 23m old by myself haha

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My son will absolutely continue going to nursery when my second is born! He loves it, it's good for his own personal growth and routine, plus allows me time for new baby x

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We will still be sending our first born to nursery 2.5 days a week, it would be more if we could afford it 😂

I remember how difficult the newborn phase was and I’m not about to do it again PLUS an energetic toddler that doesn’t nap!

Also I doubt my toddler will be having much fun with us being at home with baby most days, especially in the beginning. She’ll get a lot more out of nursery than she would being at home with us. I feel like it’s a win win situation for all.

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My first two have 15 months between them. I kept my daughter in nursery for the first 6 months but dropped her down to two days a week while I was on full pay and then when I dropped to statutory pay I took her out of nursery just to save some money for the second 6 months. It was full on but looking back I’m so glad I got extra time with her as well as my baby and they truly are the best friends you could imagine. My husband’s in the army and we lived hundreds of miles from family so it was massively overwhelming at points, especially when my husband was away for months at a time. I would keep your son in nursery to start with and just see how you feel, no rush in making a decision right now. You’ll know better how you feel when babies arrived and settled into a bit of a routine x

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I plan to keep her in full time but once I feel things are more under control/sleep improves, i might not send her in every day or might do shorter days so I can also spend time with her. (If I take her out there is a good chance she won’t get back in when I need to return to work).

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Will definitely be taking my first to nursery still, some 1:1 bonding time with baby will be nice, once I go back to work they will both be in 2 1/2 days but will have opposite half day so I can have a morning/afternoon on my own with each of them 🙂

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If you can afford it and make it work with pick ups and drop offs, I'd be keeping him in nursery. It'll be nice for him to not have everything change all at once too. There's going to be 5 years between my two, so my first born should still be in school full time when I'm due in June

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We don’t have a village either. It’s just me and my husband. Our little boy is two years old, and our second baby is due in June. We’re not planning to send our boy off to childcare until he’s three, so I’ll be looking after both kids completely on my own, except for the first few weeks when I’ll have some help, as the second baby will likely be born via C-section. My husband will be home for the first two weeks, and then my mum will stay for another two weeks to help with my toddler while I recover from the surgery.

No doubt it’ll be hard especially in the first 3-6 months but it’s already likely to be a big change and loss for our older one, not getting as much attention from me, so we didn’t want to add to that by sending him to nursery and giving him even less or making him feel like he’s being replaced.

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Mines still going to go to nursery but only 2 days a week. Had to find a balance because she loves it but it’s expensive!

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Thank you all for your responses. They have all been so helpful and reassuring! 🫶🏻

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