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daycare search

Generator1007Generator1007
in Minnesota Babies
I am due with my first child in early December.  I plan to take 8-12 weeks off of work and will need full time daycare starting in February/March.  I know that I want in home daycare.  So, my question is, when do I start calling daycare providers.  I have called two already.  One of which doesn't even interview until the baby is here.  Am I calling too soon?  I don't want to wait too long, but at the same time, I can't imagine daycare providers are going to be able to tell me about availability 5 months from now because something could come along for them before then. Just looking for what others have done/are doing.  Thanks.
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Re: daycare search

  • stephmariestephmarie member

    I would start calling right now since infant spots can be hard to come by. Most daycares should know if they will have an infant spot available, and if they don't at least you could leave your information in case something opens up. Our son started daycare the last week of August, I started calling/interviewing the end of May and only about 4 of the 15 or so I called had openings.

    ETA: I was also looking for in-home daycare.

    image Samuel (Photo by Gruman Photography)

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  • Mrs. Sarah&MicahMrs. Sarah&Micah
    Like PP, I would start now. I started looking when I was 5 months pregnant and all the places I called/ emailed to find out availability and pricing, all knew if they would have an opening or not. I was looking for a center and ended up reserving a spot 6 months prior to my baby starting. Good luck!
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  • MesmrEweMesmrEwe member

    I really wouldn't limit yourself to an in-home daycare!  We checked them out first as well and most of them we saw with openings gave us the heebies...  They also had more restrictive hours than some of the private centers (many were 8a to 4:00/4:30p)

    The place that DD went to we put LO on the waiting list for the Infant room with the understanding that if they had someone that wanted to go full time that we'd be willing to do part time with a flex schedule with them (then they'd always be full even if another kiddo wasn't there)...  Their hours are from 6a-6p and it's privately owned and didn't seem like a military academy for LO's like some of the centers we checked out..

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  • Kimee13Kimee13
    I'm curious, why are you ruling out centers?  We were just the opposite, we would only look at a center and absolutely love the one we're at.  While I agree there are some great in-home centers out there, I just wasn't comfortable sending DS to one and DH was strictly against it.  Like PP said the extended hours are fantastic, ours is only closed for the major holidays, and while I don't consider it a "military academy" there is some structure to it which I consider a great learning environment - the biggest thing is that there isn't only one adult for a group of kids, there is at least 4+ in the infant room at all times.  The most important thing is finding one that you feel your child is safe in, I recommend doing as much research as possible on whichever you choose.  Good luck!
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  • Generator1007Generator1007

    Our decision to go with an in home is mostly based on cost.  I know, sounds terrible, but we can't afford $300+ per week in daycare costs.  If anyone has any great recommendations of centers to check out that are reasonably priced, I'd be more than willing to check them out.  But, the few we've looked into have been in the $300 + range, which isn't doable.

    Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

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  • stephmariestephmarie member
    imageGenerator1007:

    Our decision to go with an in home is mostly based on cost.  I know, sounds terrible, but we can't afford $300+ per week in daycare costs.  If anyone has any great recommendations of centers to check out that are reasonably priced, I'd be more than willing to check them out.  But, the few we've looked into have been in the $300 + range, which isn't doable.

    Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

     This was our dilemma too, so thankfully we found an in-home that we love so far. I called one center near us and it was $350/week, which is just not feasible for us! Hopefully you can find something you love!

    image Samuel (Photo by Gruman Photography)

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  • Kimee13Kimee13
    imageGenerator1007:

    Our decision to go with an in home is mostly based on cost.  I know, sounds terrible, but we can't afford $300+ per week in daycare costs.  If anyone has any great recommendations of centers to check out that are reasonably priced, I'd be more than willing to check them out.  But, the few we've looked into have been in the $300 + range, which isn't doable.

    Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

    Not terrible at all, daycare costs are just ridiculous and MN is actually one of the more expensive states - of course.  We're crossing our fingers they don't unionize since that will push costs up even more.  There are plenty of great in-home daycares out there, just really do your research and look at their past history. 

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  • bauerfamilybauerfamily

    If you are closer in the city, yeah consistently over $300.  We live in, but I drive to the metro and there are some colleagues that have found $225-$275. 

    A couple other suggestions/comments:  some local employers have local daycare discounts as well as some insurance plans.   We were more limited in choices because we are cloth diapering and a lot of homes and centers won't cloth diaper in house.

    Best of luck and start searching :)   

     

     

     

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