My little girl is not big on socialising with other kids she doesn't know - and even after nearly 6 months at nursery she's still struggling to fit in. I would prefer to have her in an environment where I can focus on her current emotional needs and worry about socialising with people we know before forcing her into the big wide world. (We don't watch TV.)
I definitely would be aiming to do it part time. Earning enough to keep things ticking over, not to have some sort of luxury lifestyle.
Childcare currently costs over half my monthly income so I hear you there.
If childcare costs over half your salary (totally believe it, that's why my wife had to give up work), then even part-time work is going to break-even for you. So really you only need to get 4hrs work done each day (assuming same hourly rate - although, as a freelancer, you should be changing much more).
I have 2 kids^: the 18mo still sleeps for 2-3hours in the middle of the day and even the 3.5yo will have a 1hour nap/quiet time most days. Assuming you've got that routine, perhaps your husband would like some quality time with the child for an hour after work? And that still leaves all the evenings and weekends totally free.
^ disclosure: male, married father-of-two, employed
My daughter was exactly the same at age 2 and has completely flip-flopped at daycare.
She was initially very reserved around kids (and still is around new adults), but is very social with the other kids in her daycare classes. It took a couple of years, but her personality and openness to other children is now commented on by her teachers and other adults.
She actively attaches herself to new kids in class and integrates them into the class. She's still not a very aggressive socializer with new kids in new environments, but she is much more open than I would have ever imagined.
Good luck - I don't have any advice other than to continue to trust your instincts, but wanted to let you the "fitting in" thing might change in unexpected ways.
My little girl is not big on socialising with other kids she doesn't know - and even after nearly 6 months at nursery she's still struggling to fit in.
If she's having difficulty developing those social skills surely this makes it more important to throw her into social situations rather than protecting her from them?
I definitely would be aiming to do it part time. Earning enough to keep things ticking over, not to have some sort of luxury lifestyle.
Childcare currently costs over half my monthly income so I hear you there.