When did you start looking into childcare options?

TBee99 · August 2014

My husband and I are expecting our first child in October 2014, and want to start childcare in March 2015. Is it too early to start my search? Or should I have already started already?

SanRemo · August 2014

Depending on where you live, you probably should have this nailed down by now. Many places have a year long waiting list. Again though, it does depend on your location.

TBee99 · August 2014

Yikes! Then I guess I will be devoting time to this this week!

saraeric · August 2014

We locked down our childcare at the beginning of the summer for care starting January 2015. We knew we wanted an in-home day care and it was tough to find one because a lot of providers didn't know if they'd have openings that far in advanced. Luckily, we found one and we love her! A big relief, good luck!

Meery82 · August 2014

No, start now. One of the places I called had a freaking year and a half waiting list!

LucilleAustero · August 2014

I live in the metro NY area, so it might not be like this everywhere. But, I started looking when I was 4 motnhs and was unable to find any place that had less thana two year waiting list. We wound up having family watch DD, so it worked out, but the sooner the better.

BlckRoses · August 2014

The city I live in doesn't have waiting lists. We started looking in 2nd tri and were told they only needed a month or two notice to have a spot for the baby. So we won't have to lock anything down until she arrives, since I'm taking 3 months off. We are using a center, however, so it may have been more difficult if we were doing in home care. You can always call a few places and see what their wait list is and find out if you need to put a rush on it or not.

abbyful · August 2014

I would get on this ASAP if I were you. Daycare slots fill up fast!

I use a national chain center daycare.
For DS, we reserved our spot when I was probably about 22-24 weeks, and we got the only open spot. He started going at 12 weeks old.
This time since we already have daycare established, we reserved our spot when I was 12 weeks.

ConversationFear · August 2014

It definitely depends on where you want childcare - and not just as in a country-regional thing.

It depends on which part of your city too - which we found out. We live in the city in St. Louis. We started looking in April and the one we wanted was already booked up until December 1st. Our little guy is already signed up and he's not even born yet. We found out from close friends who just had their baby earlier this year, that when they went to look for childcare, they waited until after they were born and places acted like they still had plenty of time. They live in the county. The rich part of the county - where most of the women are either SAHM or hire in-home nannies. SO - all the childcare places were begging them to sign up.

If I were you - I would start looking now anyway, to get an idea of what you want, and to get on a waiting list should you fall in love with a place that has one. It will also give you a good idea of what you can afford (if you aren't sure already.) It never hurts to plan ahead! Good luck!

MrsDL · August 2014

Start now - in most states infant/toddler care whether it's at a center or in-home requires a lower ratio of baby to provider, so there are far less spots than if you have a 2 and older child. We started in my area early in the 2nd with DS (after a friend told me we should get going). Every place we were interested in was booked, we had to get on a bunch of wait lists. Fortunately something opened up by the time I had to go back to work. Lots of people just get on all the wait lists and make the decision later, which opens a spot here and there earlier when they were not expecting it.

FrodaBaggins · August 2014

I'm in Los Angeles. I went right after my 8 week appointment in January to the only center we want our baby to go to, and put our name on the waiting list. We were assured that while they can't 100% guarantee anything, we were in a "good place" to get care when we need it, which is November. Around these parts, daycare centers are much cheaper than in-home care.

I kept checking in every few months and will continue to do so. I did sign us up on one back up that has no availability until January. A few others I called had 18-24 month waiting lists! I was pretty shocked by that and asked the woman, "Was I supposed to sign up for waiting lists before I even knew we were TTC?" Apparently the answer is yes.

FinallyHappy84 · August 2014

Definitely depends on your location but I have to agree with all the PP that you should find one now if the waiting lists can be that long. I personally had no idea that waiting lists were that crazy but will be lucky enough that a trusted family member can do childcare. Are you against using an at home daycare cause they may not have wait lists like that? Where I live, a lot my friends have had better experiences with licensed at home daycares than main stream ones. Good luck on your search

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