Need infant daycare in November--am I too late?

[Anonymous]

Help! I'm expecting my first in July and my childcare arrangements (with relative) for after maternity leave just fell through. Now we are scrambling to get on daycare wait lists and I'm really concerned about us getting a spot in time for me to go back to work. Are we just out of luck? How many wait lists should we get on to maximize our chances?

[Anonymous]

Just get on the wait lists now. We were on wait lists at a few different places, then heard about a center that friends like that we hadn't visited. Got on the wait list about 5 months before we needed care and actually ended up getting a spot. I think because twins had canceled last minute. So you never know.

[Anonymous]

Get on as many as you can. if you need to do a nanny share for a few months, I think it will be about $500 more per month than a daycare center, so you can weather this for a couple of thousand dollars. That isn't chump change, but it is a finite amount that you can plan around. I was offered spots at two centers after 10 months on the list, but if your office has a preference at any centers, the wait will be shorter.

[Anonymous]

Nanny share is a bit more expensive, but a better option than daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nanny share is a bit more expensive, but a better option than daycare.

Until the nanny goes back home on vacation to help a family member and then emails you to let you know she won't be nannying any longer and you are stuck hunting for child care again.

[Anonymous]

Also consider home day cares. At first I was set on having my child in a center, but ended up in a home day care and couldn't be happier. We found our current place (recommended by a coworker) a week before our child started because we had an emergency where my husband, who was on leave at the time, needed to leave the country and we didn't want the baby to go with him. As it turns out it was a blessing in disguise.

[Anonymous]

depend of the area you live ,home daycare is much cheaper,,,and better start looking.

[Anonymous]

Piggybacking on OP's post -- when is the best time to start looking for in-home care. I'm in the same boat as OP, and will need infant care around October/November.

[Anonymous]

^^ form a nanny share with OP!

[Anonymous]

I got on wait lists in March and April and was offered spots in two different daycares for or before the date I needed. I was looking for January, one offered in November and one for the first week of January. You never know what can happen.

If nothing else, doing it now may help minimize the time you need to scramble for backup in between.

[Anonymous]

I got on list at 12 weeks pregnant, never got a spot & quite my job. We were on 8 list at centers, in home & churches.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of small in home daycares depending on where you live. I asked my EAP to look some up and they came back with 7 that have current openings. 6 in NW on in NE. Most in the Columbia Heights/Petworth area.

[Anonymous]

what town are you looking in?

for an infant, i think the best thing to do is a nanny share. at 2, maybe you can switch to daycare or preschool.

[Anonymous]

I originally was planning to go with a center but ended up with a nanny share and wouldn't have done it any other way. Individualized loving care. There are some amazing nannies out there. I know ours will stay in touch with our DD until our DD has kids of her own. We just switched to daycare at 2yo. It has been a pretty easy transition.

[Anonymous]

Where exactly are you? If you are in the burbs or can use daycare in the burbs, you'll probably have better luck. Other than Arlington - it's pretty hard to get into centers there. Many of the DC families I know do nanny shares. In home daycares tend to have a shorter lead time and may or may not be less expensive than centers.

If you're on the list at a few places, call them regularly to check in (like every two or three months). But don't be annoying or rude. Stop by if you're able to, as well. If you get to know them, they're more likely to suddenly find a spot for you.