If you will send your baby to child care...

GrinAndBarrett · March 2011

have you started looking yet? DH and I have some places in mind and we need to start calling them. I have this fear (maybe an irrational one) that I'm going to call all these places and they won't have room after the bean is born!

KOscar · March 2011

It probably depends where you live, but it is not unusual for centers to have very significant waiting lists for the infant rooms. I don't think it's every to soon to at least start calling places, asking about wait lists, and seeing about taking a tour.

laurenharrison · March 2011

I started around 17 weeks and we just went and had a tour. I guess it depends on where you live because I too was affraid that there would be no room for our baby and the lady assured me there would be no issue with that. Now im just trying to decide which one...

HappyKlamb10 · March 2011

We have toured 1 place, have a tour lined up next week at another, and are in the process of setting up a tour at a 3rd. The first place doesn't have a wait list, we just have to register at least 2 months before we need childcare to start in order to give them enough time to rearrange the staffing, if needed. The second place has a very loooooong wait list (which we've been on since November, and we still might not get a spot before we need it, in FEBRUARY). The third place we haven't talked to yet but I think their list is shorter. You should definitely start calling around, because as you said, you don't want to find that you waited too long and you lose out on good choices as a result.

animalcrckers · March 2011

i'd definitely start calling and looking NOW. i waited with DD#1 and it was horrible. luckily i found one that i love and they had an opening. DD#2 has been signed up/on their waiting list since i found out i was pregnant - didnt want to make that mistake twice.

good luck!

plumag · March 2011

Not an irrational fear - the best places often have wait lists. It really depends on your area and how far in advance you are calling. Still, it's often worth it to get on a waitlist for your favorite and then find a backup. With DD our first choice had a waitlist that was pretty long (considering it was such a small facility). We ended up getting in about five months later - 1 week before she was to start at the other daycare! For our new one I actually toured a few places (DD's daycare is closing this summer so I needed a new infant care place - they have toddler care at my work so that wasn't a concern) this past week for a November start. The place I wanted (which was DD's backup) was actually already full for November but had a January slot open. So I found a backup plan for the five weeks in between, signed up for January, and am on the waitlist for November. We'll see.

Finding daycare is nerve wracking at times. Doing so when pregnant and the hormones are flying is even more difficult. I have all of these questions that fly through my head - WIll they have room? Will it be good enough? Am I a bad mom for not staying at home (even though I know I can't with DH in school)? Just know we are all feeling the same things and it will work out in the end.

LauraJuliet · March 2011

Yes, start looking now. It depends on where you live... but it doesn't hurt.

I researched my places around 14 weeks, DH and I toured around 16 weeks, and we put a down payment down. There was a BIG difference between places, so I was glad we have a excellent placement at the best place. Most have "waiting lists" but if you are far enough out, you are pretty much guarunteed a spot.

Where we live, it seems like there are alot of daycares, but there were only a handful near my office that actually handled infant care. These centers don't make much on infant care, so many do not offer.

Best of luck!

Lilrdmandy · March 2011

My suggestion would be to do some preliminary research, look up places, narrow down ones you like, and then call and schedule a tour at your favorite ones. When you tour ask about wait lists and how far in advance you should register. From there you can decide when the time is right for you guys to sign up! Good Luck!

TheFannins729 · March 2011

definitely look now. with ds, when i put the deposit down in Sept, I got the last infant spot for May of the next year. a ton of other places I called had wait lists of over a year.

CactusGirl · March 2011

I have gotten some information from the chain daycares (KinderCare, Tutor Time, places like that) and there is no wait. They basically just need to know about 1 month in advanced.

However, if it is a private in-home daycare or something like that (which I am going to start looking into), there may be a waiting list. So, I feel it is never too early to start collecting information and getting a good feel of where you think you might want to send your child, then if there is no wait you can always do the tours and whatnot later on.

alliapistor · March 2011

In our area, a lot of places have wait lists of a year or more. That means you had to get on the wait list before you got pregnant or you need to find a short term solution for your kid in the meantime. It's crazy. We are horribly behind and need to get working on this.

schmoodle · March 2011

Agreed that it depends where you live. We are in/near a major metro area (and lived right in the city when #1 arrived) and I had to apply to his daycare/school when I was 26 weeks pregnant and only got a spot by committing to sign him up starting in September (and paying from that time forward) even though we didn't intend to start him until November/December. Otherwise they have super long waiting lists, etc. But unless you're in NYC/LA/Chicago/Boston/DC/etc. (and in the actual city, not the suburbs), I would imagine that's not the norm.

Lovenyc · March 2011

I called one place and said "I'm sure I'm WAY too early but..."

The owner quickly cut me off and said "Oh NO, you are never too early. In fact, we only have 3 infant spots left for January."

I had to laugh. I will be reserving a spot this weekend.

bellethebride · March 2011

It's definitely not too early for some centers. With DS, we put our name on the wait list when I found out I was pregnant (at 4 or 5 weeks) and didn't get in until he was almost 4 months but that was an onsite daycare (at work). We're in a different place and I haven't even started looking this time around...I'm way behind!

MiaMyPuggle · March 2011

I wouldn't worry about that..just have a few lined up with your favorite on top of your list..i called a few places and only one got back to me...they are charging $1200 a month for child care...don't even know if it's worth it to work at this point...DH and MIL are trying to get me to stay home...it's a serious choice to make!

meg211 · March 2011

Like pp, it can't hurt to start early. I live in a larger city, so finding quality daycare that is convienent to my work was key and some wait lists are RIDICULOUS. One place I went to had over 100 families on the wait list already! I don't understand why she was still hosting open houses.

We put our name on one wait list when I was about 19 weeks, and its questionable they will have an opening by this fall. Since then, we kept looking and found out about 2 good church programs that we're also adding our name to their much shorter wait list (we are confident we'll get on at least one of them in time). In my book, its never too early to start thinking about daycare, and it gives you plenty of time to tour several places and get a feel for what you like/don't like.

twohniyt · March 2011

I agree with others on here. It really depends on where you live as well as the places you look at. My husband and I started looking about a month ago. We had our last tour last Friday and feel in love with the place. They only had 2 spots available for the fall so I paid the enrollment fee on Monday to secure our spot. Now, a couple of the other places told us we didn't need to make a decision before about June. So even different child care centers in the same area will have different timelines for you. My suggestion would be to start looking soon. Better to secure a place that is your first choice and not have to worry about it later.

Galaxy8227 · March 2011

We have just started to ask around for referrals from friends and are starting to set up appts to look at places. We want to make sure we have this taken care of before the baby comes

eli_and_jeff · March 2011

We're lucky in that our synagogue has one of the best day cares/preschools in the area and give preferential treatment to members.

Most places let you get on the waiting list before your LO arrives if it's a long wait.

Tara415 · March 2011

How do you find child care ratings? How do people know which ones are "the good ones"? Is there a website somewhere? I don't have any friends with kids, so I can't ask around.

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