I was just surprised, and welcomed the news he would be staying. I hadn't started interviewing and wouldn't have until I knew of their plans but I had my ad up on here advertising for September. I guess because daycare in Toronto is so expensive, I didn't think it would be affordable to anyone. It definitely wasn't an option for me if I wanted to choose that route.

I loved having my older daughter home with me when my 2nd daughter was born. I had children so I could be with them (which is why I opened a HDC) and it was an amazing year. Your second and subsequent maternity leaves are definitely different then when you had only one baby. When you have one baby, you are focused on just that little life but having a second child forces you to do things differently and i think it was for the better for me. With my first baby I stayed home in my PJ's in the beginning or spent my days cuddling with my child. With my 2nd I would be out of the house by 9 and off for a walk, to the park or whatever. I would take my eldest to a mommy and me gymnastics class with my 2nd daughter in a carrier. We would do swimming lessons, story and singing classes and the baby tagged a long. I took both my girls just 5 wks and 23 mos on a plane by myself (with a stop over) to visit my parents in Florida. Would I have done that with baby #1, probably not as confidently anyways. Sure it is harder, but I loved every minute.