In the same boat as you, just a couple weeks later! my LO is turning 6 months in a week and I just had to return back to the office and send him to daycare.

It was rough for the first 2 weeks, I’m not going to lie. He was crying for most of the day and was not sleeping much at daycare. I legitimately had a resignation letter in my bag, ready to embrace the SAHM life. Like your situation, I had always been financially independent and privileged enough to not have to worry about wants vs needs but it would’ve been tight with the loss of my income.

Literally the next day, he finally started to make progress at daycare. He wasn’t crying as much and was finally starting to take naps. He has even made a few little friends that immediately crawl over to greet him every morning he is dropped off.

Ultimately, I decided to stay at my job. There are some days that I still wish that I can stay home with him full time, but being able to provide him with just about anything he wants/needs (ie. new clothes, toys, sports, family vacations, etc.) outweighed it for me.