Congratulations 
!!! That is a long labor.
Excellent news! Congratulations to everyone!!
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Is it wrong to laugh at our kids when theirs are being little speed runners and climbers and tantrum-ing?? LOL.
It’s the circle of li-i-i-i-ife!!!… 
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Congratulations, @gosmom! A baby girl! She will always be your wonderful Christmas gift! Enjoy every minute and every snuggle!
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I’m looking forward to sitting in my lounge chair and watching my kids chase their kids around a swimming pool, having a grandchild fearlessly walk to the end of a diving board and jumping in without a care in the world, knowing someone will save her while her sister has a death grip on her mother (me) knowing she’ll melt if she has to get a toe wet. (My kids were in 4 swimming lessons a week trying to keep everyone safe, the fearless one and the fearful one)
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My 1st grandson is almost 4 months old. He is of course totally adorable. My wife is his primary childcare provider (4 days a week-SiL is off every Wednesday).
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I now have 4 under age 2. I’m finding planning family events challenging with each kid having different nap and bedtime schedules. We are also finding it a struggle as one grandson is in preschool and brings home sickness and another has some health issues that his parents don’t want him to get sick.
I don’t have the stamina to watch kids 4 days a week. I was watching the oldest one day a week till he started preschool. Switched to another grandson one day a week. In late January I might add a 1/2 day to the first family who now have a new baby. Childcare costs are really expensive and any day I give them is $ saved.
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Twin A continues to display precociousness in math. She was the one who counted to 100 well before her second birthday.
Yesterday at dinner, she observed that 2 always comes between 1 and 3. (That’s the beginning of number theory.) Today, she told her Dad at breakfast that 30 is 3 10s. (She’s conceptualizing multiplicity/multiplication.)
All of this is completely unprompted and is something that was never discussed with her or pointed out to her.
She’s only 37 months old. and hasn’t even been to preschool yet.
Her younger brother, OTOH, has chosen to be the cutest little boy in the world. He’s pure grandma catnip. Every time I’m out with him, I get at least one (often several) women of a certain age who will come up and want to admire him.
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D1 observed that their nanny earns more than she (or her sister) ever did as a medical resident. (And has waaayyy more paid holidays and personal leave to boot.)
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DD1 just found out SIL’s Army daycare allowance got approved starting November - it is taking $1,000/month off their daycare cost for the two younger kids. That essentially matches what the difference in daycare cost would be if base daycare was available.
Older two children are in a private Catholic Academy that has excellent education - GDaughter1 is in Kindergarten and they are doing first grade work. I told DD1/SIL that their excellent education (K4 - HS) – hard to find what they have that is affordable in many other cities. Both have great job/job opportunities, and they can afford to get into a house when SIL’s career moved a bit more for assurance they will stay long term. It was a huge family move, with a 3 week old baby and 4 children 5 and under. Moving from rent house to purchased home will be a lot less work.
Excellent that the children are healthy, and happy. Everyone is doing well.
SIL may have 3 weeks of training away, so will plan to fly down when that comes about.
His promotion will also have an increase in his housing allowance, which those benefits are wonderful to have.
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D2 and I are going to watch the grand girls next week for 3 whole days. Daycare runs on the school schedule so it is closed. S and DiL were informed there was no work from home that week. I retired in August so I’m available.
Childcare is terribly expensive. We are helping cover the cost so they can stay in a safe, loving environment. It is more than their mortgage. GD1 started DK this fall so it went down a little, plus GD2 moved to the toddler room and that brought it down a little more.
I think I’ll be exhausted when I return home.
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Yes on the child care expenses, but at least with some employers they can have a pre-tax set up for child care expenses. Definitely cash flow necessary for children, especially in high cost areas. At least gov’t had recognized in the mid to late 1990’s to have more child care deductions and tax considerations for under 18 children. We paid child care for 2 children prior to some of this coming into effect.
The private school for K4 and kindergarten is less than the daycare for younger two siblings. BUT it is a necessary expense for two FT working parents in these households. I know a friend’s daughter in Atlanta has one young child and then had twins, so they hired a nanny. Her mother is in a close enough city to be a ‘rescue’ in the event of a hiccup in their plans. It turns out we (DH and I) were needed on this time between Christmas and New Year’s - DD1 could only take a few days or half days off, and SIL had to work half days this week. They didn’t know this when they invited us, but I suspected we would be needed. Not everyone can take off the days other people want off.
DD1/SIL don’t own yet, due to permanency of their location - as soon as they do know SIL has permanency in their city, to immediately search for a home to purchase (they already know what areas they like - more established neighborhoods). The higher interest rates have ‘deflated’ how much house/condo/flat people can afford - but some other factors have been driving up single family houses too.
Watching all four Gkids takes organization and structure. Having the younger two Gkids at daycare frees us up to have more time with the 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 year old Gkids on the activities they like, as well as extra things like games and their ‘fun’ things.
Yes, exhausting - in part because of all new routine. Also establishing the needed structure and listening to some whining, plus following up after with them. 4 1/2 YO needs to be reminded to go to the potty, and I make sure his underwear is dry and keeps them dry with proper pull down and pull up after toileting. Have to stay on one’s toes.
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One of my kids has the option of an FSA that can be used for childcare. His employer also has an arrangement with a daycare/preschool to provide a bit of a discount. They got a spot at 6 months but turned it down as this grandchild needs PT and OT weekly and they don’t want the germs a daycare brings. For them a nanny works best but good reliable ones are $25-30 and hour in their city.
Another now has 2 kids, one in preschool and they will need a nanny for the baby soon when she goes back to work. They love the preschool and will keep GS there but it would be cheaper to have a nanny to watch both.
The parents at least in their cities need to be making a good salary to afford childcare or it’s barely worth working.
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Tomorrow 3 year old GD is staying over at my place for the first time. I am going to take her out for dinner at a nearby restaurant tomorrow. On Saturday we are going to take a bus up to Rockefeller Center to look at saks windows, the tree and a visit to FAO Schwartz. We’ll wrap it up at a restaurant with a view of the skating rink. I think the most exciting thing will be the bus ride.
I was going to take her to the Central Park zoo, but D1 thought it maybe too much for me.
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That sounds like an awesome outing for the 2 of you.
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Sounds like a wonderful plan.
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We are in Park City with older S/DIL and their 2 kids (6 yo GD and 2 1/2 (well… as they say, 2 3/4) yr old GS. We have taken them skiing, sledding, to the library for music/story time, riding the parking lot gondola, they also rode the toboggan thing (til one attendant decided the little guy was too small, and he was NOT happy) and the 6 yo also went ice skating. Still planning to hit an indoor water park. It’s with the parents (well I often happily volunteer to stay with the little guy during nap time, and yesterday had both of them while I won/lost many games of uno with the 6 yo.). I’ve had the great opportunity to ski with the 6 yo and now I cannot keep up with her! (I am skiing more cautiously after last year’s broken bones). We had the little guy on skis twice! It was across between great smiles and happy faces and a total meltdown. But we are all glad he tried (we’ve usually waited until our kids and older granddaughter were 4 before trying skiing). Talk about exhausting! I am too old for this. Then again, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
eta: And while I think GS liked the ride on the chairlifts better than skiing, it was still a blast!
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That may be true for the years the children need daycare or nanny care, but they don’t need it forever. In the meantime, even if the “extra” money available because both parents are working is zero, remember that both parents are earning toward Social Security, putting money in a 401(k), and presumably moving higher in whatever organization they’re in and getting raises. When the kids are older, the family might only need after-school help. The cost will be considerably less but the financial benefits considerably more.
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Also large gaps in employment make job hunting a lot more challenging. Yup, been there, did that.
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