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How soon to start looking for a day care?

jena5595jena5595 member
in Philadelphia Babies

Hi Everyone, in this area, how soon should one start looking for a day care? I know sometimes wait lists can be an issue, so even though I just began my second trimester I wanted to get an idea of timing.  Does anyone have any advice? This will be our first baby so it is pretty much uncharted territory for us :)

I'm in the suburbs (Doylestown), and if anyone has any recommendations for any places in particular that they would recommend, that would be great too. TIA! 

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Re: How soon to start looking for a day care?

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    KMB611KMB611 member
    I used to work in a child care facility. Typically, parents would come in during the late second/early third trimester of pregnancy. Many facilities take infants at 6 weeks of age. Try to ask questions about how often babies are diapered. We changed ours every 2 hours and right after they woke up from naps. Also ask what items you have to bring for your baby other than bottles, diapers, and clothes. I hope this helps.
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    StacyMatt979StacyMatt979 member
    You will want to check out a few places to compare, so start now to give yourself time to visit each place and make a decision. I am not due until mid-October, and we have a spot reserved at the daycare we picked out for a mid-January start. It's nice to be able to cross that decision off our "to-do" list before the baby arrives. Good luck!
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    FutureMrsMJ12FutureMrsMJ12 member
    Let me know if you come across anywhere you're really impressed with. I'm also in the Doylestown area and not sure where to begin.
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    vienna1121vienna1121 member
    we booked our daycare when I was 4 months pregnant. we chose about 10 places that were conveniently located and we each took a day off and did surprise visits to each location. any location that did not give us a tour when we arrived and said that we needed to make an appointment, we crossed off the list, we did this because we didn't want them to have time to prepare or clean up etc...we wanted to see how it would be on a regular day.
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    Amerbutt81Amerbutt81 member
    vienna1121 said:
    we booked our daycare when I was 4 months pregnant. we chose about 10 places that were conveniently located and we each took a day off and did surprise visits to each location. any location that did not give us a tour when we arrived and said that we needed to make an appointment, we crossed off the list, we did this because we didn't want them to have time to prepare or clean up etc...we wanted to see how it would be on a regular day.
    Trust me, they have more important things to be doing other than "prepping and cleaning" for one single tour.  Making appointments is more of a sign of respect for the director-- not interrupting any meetings he or she has, or making sure he or she doesn't have to cover a class room while another teacher goes on break.  
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    francocarofrancocaro member
    jena5595FutureMrsMJ12vienna1121! What did you all decide on? 
    Married May 17, 2013
    Our first baby, EDD Feb 17, 2015
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    CaitlinannexoxCaitlinannexox member
    Hey everyone,
    I'm due early November & began looking last week. It's rather daunting, especially here in Philadelphia. So much competition & crazy price points & wait lists. I found that yelp has been really helpful for our search, as well as just typing into good local daycares, you'd be amazed of the different forums that parents use to rate & review daycares. That's how I came up with my top 3 to go tour starting next Friday. Good luck!
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    TareneTarene member
    I'm due Mid December and I've BEEN looking for the past month or so. One place already has no availability for when I need it (march of 2015) so i think the sooner the better.
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