How do you afford to be a stay at home mom? I'm terrified of having to leave my baby... But idk how…

I had 8w of unemployment pay that got me by, but really I just worked and saved so that I'd be okay until I could work again. Once baby arrives and you need to work maybe you can watch another child, elderly care, or pet sitting so that you can still be with your baby.

My husband and I planned ahead. I worked til I was about 5 months along and wic helped a lot when he got here. I started saving checks before I got pregnant I didn’t start buying things for him until after my baby shower.

With our daughter me working would have paid for day care. Husband worked his way into a raise.

With our second we are buying a house, so there is serious talk about me going back to work evenings for a few hours, and he watches the kids. That way we don’t have a day care bill and we are both working.

My brother works out of the house and his GF runs a small in house day care, but yet sends her son to school and he is 3.... That was not an option for us! The kid is always sick too!!!

My husbands cousin had her mom watch her two kids while she went to work. But she screwed that up by getting drunk and totaling her moms pickup, that she was also borrowing.... Now she has a baby sitter and her baby daddy watch the kids.

I hope these different scenarios help.