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when to sign up for daycare in DC/NoVA?

erh909erh909
in D.C. Area Babies

Apologies if this has already been asked--we live in NoVA and I work in DC, so I will probably be looking for daycare in one of those places assuming all goes well. How far in advance of actually needing a spot should I identify a daycare and put my name down? 

I realize this may seem like a crazy question to ask now, but I used to live in NYC (can't seem to fix the location on my avatar) and all of my mom friends live there now, and their experience is that if you want a spot at a good, convenient place you need to sign up *early*. One of my best friends in NYC had to find alternate daycare for her daughter for the first three months after she went back to work because the woman who got the last open spot at her employer's daycare had signed up before she even got pregnant! So yes, I am a little paranoid :)

Thanks for any suggestions!

BabyFruit Ticker
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Re: when to sign up for daycare in DC/NoVA?

  • bh2720bh2720
    Sign up as soon as you possibly can, do not wait (although most places make you wait until you are actually pregnant)...some of the wait lists are insane and the closer in to the city you are, the worse it gets. 
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  • erh909erh909
    Thanks! At least I know my fears weren't completely unrealistic...
    BabyFruit Ticker
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  • LCCollinsLCCollins
    I'm sure you've notice already too that prices in DC sometimes are nearly double then those in NoVA. I too live in NoVA and work in DC and my office building has day care that is very pricey. Of course the idea of the convenience and seeing the baby during lunch is very appealing. I'd check out several now and put down a deposit! It's never too early, at least in my opinion.
    Pregnancy Ticker
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  • QueSrahQueSrah member
    Take heart - if you end up at an in-home (by intent, or because you don't make it off a center's list in time), they tend not to know about their openings more than a few months in advance.  A lot of people end up finding daycare during mat. leave at in-homes.
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  • mesrmesr

    i wanted to put dd in an in-home daycare rather than a center.  i started calling before she was born, and all of the in-homes i spoke with told me that i was calling way too early and to call back after the baby was born.  we arranged dd's daycare while i was on maternity leave. 

    i think that if you want to be in a center though, you need to get on a waitlist asap. 

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