Daycares already?

Krisann79

I'm hearing from friends and family that I need to start checking out daycares.  I feel like it's a little early but they're saying if I wait too long that they'll be picked over.  I don't even like the idea of putting the baby into daycare so early (I only get 6 wks maternity leave).  I wish I could have 6 months off and then worry about it but it's not looking like that'll be an option.

Klafountain

the reason to look early is to avoid waiting lists... i started around 15 wks

mwalliser

Yeah... unfortunately a lot of places get filled up fast!!  If daycare is something that you are going to have to do then you definitely want to find one (or some) that you like sooner as opposed to later... and at least get your name on the waiting list.

khaenlein

Totally depends on where you live.  I'm in a DC suburb and had to put in a nonrefundable deposit when I was around 8 weeks in order to secure a spot at my preferred daycare.  I'm guessing you have a bit more flexibility where you are, but it doesn't hurt to take care of it early so you get your first choice.

jenny1980

We don't need daycare until august 2010 and have been told by two places they are already full. I would start looking asap.

madhatter2003

Yep,some of the best ones by me have over a year waiting list (yes, you get on the list while TTC!) unless you have a sibling already there.

babygirl7892002

Well, I work at a daycare and our baby rooms are always full and typically have a waitlist of a few months so I would definitely start looking into it. Its actually pretty interesting because all the other rooms never have waiting lists but the infant rooms are always full despite that children spend the least amount of time in the infant rooms. We typically move them to the next room when they are mobile (10-14months)

NaHoku

I think it also depends on if you want a center vs in-home.  I think centers are more likely to have a waiting list.  We chose an in-home place for DS and it fell through while I was on mat leave.  It took some looking around, but we were able to find a place a few weeks before he was to start.

Cakes2114

From my experience it does deoend on the area you live it.  But I will also say daycares typically take less in the infant room compared to the other rooms - it is a ratio thing (more teacher to infant ration then toddler to infant ratio).. so with that said I would start looking and get an idea of what you like and what you do not like.  If you find a place you love put a deposit down.

Run4cupcakes:)

Yes! Definitely start looking! Depends on your area - but big cities or suburbs you need to head start...we started around 16 weeks. Good luck!

Mrs. Erin

We started looking as soon as I made it into 2nd tri.  I get 6-8 weeks of paid leave, so we will be putting our daughter in daycare around the middle of Feb.  We just picked the place and signed the paperwork last week, and its a good thing we did!  We got the last opening for in Feb!

kelbel527

Like everyone else said, depending on where you live, the waitlist could be long.  I don't even live in a very big city, but the waitlist on our preferred daycare is Sept 2010 and we need it starting in April 2010.

sasky

I was going to start a new thread, but thought I'd piggy-back onto this one with my question.

This might sound dumb, but HOW did everyone start looking into daycares?  Obviously I can do some research online, starting with Google.  I don't have many friends with kids.  The one that does is from an hour away and she found her home daycare from Craigslist.  So I can try that also.

But I guess I'm looking for more personal and informative resources.  Any ideas?

hjf2B

Does anyone know where the best place is to start looking?  I've heard there are websites that list the certified daycare providers... I guess I can start there!

CKLee1107

IDK about the Florida situation but up here we are on shortage of daycare providers...even had a scandal about ex-cons opening them around here (lil scary)...So, we are looking strictly by recommendations which for us is not many options then.  We called a few and asked if they even had infant openings for spring and they are already full...Its going to be interesting...I may have to start looking outside of family/friends/friend or family/etc circles because of the shortage of daycares who are trained/certified/even licensed...I want to avoid the large centers because of so many closing down due to shortage on help and plus, one of the well-known ones was the one with the co-owner being an ex con (not related to children but scams)...

I hate judging but can't help it here.  I just wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my baby in hands of strangers and then finding something like that out would totally freak me out...I prefer to keep looking for ones that I have a connection to somehow...

ELPB

I got wait-listed at 7 weeks pg.

chick730

We chose our daycare when I was barely 8 weeks pregnant.  Their waiting list was already out until March...which worked out perfectly for my maternity leave.  We had to put down a non-refundable deposit as well to hold a spot.

Taylor44

It can never hurt to look early.  You may be surprised by the waiting lists.

madeleines_mommy

hjf2B:

Does anyone know where the best place is to start looking?  I've heard there are websites that list the certified daycare providers... I guess I can start there!

 

I would start by asking local moms... getting recommendations from others helps a ton.  Then check into the backgrounds of the ones you narrow down too.  That's what I did with DD as I had NO IDEA where to begin.

92405bride

We just started looking when I hit the 2nd tri, and several places were full already!  There is a database of all licensed daycares that you can search by zip code for my state.  Also, each county has a spreadsheet of all licensed daycares that they can email out too - you might try looking at the county website or just search for "licensed child care (your county name)" on google.

bellapup

I also got daycare lined up when I was in the first trimester and was lucky to get in so quickly.  I got a lot of names from friends.

babygirl7892002

sasky:

I was going to start a new thread, but thought I'd piggy-back onto this one with my question.

This might sound dumb, but HOW did everyone start looking into daycares?  Obviously I can do some research online, starting with Google.  I don't have many friends with kids.  The one that does is from an hour away and she found her home daycare from Craigslist.  So I can try that also.

But I guess I'm looking for more personal and informative resources.  Any ideas?

Locally we have a website called Child Care Resource & Referral but I am sure if you search online you will be able to find the same for your area. Every state certified daycare has accessible information so you can see if they have any state write-ups, complaints, etc.

kimberleigh30

You have to start looking soon.  We did our tours yesterday and all 3 of the places have waiting lists.  I think it may be a good idea to put a deposit down on 2 places just in case the one that you really want has a long waiting list to get in.

KSandAE2008

Our top choice daycare is already full until next summer.

jeffrae

we signed up MONTHS ago -- at around 21 weeks.  We still could not get in until Februay 1 -- when baby will be about 5 months.  Some had waiting lists for more then a year.