So, I'm not quite 17 weeks along in my pregnancy and we thought we were starting the day care search early. Apparently, not so! It seems like we should have gotten on wait lists like the day I get my BFP. I'm kind of freaking out here -- a couple of the centers I've called don't anticipate any availability for the next 10-12 months! There aren't many options near where I live, and I was hoping to find something close to work so I can BF at lunchtime. Finding something outside those areas will be tricky, commute-wise, though I guess we could do it as a temporary solution. I just never anticipated it would be so tough, how is a FTM to know? Someone please tell me it will be okay in the end???
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It will be ok!!!
I preferred for our center to be close to home. As a little one my daughter didn't like being in the car. It was nice to have a quiet twenty minute commute from work to daycare and then only a five minute right home with a screaming baby.
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It's going to be okay!!!! Maybe get on the wait-list for a couple daycares you really like and then you may have to enroll your LO in something less than ideal to make up the difference.
Our daycare is close to our home, instead of close to work. We decided to do this so we could share drop-off/pick-up responsibilities. Also, if either of us changed jobs, the daycare would still be in a convenient location.
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eek! Don't worry, you will find something! You ARE starting early but yeah, at this time of year usually the centers are pretty much all set with their tuition for the next year so it's tough to find a place with availability. Our daycare required us to reserve our spots with a due date of late June for September start... and the waiting list is a couple of years long or something! We got spots since we're already there and we get priority.
Just keep calling around, keep an open mind for different kinds of centers and good luck!!
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@PurplePeony: It will all work out the way it is supposed to. Can you get yourself onto some wait lists? Things could change at any time and there could be plenty of openings in the near future.
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Eeek, I would try to get on some wait lists now! I found out I was pregnant last August and I put our name on a wait list for this fall...I recently moved up and LO is starting in Sept!
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I'm at the exact same point as you in pregnancy, so i don't have personal experience, but everything i've read says to get yourself on a waitlist even if you're not sure you want to use that day care. so i'm guessing that a lot of people do that and then end up making alternative arrangements, and that could yield you a spot!
we recently realized that we weren't ready to start thinking about it and would likely end up going the nanny route since you don't have to plan as far in advance. plus, where i live, day care is so expensive and hard to get into that paying a nanny really isn't that much more! seriously though, no one tells you this kind of stuff...a bfp needs to come with a manual
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@cmomma17: @autumnlove: Yep, we're getting on wait lists now but nothing is guaranteed and I'm not good with uncertainty! Also, (nonrefundable) waitlist fees are $25-$100 each so just getting in line is pricy...we've got to do it, but it sucks.
@T.H.O.U.: @Adira: There really isn't much in our neighborhood, most people seem to do nannies or nanny-shares instead. We might end up having to look into that, but I prefer a center for the time being. DH and I work 3 blocks from each other, so we can both drop off and pick up if we go with something near work. Also, I don't have parking available where I work, though he does, so I take the bus to and from work. DH should be able to do most of the drop offs and pick ups, but the nature of public transit here would make it VERY difficult for me to do it if we had to use a center that's not close to the bus route to our home neighborhood. The costs of day care downtown are astronomical but it's really the best choice for us, logistically.
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This happened to us too, and we DID get on a daycare waitlist as soon as we found out I was pregnant - so I was about 5 weeks, tops. We called after the twins were born in February and they told us they might have ONE spot open in September. Obviously that wasn't an option since I had to return to work in May. So we had the same freakout you are currently experiencing. It will be okay, you will find something!
We ended up hiring a nanny instead and it has been *wonderful*. Of course, we are pretty much our own nanny share - but a nanny was actually cheaper for us than daycare would have been. And it is very nice not to have to get the babies out of the house in the morning...
Worst case scenario, if you really prefer a day care, you might hire a nanny for a few months. That seems pretty common here.
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8 comments