The point is what you want to do.If you are okay with doing the chores by yourself and spending less time with your kid.And if it is okay for you to keep the house not perfectly clean and organised. If it does not dent your wallet much , I would vote for going for a domestic help.You come home after 6:30P.M.Would you not want to spend some quality time with your kid and relax a bit?Your MIL will be definitely stressed at the end of the day (with or without maid).She is old and she too definitely needs to relax and need to have a "me" time.Think about it.
Agree with Kera...If you can afford keeping a maid , then please hire a maid. You will get more time for you and family. I am a mom of 3 year old and working in IT. As mentioned my Kera, since cost of maid is expensive here, i do most of the household myself and take care of kid too. But some times i get frustrated or feel annoyed after seeing so many dishes to wash, cluttered rooms (my DD love cluttering). but we do not have any option of maid...so have to do. But since you are getting facility use it.. When I was in india , had hired a cook for lunch and cleaning. In that way atleast I was able to spend some time for me..
working in IT means not the whole 365 days remains the same.The project pressures changes inline with deadlines, managing house and work can be easier if there is no work pressure, but think of the time frame when ull be needed to put in more work at office and still can make it up at home? if yes, go ahead, without the maid, house in ur full control u don have to get frustrated abt the maid;s absence and then cary out the work. But if ur work is more stressful, opt for a part time maid to do atleast the cleaning part, that will be most helpful. (Iam working and i took a similar decision wen my work pressure was low (my DD was 2.5 yr old)but after 3-4 months i developed lower back ache due to lot of work at home and office(also had to travel a lot due to client change), extremely fatigued and paid the so called saved amount to the physiotherapist.
I totally agree with KavithaUS. Actually the women in India have become so much dependent on maids and thus "Aalsi". They become inefficient because of this.
What is your husbands view? How much is he willing to take repsonsibility for the household chores and cooking?
You can manage it with some support from from your MIL. Initially it might seem like a bit too hard to manage but later on, you will be able to manage it just fine.
It depends on what your priorities are. If your priorities are spending time with your child and not making your MIL uncomfortable, then hiring a maid might be a good option. However, if you have some other pressing financial needs, then it might be better to not hire a maid and make it do without her. After all, you should not feel guilty about the option you choose and should be able to live with it, without any worries, over a long period of time.
If I was you, I would keep the maid...I would not miss on spending even a single extra sec with my baby..especially when you are out working and not available during the day.Cooking will take away some of your time in the evening. Another imp reason is , let elders enjoy with the baby without having to worry about the household chores. Today you have time so you are able to cook and manage. Come tomorrow if you have some pressing deadlines(always the case with IT) and are caught up at work...your mil would be forced to shoulder your household responsibilities. With a maid in the house you have the option to cook or not to cook.Just more mental relief in pressing times.