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We will be doing close to home. I have a similar commute to you.

Pros: If I am sick and stay home, I can still easily drop off at daycare. My husband works from home 2-3 days a week, so easy for him to drop off/pick up those days. We will meet kids that live in our neighborhood so we can more easily set up play dates/get to know families near us. Don't have to commute with a crying baby in the car. Cheaper (daycares in our suburb are much less expensive than those closer to downtown/where I work).

Cons: More time spent at daycare/less time spent with me. Can't visit during the day.

We went with close to home because our support system (my parents and ILs) live close to where we do. Because of this they can do pick ups and drop offs for us if something goes wrong, or if they finish work early and want a little time with LO. I also wanted her to be in our small town instead of the city where DH and I work, and with kids that she will go to school with.

I chose close to work but where we live (a town 30 minutes from work), there are virtually no daycare centers for infants so my hand was forced.

Pros:

I can nurse/visit LO on my lunch break

I'm close to him if he gets sick/hurt

DH works for a newspaper 30 minutes from home in the opposite direction of where I work, so sometimes he's working from home, sometimes he's in the office, sometimes he's covering something anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours away, so I felt more comfortable having one of us nearby.

If I have to get him in the middle of the day I can just bring him into work with me if possible and that's only about 20-30 minutes out of my work day.

Cons:

Will make transition to preschool difficult, we'd need to decide whether to keep him there through preschool with the same kids but then throw him in with a different group when he starts kindergarten close to home, or move him to a preschool close to home and again throw him in a group if totally different kids.

Long commute home with potentially sick/crying/cranky LO

His doctor and hospital are on our side of town

It's not impossible but more difficult for DH to go get him if I can't.

I spent two years as an operations director for a childcare center, and I LOVED it when the parents chose to have their childcare close to work. It was so much easier when kids got sick, or when the parents had to work late and were in a rush to pick up their kids before we closed. I remember a time when a child was vomiting profusely, (like, every 5 minutes), and the parents were there instantly to comfort him/take him to the doctor.
Its was also wonderful when nursing mothers stopped by to BF or when we had parties/parent-teacher conferences, and special events/guest speakers.
So my vote? DEFINITELY close to work.

I chose close to work:
-see him on my lunch break if I have time
-his doctor and the hospital is very close to daycare
-more time spent with him on the commute

I'm going to be picking a daycare close to home.

I commute an hour (sometimes more) away by car, and I just can't see putting an infant in a car (alone in the back) for 2+ hours a day. Plus, I'm afraid I'll have a kid like my nephew, who would scream non-stop when in his car seat. So that wouldn't be good for me or baby.

If we have one close to home, DH can do drop off in the morning (I leave almost an hour before he does), and I can do pick up (I get home at 4 pm). So that way, baby is only in daycare 7:45-4 pm every day.

We're also a 1 car family, since DH takes the subway to work. So the rare nights I have parent nights or Open House, etc., DH can still get to the daycare to pick up LO.

And finally....I just don't want to be solely responsible for all the daycare pickups and drop offs. I feel like it's not fair...I think DH should have to do it, too! lol

LO isn't here yet, but we're shopping for daycares now and one provider made an interesting point about lunchtime visits - once they get old enough to have separation anxiety, it can be hard to do the whole 'saying goodbye to mommy' route twice in one day instead of once! She said after a certain age she doesn't recommend mid-day visits for this reason. Just FYI

Close to home because it's better for both DH and I. I'm doing drop off and he's doing pick up, and it's too difficult for one parent to be solely responsible.

If the baby is sick and I'm stuck at work, it's not feasible for DH to drive all the way to my work.

Plus if the kid is sick, the less time puking in the car, the better.