Until recently I have been working from home exclusively and I had been expecting to work from home exclusively after giving birth. Suddenly (poof!) I got a promotion that involves me doing field work at schools around the Chicago area.

I know my boss won't have a problem with me working from home a majority of the time after LO is born, but I know I may need to find child care for some situations. DH is doing well enough to stay home on his own, but I don't think he can handle and infant by himself at this point.

I had a hard enough time finding and keeping an affordable caregiver for DH when he needed full time care. I can only imagine finding occasional care for an infant would also be difficult.

I can't currently afford daycare unless it is very part time, but I imagine most centers have minimums. I don't have any family nearby. Has anyone had a similar situation? What was your strategy for finding occasional but reliable child care?