Minnesota Babies
karijohannsen
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Childcare research - how early?
karijohannsen
member
My husband and I just moved here from Chicago and know nothing about child care here. In Chicago you almost have to line something up the minute you get pregnant!! I'm due mid April so will likely need child care starting mid to end of July. How early do I need to look?
Right now we rent in Lowry Hill neighborhood but depending on my husband's job hunt we hope to move in May (not ideal I know!). Are daycares much more affordable than nannies here? Do daycares fill up quick?
Any insight is much appreciated!
Me: 35/Hubs: 35 - just moved to Minneapolis from Chicago. TTC for 18 months and expecting baby #1 April 18, 2012! Needed IVF after a few failed rounds of IUI and it worked!
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Re: Childcare research - how early?
In my experience, it really depends. I started calling in-home daycares at 4 months pregnant, and some said "call me back in a few months, I won't know until then" and others said, "sorry, I won't have an opening until 2015." So, if you're looking at in-home, its really varies and it's best to just find out the options and go from there. In home ranged from $160-$210 a week.
If you're looking at centers, the New Horizons and Kindercares I toured had immediate openings and that seemed pretty normal. If you want a specialized place, like Jardin Magico, get your name on the list NOW, because those waits can be quite long. The centers we looked at were about $1300-$1500 a month, but some are more expensive.
I'm not sure what a nanny would cost:)
Thanks for your insight. I wish I knew where we would be living by then! Maybe I just need to commit to a place downtown or a nanny at first. Ai ai ai!
Wherewould I find out about in home daycares?
For in-home daycare I used this site and searched for 'Family Child Care' in the cities we were looking for. I pretty much went down the list, read the description if there is one, skipped any that weren't 'active' and just kept calling.
https://licensinglookup.dhs.state.mn.us/
It wouldn't hurt to start researching/calling now so you get a feel for pricing and availability. In-homes can be tough to find since most can only take one infant at a time. Sorry I can't help with nanny information!
I found the County program, Think Small, super helpful. It's entirely free and they have an advocate speak with you on the phone about your childcare desires and needs...then they send you a list of qualified providers in the neighborhoods/cities you choose.
Go to https://www.thinksmall.org/ to learn more. Truly, I was really impressed with their work!
I found the County program, Think Small, super helpful. It's entirely free and they have an advocate speak with you on the phone about your childcare desires and needs...then they send you a list of qualified providers in the neighborhoods/cities you choose.
Go to https://www.thinksmall.org/ to learn more. Truly, I was really impressed with their work!
great, thank you!
Thanks for the Think Small link, this is exactly what I have been looking for!
I would try the Think Small or the state website for in-home daycares as mentioned above. When we looked last time, I started calling around at 8 weeks pregnant, and a lot were already full. So, if you're looking at in-home, your best to start early being a lot of them have a very limited infant capacity. The in-homes we were looking at (far West metro) were $140 - $180 per week. Centers were about $220 per week for an infant, and nannies were around $10 per hour.
Good luck!