Here is a very, very, huge fuck you to parents who put their baby in childcare before 12 months of age (I’ve heard stories of having a kid in daycare as early as 6 months). Rest assured you will regret this decision. There’s a reason the Government of Canada set maternity leave to 12 months. At the absolute very least spend the first year of your baby’s life with him full-time. Are your expenses sufficiently high that you couldn’t make it by on EI for 12 months? How about loose the fancy rides, move into a home that you can actually afford, drop the unnecessary expenses, and be a parent.