Coming from a culture that really sneers at moms putting kids in an institution before they turn 3 (or some 4 since the maternity leave you can take is 4yrs), I think it is great if you can use day care without feeling guitly of being a bad mom, haha...

I also agree it might be the cost that turns your hubby off it, but honestly, you need to get a few hours off to take care of yourself or the house, recharge, etc. The b*tch about being a stay at home mom is, you never clock in and out. Even if you get a sitter, she is not supposed to help out with the house chores but it is expected from a stay at home parent while you 100% take care of the kid to also clean up and have the household running smooth. While if you went for job, you clock in, and out, have a lunch break, some social life, and can even find a time to pee without having a little monster banging on the door... One great advantage is that when you need to start looking for a job then having a child already accustomed to being withouth you makes the search and interviews a lot easier.

I'd say you know the best what's good for your child. Some children are like fish in the water and thrive on group setting, others weather the separation poorly. Just try and you will see. I would also try with a playgroups first, since you can see what your little one will need (in terms of language, food, independence...if she frequently checks upon you still being there, etc). It is smoother to also have a little system of leaving your child first tiny bit, then increase the amounts and see how she has adapted. Hautes Garderies in malls are great for this (if you find a good one where teachers engage with kids), because they only cost 4fr/hr (in our area) and you can leave your child there only for a few mins. We also went for a sitter first, to transfer a child from being just only with me to being one on one with a stranger (we had a really good one...sniff), since we were also trasfering to another language.

With health issues, it is not always true that what does not kill you makes you stronger, for the little ones.. How much can a child tolerate a spell of one infection leading to another one really depends on the indiv kid. A friend has been put into a nursery early before she had a chance to even develop a decent immune system and was getting infected constantly. Apparently as a result of her immune system being so exhausted, she just collapsed into hospital care and diabetes. I'd ask what the policy is in the daycare of keeping/returning fever kids, obligatory vax, etc.

I would assess if the quality time your child is getting there corresponds with your expectations, money and health impact (and your nerves). But overall, 2 is a good safe time to start, they really do look for more stimuli than their good ol' borin' mom. It is lovely to have your child also get used to being disciplined by other non-related grown up and have different rules than at home.

Most parents I know had issues over leaving their kids in daycare (as opposed to their kids having troubles settling down). I'd investigate why your other half objects, too.