I just got accepted to a residency today. I am very excited but at the same time I am worried. I will be working long hours and I will be on call in the hospital 3 nights a month.

It's my first baby... I am not sure if I could leave my baby and go to work. But many women do it right?

I have no clue how I am going to do this...
Any advise?

IMHO 3 nights a month wouldn't be that bad, but who would you be leaving the baby with?

My husband can take care of our baby at night.
I will need some help during the day. But I have no clue how nanny or day care works.. What's better?

I agree three nights a month isn't bad at all. The long hours part would bother me if it was in addition to the 3 nights a week on call. For me it would all depend on the total amount of time I got away from work. I like seeing my boy in the morning and then putting him to bed at night, but completely a personal preference. If you can work a few long days and then have a few complete days off I'd like that too!

As for daycare/ nanny. completely up to you. I have my son in a dayhome - so a private house not a daycare facility. I chose that method because then my son gets more one on one time as there are less kids around. She takes really good care of him, and he's happy going there.

I've been thinking about this too. I found out yesterday that I'll only be getting 58% of my wages on mat leave - about $700 a month. Not very much to live on. There's baby bonuses and stuff, but I'll probably have to work anyway. Do you have a younger sibling who's free to watch the baby? I'm going with private daycare after the baby's a little older...

For me, I know I could never be a stay-at-home mom, as I'm too much of a homebody and I don't think I would provide enough outside stimulation for me OR my children. But I waited till I was pretty settled in my career to have kids. My job is very flexible and I work a typical 8-4 day. When I have to stay home or take off to be with my son, my boss is great about it. Pretty much all of my coworkers have kids, including the bosses, so it's a very family-friendly environment.

As for childcare, it may not be something you can decide until after you have the baby and see for yourself the kind of personality they have. My son is very outgoing and loves a lot of activity. We have him in a wonderful daycare and he absolutely loves it. At first I worried that he would consider his daycare more of a home than his actual home, but I couldn't have been more wrong. He's a very happy and well-adjusted little boy. He's also getting a great head start on his education. He's 3 1/2, takes computer and spanish classes, and has an excellent vocabulary.

Raising kids is a tough job no matter what. Make sure you do a lot of homework on different childcare options before you make a decision. Good luck!

First off - congrats on getting your residency!
And honestly, I would do what is best for you. I know that I will find it really hard to leave my little guy at a sitter or daycare, but knowing that life will be much easier for your family with you working a job like that, i say, if you do find a great sitter, I would work.
Just relax about it, I'm sure there are a lot of women that have had that same question, and there are many women that are very career focused that don't take the full year off like we're able to here!
How much time do you have to decide??

Thank you everyone for all the advise.
I never thought I would feel conflicted leaving my baby at home and pursuing my career. My little bud is changing me...
It is comforting to hear from other working mothers' experience. I hope my baby will be well adapted like your baby, journey.

I will definitely have to look into some kind of professional help because my older sister also has a job. My husband and I started asking colleague and friends about their daycare/nanny arrangements. Hopefully, it will give us better idea.

Yes, doing residency will definitely help me look for a better job and I will probably be able spend more time with my baby after that.

I sent email to the residency program asking about daycare options in the hospital today. I still cannot decide if I definitely want to work there because I have other interview scheduled.... I hope they will give me some time to think about it.

Just wanted to post you a note about working in Maternity EI. I think it is basically the same across canada (I'm in BC) and you can work while you are on mat leave but once your wages make up more than 25% of your EI they will start deducting from your EI payments dollar for dollar. For example I get $758 every two weeks (after taxes) so I am able to earn up to around $100 a week before they would start deducting some of my EI... So frustrating but I just wanted to let you know.

Thank you I was reading up on it too, and the way to avoid it being deducted is finding an under the table job - like casual babysitting. If the income isn't taxable, then they aren't allowed to touch it or your EI. I'm crossing my fingers that I can work at a meat market here where both my siblings have jobs and that the owner will just pay me in cash. (Or with meat, which sounds gross but it is the most expensive part of the grocery bill!)

I just had to be due on the day that treeplanting starts, lol.