I work part of the week in the office and part at home. I had to balance the cost of daily care for my child against what I was earning. If he would be in nursery the whole week, it wouldn't be worth it, hence the split between office and home.

Having said that, it was important for me to get back into the work place even if we were a bit out of pocket because here you are at a disadvantage if you have been out of work for a long period of time.

Finding childcare was a bit of a nightmare and we started well before our baby was born. One lady in a nursery told us with a straight face that they had a 5 year waiting list for new intake. Fortunately, we found a suitable nursery which could take him and he's a happy bunny there.

We found our nursery by spending ages with the phone book and internet ringing around everything in the Zurich area. We were invited to visit a few where they kind of "interview" you, which was err.. interesting, and from there we were able to select one.