When I first found out I was pregnant, I frankly didn't put much thought into long-term childcare plans. Living in New York City, my husband and I knew we wouldn't have the  traditional village  available to us — my parents, while local and thrilled to get a first grandchild, are older and weren't particularly eager to volunteer for solo babysitting, while his parents live thousands of miles away. But we were in a uniquely lucky situation: We both happened to have flexible, largely remote jobs .