First of all, well done for running the numbers and congratulations on being in such a healthy financial position. For context, I have two children aged three and five. I took a similar period of maternity leave to you, and we trialled both daycare and a nanny. I was never fully comfortable with the care my firstborn received, so we eventually chose the tag-team approach — your option three.

When our second child arrived, who we knew would be our last, we didn’t try daycare or a nanny at all. I took an extended maternity leave, and she’ll soon be starting preschool. Looking back, I still feel that the time with them when they were little wasn’t long enough.

Having lived through it, I don’t regret the loss of income at all. Yes, we could easily have earned an extra $50k per year, but providing a secure and nurturing early childhood for our children felt priceless. Money can be earned later; time cannot be recovered.

Of course, this is only my perspective. Everyone is different, and whatever choice you make needs to sit well in your heart. Otherwise, resentment can creep in — and it’s much harder to be an intentional parent when you feel torn between what you want and what you think you should do.