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I used to work for a pre-school that did offer drop off care. You would have to call in advance and let them know you were coming but as long as you were registered, they were fine. It cost more per day than full time care but if you were only doing it every now and then it would still be cheaper.

A lot of areas have a nanny service that does last minute care, they usually have you fill out the paperwork and interview a few caregivers so that when you need them you have a comfort level and the caregivers know where you live etc. I believe most of these services charge an annual fee and then the hourly rate is inflated a bit so it isn't a cheap option but in a pinch it is a good option to know about. Try searching for "last minute nanny" and your area and see what comes up.

The other option would be to either find a sahm mom friend who might be willing to pick up the hours from time to time or just place an ad on care.com or sittercity.com and see if you can find 2-3 people there who you can call in a pinch.

I would also ask around in your area to see if anywhere offers drop in care. Mom's day out programs are usually a few hours long but would give you mil a chunk of time if she had an appt to go to or if you or your dh wound up staying home with lo you could at least get a few hours to work from home.

Good luck!