I got on the waitlist for our daycare when I was 6 weeks pregnant and got in when I needed to be. I wanted until 15 weeks with DC 1 and had to scramble for daycare for 8 weeks.

I would have locked in the spot sooner if I’d had the opportunity, no question.

OP here: oh trust me, I’m on all the waitlist and have been for months haha. I think the majority are supporting my inclination that we should lock one in and see what happens with the top choices as we get closer.

Get on the waitlists. If you're lucky, it will work out when you want. If not, get a spot at a home daycare and wait until the place you really want has a spot. By then, you'll know what you value in infant care. There's always a home daycare spot somewhere.

Home daycare provider and my 3 openings for next fall filled in February.

I just paid a $50 deposit to hope to get off the wait list 12 months from now.. you should get in a lot of wait lists..

Yes. —former director

If you are talking about $100 or something - in a heartbeat.

YES. Potentially eating the deposit or whatever is worth the peace of mind.

- Mom who's been on waitlists since August and hasn't gotten off any.

Curious to hear others thoughts and experiences. We need care for this fall. My top 2 choices have the longest wait lists and I’m not sure how confident I am that we will get in. A few places have mentioned to me while touring that they are pre-enrolling / we could secure a spot now. They are decent places and maybe even #3 on the list. I just did our last tour so we will be finalizing our preference list in the next few days.

Would you commit to a center six months before you need care, just to know you have it?