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I'm a SAHM and have a 2.5 yr old (boy) toddler and a 6 month old son. It didn't scare me so much at first bc the baby just slept through everything so I could focus my energy on the toddler. That said, I thought my toddler would benefit from going to some sort of daycare/preschool for social interaction as well as learning. So we started him off at 3 days a week and that also freed me up to spend time/bond with the baby.

I have three sets of parents nearby (my parents, both divorced and remarried and in-laws). They have helped a lot but i would say preschool helped the most. They come over to play with the toddler or baby but never to watch my kids without me there.

If it is within your budget, just part time, perhaps you could see whether that would help you out. Otherwise, a part time nanny or mommy's helper would help too, at least just in the beginning when you are still getting your bearings.

As it is, I have both my sons one day a week (when the toddler is not at school) and those are the days I schedule play dates, museum visits, or go to indoor playgrounds.

I have a 20 month old and #2 on the way. No family around. I understand your fears, but at the same time I don't. Your children will need you to care for them, and you'll just figure it out.

As for childcare, we have a fantastic group of friends that we would trust our children with, and most of the time we only leave her as part of a babysitting swap deal. I'm a SAHM, so that's pretty easy.

So, this is almost us exactly!

We've just moved away from all our family, I'm a sahm to a gorgeous fifteen month old girl and we are looking at TTC towards the middle of this year. Our families now either have a ridiculously expensive flight or a 2-3 hour drive plus a 3 hour ferry ride to contemplate if they want to visit.

In my situation I'm trying really hard to build my family a new "village" so that we have support and I don't go stir crazy talking to a toddler all day I'm also trying to find a couple of good toddler activities so that LO has interaction and hopefully I can meet some other parents too. And lastly I think you just do it because you have to!