https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 16 May 2026 10:50:12 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2011539 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 10:23:45 +0000 ShootingStar 2011539@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know, I don't think daycares should accept people on waiting lists until they're actually pregnant. I feel like it clogs up the lists for people who have an actual baby. Luckily around here you don't need quite that much notice, though it does fill up. I think we started looking around 6 or 7 months along, and then he started at 2.5 months, so about 5ish months ahead. If we'd waited until he was born to figure out daycare it would've been too late. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2011446 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 09:21:21 +0000 HazelEyes 2011446@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yup, the place where DS goes the motto is "tell XX before you tell you're mom!" So the day I got my :bfp: I got my pregnancy confirmed by the doctor and we put in our application for the next school year--so over a year away. He got in the week before school started, only because of a cancellation. We cancelled our (great) in-home to go!</p> <p>I hear ya, @dc yoga bee: we're NOVA. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2011393 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 08:46:59 +0000 Lilbear 2011393@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had to get on a waiting list 10 months before needing daycare (I was about 3 months pregnant at the time). I was flabbergasted that there was a wait list already when people would still be 1 month from ttc. I live in nyc fwiw - it is very competitive to get a spot in the good daycares here. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2011297 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 07:02:04 +0000 Espion 2011297@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I could've gotten on a wait list early here, I would have done it when E was an ovarian follicle. It took 17 months to get off the wait list for part time daycare... Thank goodness for sibling preference for the next one!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2011264 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:39:09 +0000 lamariniere 2011264@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Depends on where you live. I lived in NYC when I got pregnant with my first and we started looking into daycare when I was around 5 months pregnant. It was already too late for EVERYWHERE. The wait lists were already at least a year if not longer at every single daycare I contacted. So yeah, it would have been smart to do it before ever getting pregnant, but we were NTNP, so we weren't thinking that far ahead at all. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2011057 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:51:06 +0000 jetsa 2011057@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Absolutely not bit it also took us over a year to get pregnant </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2011028 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:38:34 +0000 AmeliaBedilia 2011028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This seems so crazy. We are TTC now- is there an easy way to find out what the wait is and how soon we need to get on the lists? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010976 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:05:03 +0000 Grace 2010976@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Daycares in my area have 2 year wait lists. I got on when I was 8 weeks and didn't need daycare until LO was 1 year old. I was extremely lucky that I got a spot ONLY 6 weeks after I needed it. Luckily, my mom was able to help us cover the gap and my DH took a bunch of vacation time. So, I would absolutely get on a wait list when TTC, except that it's not allowed here and I wouldn't risk being found out and blacklisted. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010860 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:00:44 +0000 Anagram 2010860@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had to get on a wait list for a daycare when I was 5 months pregnant....for when LO was 6 months old. So....about a year in advance. They actually didn't have room for LO, so I was going to have to get a nanny, but I pulled the one string I had (the director knew a friend of a friend) and got her in.</p> <p>There were other center LO could have gone to, but this one happened to be a block from our house, so I wanted it for convenience. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010853 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:55:32 +0000 regberadaisy 2010853@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Absolutely, it's common in big cities. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010850 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:51:10 +0000 dc yoga bee 2010850@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am #56 on one list, and #120 on another list, and I called at 6 weeks pregnant. That's DC for ya! I would not however, get on the waiting list before TTC or before pregnant. It took us a year to get pregnant, so that would have been a couple of hundred bucks wasted on waiting list! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010846 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:47:00 +0000 sapphire 2010846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>While we got in waiting lists soon after BFP, I wouldn't have done it while TTC or before! You never know how long it will take and I'm just superstitious enough...For what it's worth, the wait in our area, which is a suburb of a large city, is 9-12 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010827 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:34:47 +0000 BandDmommy 2010827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I live in a big city and its competitive. I know most waiting lists are anywhere from 6 months to 1 year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010826 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:34:36 +0000 Torchwood 2010826@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I can't imagine! But I've never lived anywhere with that high of demand. It always annoyed me when people were looking for a nanny while only a few months pregnant when they didn't need one till a couple months postpartum. When I'm looking for a job, I'm not looking to start in 6 months! </p> <p>And my cousin took 5 years to get pregnant with her son, and even then he can't go to a normal daycare because he has so many issues. We started TTC a year and a half ago, and still don't have a living child. So I really can't imagine just assuming that I'd need childcare at a particular time and going for it. Can you imagine how depressing that conversation would be if they called and said you got a spot and you still didn't have a baby? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010816 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:30:06 +0000 Mrs. Pen 2010816@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I cannot fathom this! Day cares here don't have waiting lists like that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010811 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:26:10 +0000 catomd00 2010811@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Depends on the area and your standards. I got on daycarr waiting lists as soon as I got a positive test. I didnt tour them but I got the basic info and on the list. By the time I was halfway through maternity leave only one spot had opened up. I am still (11 months postpartum) on all the waiting lists and no spots have opened up. If I had to do it again I would have gotten on lists before getting pregnant! (Many people do that in my area!) our dd was unplanned so we didn't have the luxury. We were really lucky to find a great daycare in our budget with an opening when the place we had been on the waiting list for over a year fell through after our first week there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010720 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 18:18:49 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 2010720@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Depends on the daycare. For the one I would prefer, the waiting list currently stretches into 2016 for infants. So for that one I would. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010686 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:57:27 +0000 Anya 2010686@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't, but honestly I'm not surprised considering how competitive some areas are! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010682 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:54:10 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2010682@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't. Daycare isn't in that high of a demand here and I've been TTC for almost 4 years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010675 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:49:09 +0000 oliviaoblivia 2010675@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrswin: yeah....it's nuts here. I was on the list 20 months before I needed a spot and didn't have one when the time came so I made other arrangements. I got a call two days before I was to go back to work saying we finally made it off the list.<br /> So to answer your question, I would get on the list before ttc, but i also think it's crazy that in some areas you need to do that because the demand for good care is so high. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010666 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:37:48 +0000 mrscobee 2010666@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrswin: That is soooo crazy!!! I just can't even believe it! I knew it was competitive, but semi frustrated that I am competing against people who weren't / aren't even pregnant! Here's hoping that #35 spot will get you in! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010663 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:35:10 +0000 mrswin 2010663@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrscobee: I am in a large metro area as well and it is extremely hard to get into daycare here. I put my name on a couple of waitlists at 12 weeks pregnant (October) and even though we don't need care until April 2016(!) I was #35 on the list for infants at our #1 choice! :shocked: It is crazy bananas here </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010659 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:31:23 +0000 mrscobee 2010659@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for the input so far ladies!!<br /> @cascademom: I don't think that seems lazy at all! To me, that seems completely reasonable. I am glad you found something wonderful!<br /> @MaryM: Yeah, we are in a large metropolitan area, and we are a bit selective on where we want to be, but it isn't like we are fixated on one option, so hopefully we will get into one of our 5! FX the daycares make it sound harder to get in than it really is!<br /> @yellowbird: Looks like I will be doing something similar!<br /> @CakeLady: Glad you found a good choice after your nanny quit!<br /> @NovBaby1112: Yes, I think it is more of a common practice in larger metropolitan areas? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010646 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:23:48 +0000 NovBaby1112 2010646@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yea, that seems crazy to me! I guess it all depends on the area and the demand though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010643 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:22:45 +0000 CakeLady 2010643@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I got on a wait list for one center when I was 4 or 5 months pregnant - I was just told that there *might* be a spot next January. LO will be 1.5 by then... I called his current daycare when our nanny quit and they had a spot for him right away. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010635 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:19:14 +0000 yellowbird 2010635@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I got on a wait list at 4 weeks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010630 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:17:18 +0000 MaryM 2010630@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think a lot of it depends on where you live and how much you care about getting into a certain center. </p> <p>I know people that registered as soon as the line appeared on the stick. But I know others who waited much longer. I think a lot of people hear that "some" register so early and freak out and think they have to...but when I actually looked into it, the lists weren't that long in my area and it wasn't necessary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010626 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:16:33 +0000 cascademom 2010626@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well, that makes me look super lazy. We looked for our daycare when LO was 9-10 weeks old. We were really lucky in finding a placement in a wonderful home daycare. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010621 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:15:13 +0000 mrscobee 2010621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: Agreed :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/strange-to-book-daycare-before-ttc#post-2010617 Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:13:59 +0000 blackbird 2010617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's crazy you have to look for daycare at 5 weeks pregnant! </p>