Working moms (or moms to be)

oblivion4q · November 2014

Have you already started looking into child care? My family doesn't live close and my maternity leave only covers 12 weeks.

littlewest1 · November 2014

Yes

marybeth05 · November 2014

Yes, start looking now. It isn't uncommon for daycares to have long wait lists.
This is #3 and my child care provider was the 2nd person I told I was pregnant- after my husband!
Good luck!

whiterabbit5 · November 2014

marybeth05 said:

Yes, start looking now. It isn't uncommon for daycares to have long wait lists. This is #3 and my child care provider was the 2nd person I told I was pregnant- after my husband! Good luck!

This exactly. This is our 3rd as well. We told her right away so she would know to hold a spot.

stephaniejfree · November 2014

If you choose to go the daycare route, I agree with getting on some lists now. Many places have insanely long waiting lists. If you are looking into home care or a nanny, definitely put some feelers out in case a spot or position is opening up. Waiting until the last minute will be stressful and planning the visits/type of questions you want to ask will make you feel more secure in your decision. Good luck!

picklesx · November 2014

I reserved a spot for this LO at DS's daycare when I was 13 weeks.

jobotrobot · November 2014

Our moms have graciously offered to look after the baby for us. There's also a toddler center on site if I wanted to use it at 18months+ but I'm not sure of the cost.

KellyA724 · November 2014

I haven't started looking yet but I know that I need to. We are hoping to find a nanny share with other people in our neighborhood rather than going the daycare route, because I'm only coming back to work part time, and we need more flexibility than most daycares offer. I'm overwhelmed by all of it, actually - that's why I haven't started looking.

Thea11 · November 2014

When I had DS we had our daycare picked out and spot reserved by the time he was six weeks old, even though I didn't go back to work until he was a year old. I ran into someone from work who scared me about long waiting lists! If you live in a big city I'd recommend looking into it now.

Sharon&Paul · November 2014

If you are thinking daycare, then i would look now. We have a nanny and you have more flexibility. We have had an Au Pair in the past and you need 12 weeks for them to get into the country. For a local live out nanny I would start looking about 3 months ahead. It is really too soon right now. most are looking for an immediate position.

ASCrosby · November 2014

DO THAT ASAP! I work at a child care facility, and I can tell you our waiting list is massive. We're the #1 center in town though. But the list for the infant room in August is already over 100 names long.

starshollow · November 2014

In my area, it is not super competitive. There are a lot of good places around. I don't need child care until September, but I will let our current daycare know soon that I will need a spot in the infant room in the fall.

ElizabethSwann · November 2014

I just assumed this baby will go to the same daycare as DS, but i haven't booked a spot or anything yet.

crossfit704 · November 2014

Our families are not here either. Thankfully, I have the luxury of working part time and my job is generally flexible. I will likely hire a college student (or two) from the local school to watch the baby when I go back to the office and don't work from home. I do know that even though we aren't in a big city wait lists for full time day care a long.

JaneShops · November 2014

Thanks @oblivion4q‌ for the thread, '& all the mamas for the responses
I'm still debating on my baby care, luckily I've accrued a lot of PTO that I'll be able to take 5 months off. That gives me a year to get this LO in somewhere

prancercise · November 2014

Anyone have suggestions on interview questions for potential providers? I feel a little lost in a sea of info on this subject.

AMShark · November 2014

galnoir said:

Whoa. This is great information - DH and I have had the attitude that we'd figure it out later. Sounds like we need to have that convo ASAP! Luckily we have family in the area that could help if we found ourselves SOL for a while

This is me exactly ^^

I thought I had at least until after Thanksgiving. We're so behind on this! I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread now.

tigerlily25 · November 2014

I have looked, but haven't decided on anything yet. I am still trying to work out the details with my job because I work odd hours and I would like to switch to a more regular schedule (possibly part time), so until I figure that out with my boss, I guess the daycare situation is still up in the air. It's in the back of my mind though, because I don't want to stress about it last minute!

danigrande24 · November 2014

As someone else said, i also work in childcare. It really depends on where you live and what kind of facility you are looking into. As many others have said, centers may have long waiting lists. It isn't uncommon for facilities to offer tours and show you what they have to offer. I often see mommy's-to-be touring the facility I work at well before they are due. However, home daycare's and nanny's often do not require as much of an advance notice.

ameliacoyne1985 · November 2014

What if you change your mind down the line about using a daycare? Like you reserve a spot and the. Decide to stay home with your baby? Is there a fee penalty?

ASCrosby · November 2014

ameliacoyne1985 said:
What if you change your mind down the line about using a daycare? Like you reserve a spot and the. Decide to stay home with your baby? Is there a fee penalty?

Not usually. Most places (like the one I work at), you put your name on the list, if you say no, then they move on to the next person on the list. As long as you don't put a deposit down for an actual spot. I would recommend putting your name on the wait list at as many places as you like. That way you aren't stuck having the decision made for you.

BigAppleBiggerBelly · November 2014

ameliacoyne1985 said:
What if you change your mind down the line about using a daycare? Like you reserve a spot and the. Decide to stay home with your baby? Is there a fee penalty?

My son's daycare requires a non refundable $5000 deposit to hold a space. They don't admit infants under 6 months, so you also have to pay tuition from the start of the school year until your child reaches 6 months to hold the spot. Luckily, that's not too long for us.

I'm undecided about what to do. My son has learned so much at his school, but they are super expensive (on par with the area) and very inflexible. Plus, there's no second sibling discount, so tuition for two would be more than my pretax crappy nonprofit pay. I don't want to pay a ton to go to work!

topaz7777 · November 2014

I have already put down a deposit. I started looking at 4 weeks because I wanted both kids at the same place. If you want to have time to look around and pick one that suits your needs you really need to get on it.

pblge · November 2014

I just called the one affiliated with my university, and they have a year long wait list for infants. YIKES!!!

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