When should I start looking?

Jess.O

I have two questions.  

1. Thanks to my little sis and my summer schedule I won't need child care until August.  LO will be approx. 6 mos old (assuming she doesn't come super early.)  When should I start looking for a center and getting on wait lists?  I'll be looking in RR if that makes a difference. 

 

2. When should I start looking for a pedi?  I don't really know much about this other than it's suggested that I meet with them in advance to see if we mesh.  When I go, what questions do I ask?  (Sorry, I know it's been asked a million times.)  

TIA!

rssnlvr

August will be when a lot of LOs go back to daycare/school because they've been off with parents for the summer, so I'd probably make sure you're at least on a list somewhere by spring...maybe start looking in...March?

And I waited until about 35 weeks to find a pedi, but we liked the first one we met with (recommended by bumpies), so it didn't take long. 

Mrs.Purdue

For the first question, it probably depends on the type of place you want to send her.  If you like the bigger/chain centers (that possibly have more than 1 infant room), then you'd probably be fine waiting until spring.  If you like a small center (like in a church) or at in-home place, then I'd look even earlier.  I don't think you'll have much of a problem in RR, but in downtown, I've been on the waitlists since February and still haven't gotten in, so it's almost been a year.  

I'd start looking for a pedi around 32-33 weeks.  Some of them have monthly meet-and-greets and if you wait until 36 weeks to start looking and you get unlucky and the place has just had one, then you'll probably have delivered before the next one.  You can always just make a 1x1 appointment too (that's what we did since we missed the meet-n-greet), so it's not a big deal, but it wouldn't hurt to start looking a little earlier than 36 weeks.  like rssn, we liked our first one, so we didn't have a long hunt.