For someone who claims to not be able to afford Christmas she must be spending a fortune on nursery for James. Most people can't afford to keep one kid in nursery when they're on mat leave. Not saying there's anything wrong with it (though I think she wouldn't find the days she had them both so overwhelming if she had them more) but if I was looking at my finances and thinking that Christmas was going to be really tight, I'd keep James home a little more to make sure they could have a couple of extra presents. I have three kids and one of the best things about my second and third mat leaves were getting to hang out with my bigger two a bit more. You never get those years back.