When should you start looking into childcare for first baby?

[Anonymous]

Am pregnant with my first baby and am not sure when to start looking at my childcare options. When should I start looking? Any sense of how much daycare vs. nanny runs? Any recommendations for good places in downtown DC or Fairfax?

[Anonymous]

For daycare, I think you should start now. The waitlists are long and you need to get on the lists early and follow up periodically. You won't know if you get a spot until well after your child is born.

I'm not sure about Fairfax, but group daycare centers downtown seem to run about $1200-1400 a month.

Nannies are much more expensive. Others can weigh in with more precision, but if you're talking about an experienced, legal nanny with coverage of taxes, I think it's about double the cost of daycare.

Timing for finding a nanny is much later. Around your due date or later.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

It's never too early to start looking. You may not find a place where you'll feel good about leaving your baby. Try to consider every possible option so that you can care for your own baby as long as possible.

[Anonymous]

not to cause panic but I got on 4 waitlists when I was 3 months pregnant and have only heard back from one and my son is a year old. we went the nany route. there is a nanny forum here but frankly i don't think its that helfpul. talk to your friends, co-workers, etc for tips.

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest starting as soon as possible, and get on as many lists as possible. I had some places tell me that there was a three year waitlist for infants. INFANTS! I suppose I should have started looking when my husband and I started dating.

Think about nanny-shares too.

[Anonymous]

Ugh - are we talking about needing to do this before the end of the first trimester?

[Anonymous]

uh, yes. As soon as you know you have a viable pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

I wanted a home based daycare and started looking really early and they pretty much laughed at me. I got on a few wait lists for centers and then after the baby was born went and visited home based daycares. I have an amazing home based daycare that I am really happy with (baby is 15 months with a second on the way). If you are interested in Fairfax, the county government has a database of certified home based providers that you can search. In terms of cost - nanny most expensive (we priced a legal one at $2700 a month), then large centers and the least expensive is home based (usually). I pay $800 per month for one child.

[Anonymous]

Some people get on waiting lists before they are even pregnant!

The center we wanted to use downtown was $1300/month and we'd have to put in an application with application fee for EACH month we wanted to be considered for starting. Fortunately, the director told me we didn't have much of a chance for getting in when we wanted so we looked for home daycare because a nanny just wasn't in our budget. We found someone close to home, but she said she wasn't available when I called, however she would have an opening in the fall when the kids she was watching would return to school. We thought we had that settled, but then in the fall I found out she was pregnant and wouldn't be able to watch our child but for a few months before we'd need to find someone else. I got on the phone and started calling all over the place and was fortunate enough to find another home daycare we LOVE the very next day. DC has been there for over a year now and we are very happy.

If you are set on using a center, definitely check them out and get on lists now. If you go the nanny or home daycare route, I think you have a little more time to make a decision. Either way, it's good to see what's available out there, figure out what you want in child care, what your deal breakers are, logistics for drop off and pick up, back up daycare options, etc. and make an informed decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh - are we talking about needing to do this before the end of the first trimester?

Uh yeah. We signed up at 4 wks pregnant and didn't get a spot anywhere until our baby was 10 mos. old.

[Anonymous]

For centers, especially in DC, the sooner the better.

For home daycare, you have much more time. Many would not be willing to commit until 2-3 months before we needed care.

We started out at an awesome home daycare, and then when DD was 7 months got off the list at a bright horizons center at DH's work. We have been incredibly happy with both. It is stressful but you will find something good - there are a lot of great centers and home daycares around here. (I don't have experience with nanny searching but nanny shares seem more reasonably priced).

[Anonymous]

I don't understand where people are finding $1200 daycare centers in downtown dc...

I'm not a govt employee and the 9 (NINE!) Lists I got on were 1800-1900 exept one which was a non-profit and was $1400.

All are still quoting me a 2+ year wait list. I'm 36 weeks

[Anonymous]

I agree, the lowest I've seen in DC is $1680 and the rest are $1800+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh - are we talking about needing to do this before the end of the first trimester?

Uh yeah. We signed up at 4 wks pregnant and didn't get a spot anywhere until our baby was 10 mos. old.

My son just got a spot we signed up for in July 2007. So yeah, if you're asking when you need to start looking, the answer is NOW.

[Anonymous]

Definitely get on downtown center waitlists now. I got my LO on the lists almost exactly a year ago. When I went back to work after 4 months, I had only gotten into 1 of 6 daycare centers. That was in July. By the end of August, I had gotten into 4 other daycares downtown, and we took one of those spots (at a BH). It seems like there is a lot of movement towards the end of summer when kids go to preschools or move up to a different room.

FWIW, the center where DC is now said the waitlist was at least 2 years, and we did not have priority. It was a right place, right time kind of situation.