Story Time Kidz, Jenkins Hill Child Development Center, and Nana's Place are also all on the Hill and we've heard great things about each. Our child is at Jenkins Hill and we've loved it. Also looked at Little Rockets, which is an in-home option that's just across the river and didn't end up working for us but also seemed lovely.

We left Phase Family after a bad experience there and ended up hitting a nanny. Our neighbors are at STEM and have good things to say.

Depending on where in Capitol Hill you live, Bambini has an existing location next to Union Station, and a new one about to open in the Capitol Waterfront area. This new one has open houses going on now, where you can enroll to have a spot as soon as it opens.

One of the reasons people end up in nanny shares on the Hill is that there just aren’t enough daycare spots so you may not have a choice. When I was 20 weeks pregnant I got on the waitlist at Little Scholars, Thurgood Marshall, and board of childcare (along with two others closer to work). By the time that child was 2.5 I got off a waitlist. This was years ago so I hope others can weigh in and say things changed! (We ended up doing a nanny share and really were lucky to find an amazing nanny who stuck with our family for 4 years).

Would like to hear recommendations, anecdotes of good/bad experiences, advice for daycares in or near the Capitol Hill area; looking to enroll a 7 mo.

Many families here seem to be with nannies and nanny shares. Not a good fit for us right now, though we also would prefer not to 30-40 min each way to drop off in other parts of the city where there are more clusters of centers.