finding child care - how soon is too soon?

briandmatt

First of all, I can't believe how expensive childcare is in the Twin Cities, goodness! Now that I'm freaked out about the pricing of daycare and seeing on craigslist that not many places have space for infants, how soon is too soon to start looking for a daycare provider.

I'm only about 4 weeks into this, but I am a planner to a fault, so I'm already starting to stress about returning to work and giving my baby to a stranger all day. Any advice? 

MesmrEwe

It's actually not a bad idea to get on the waiting list now.  With the daycare DD went to, they're actually filling up now for their full-time infant room beginning in March (when we'd likely have the LO there)... 

Mrs. Sarah&Micah

We started looking for daycare when I was 4 months pregnant. We google searched for daycares in our city as well as searched www.mnchildcare.org. We knew we wanted a center so I contacted the centers we were interested in and asked for a price quote for a 12 week old baby who would go 5 days a week full time. We immediately eliminated some places due to finances. Then we called and scheduled tours of centers. The first place we toured was amazing and two weeks before we toured we were told there were 4 openings for infants. On the day we toured, only one spot was left. Because we liked it so much, we signed the forms the very next day. So we had daycare lined up when I was 5 months pregnant. It was a great feeling that I didn't have to worry about finding a place when I was at the end of my pregnancy or after she was born. Plus, had we waited, we would never have been able to get her into this center. Long story short, I would start early. Hope this helps!

stephmarie

We didn't start looking for daycare until DS was almost 2 months old, and he will be 5 months the week he starts. This was cutting it way to close for me, but he was unexpectedly born a month early and daycare was one of the big things I had left to do before he was born. I would say to start as soon as you can because infant spots are hard to come by, and the sooner you can get on a waiting list the better.

Due to finances, we knew we could not afford a center in our area, so I called about 20 home daycares and only a few had infant spots open when we needed. We got lucky and ended finding a great lady, but I really do think we got lucky. She also had 3 other people waiting for us to make a decision about the spot as well!

We used this site as well.

briandmatt

oh thank you all so much! I'll definitely start looking sooner than later. Thanks for the great details, Mrs. Sarah - that's just what I needed to know!

angelame1979

Were in St. Paul are you?  My daycare is in Maplewood/Oakdale and the rates are comparable.  I secured DD's spot in March and she didn't start until October.  I didn't have to be put on a waiting list either but but that doesn't mean you won't at other places.  I don't know.  It just depends on where you are looking I guess.  The sooner the better I think.

briandmatt

The trick is we live in Richfield but my husband works in Wayzata and I work near the Midway in St. Paul, so we're all over the metro. Is it true that you should have your daycare near your home and not near your work?

Mrs. Sarah&Micah

I have never heard that you should have your daycare by your home. We chose ours because we liked it and it was close to home and on the way to and from work for both my husband and I.  I know people who have their daycare completely out of their way because they like it so much that they do not mind driving further to bring their child there.

If I were you, I would probably look for a daycare close to your home since you and your husband both work in opposite directions in the city, that way either one of you can pick up/drop off. It's been very helpful having our daycare close to both of us incase something comes up and we cannot pick up/drop off.

Veittobe

We had a daycare secured when I was 4 months pregnant at a center in Roseville.  When we were touring they were filling up already for the month we would need to start - both at the Roseville and Little Canada locations we were looking at.  Both were centers.  I think this changes for home based daycares and centers in other suburbs.  I've found the fridley/coonrapids/blaine area daycares we've looked at haven't been booking up as quickly.  Maybe it's just coincidental.  

We chose a daycare near my work since I will be the one doing fulltime drop off and pick up due to my husband's schedule.  I was concerned about her being at the center for more than 10 hours if she stayed near our home.  I would prefer one nearer to my home however.  

Good luck!!