Infant care crazy wait lists

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend an in-home daycare provider in Montgomery County for a two year old or where I can find a listing?

[Anonymous]

There's an agency called Monday Morning Mom's that helps place you with in-home daycare in Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

What daycares do you all know of/recommend in DC? I live in Columbia Heights and work in Adams Morgan. I am already putting myself on the Rosemount list, but know that could be years. I'm due in July and am looking for infant care for November.

thanks.

[Anonymous]

PP, I know two families that use Easter Seals in Columbia Heights and have been happy with it. Their kids started at 1 and 2 though, not as infants, but it might be worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We were on waiting lists before my son was born (about the time I was 4 weeks pregnant!!) and still did not get in until he wa 20 months old. However, it was worth the wait because I LOVE our daycare. We ended up getting a nanny, then around 12 months old, moved to having a nanny share with another family to save money.

It is an awful problem in this area.

Jenni

[Anonymous]

Our center's director recently told me that the one thing she dreads about her job is being asked by parents to predict when an opening will occur, because it is just so unpredictable. Sometimes there is an opening, and the first person on the wait list will take the slot; other times, she'll go through 30 people on the list until she finds someone who still needs it. I think we were about 19th on the waitlist when I called about 6 weeks out from when we needed the slot. Two weeks later, the director called with an immediate opening, which we nabbed because even though it meant paying for a month that we didn't need care it was still less expensive than getting a nanny.

[Anonymous]

I agree that the wait-list game is incredibly frustrating and sometimes it feels random. The best thing to do is get on as many lists as possible as early as possible, send them a letter reminding them of your interest once the baby is born, and then call through the list every few weeks during maternity leave. Also, realize that most centers only have a large number of openings in September, when the older kids leave for Kindergarten & everyone moves up. We finally got a spot for our son when he was 19 months old! But it was really worth the wait. Good luck!