My husband and I never had to pay for childcare before. I worked part-time in the mornings and he worked the afternoon/evening shift, so we were able to split childcare duties for our son. My husband lost his job last November and we have since had our second child. My husband recently found another job, this one a day shift. While thankful for his new job, it came with a significant paycut.

We had a friend lined up to watch our two boys for a significantly lower price than any daycare could offer. When that fell through just a couple of weeks before going I needed to return to work after my maternity leave, we were left scrambling. After searching for childcare, we made the decision for me to quit my part-time job because the cost of daycare would be the majority of my salary. The rest of my salary would be eaten up by the cost of insurance and groceries since our kids would no longer be eligible for Medicaid and WIC. It just didn't make sense for me to return to work.

We would love to get to a point where we are no longer on financial assistance and can afford for me to work, but we are not at that place right now. It's a sad day when a mom has to quit a needed job because of the cost of childcare. I was lucky in that I had a good paying part-time job. I will be looking for a work-from-home job, but those are also few and far between. At least my children will be with me instead of in substandard care due to costs.