this nanny, hands down! Go for it, use the nanny.

Nanny sounds good. Props to her for managing your child and an 8m and leaving your home clean at the end of the day. I can barely manage to do that with my own two kids.

I love daycare for my child, but if your biggest concern is sick leave, I think nanny is a no-brainer. Daycare kids do get quite a few colds. I will say at least in my experience that slowed down *a lot* after about 18 months - my daughter seems to get sick about once every 4-5 months now, but it was more like monthly when younger. Typically minor colds, but those symptoms require exclusion at a lot of places now.