When are you telling daycare?

[natescupcake]

We love DD's daycare and are so thankful we found them when we did.  DD only goes 2 days a week and they are the only center in our area that was willing to give us our 2 days as priority and not change our days up on us (vs someone that wants 3 days).  One of my worries has been making sure we are able to get a part time spot for this next little one.  I noticed in another thread a lot of people were recommending telling daycare ASAP, but I feel a little weird doing that before we hear a heartbeat- which is another 3 weeks away.  But given our part time situation, I'm starting to wonder if I really do need to notify them now...  

How far along will you be when you plan on telling your daycare?  

[bee]

Do you know if your center has a wait list? Long or short? Do they give preference to full time kids? Or to kids with siblings already attending?

Those would be my questions. I've worked at a center that you better tell them before that test is dry or you can kiss an infant spot goodbye. I've also seen parents have to wait 2 years to get into a center.

Infant rooms have a smaller ratio, therefore more expensive to have multiple rooms. Here in MO you have 4:1 in infants/toddlers. 8:1 for 2s. And 3-5 are 10:1. So centers usually have less spaces for younger kids.

Sorry for the ramble, but maybe the info will help.

[lemoncupcake]

This is our first, so we will be starting the daycare search from scratch, but I think giving notice/getting on the waiting list is highly regional. Some cities you need to be on a list before you're even pregnant, while others you have a much easier time securing a spot.

So all that to say - it really depends on where you live/what the market's like. Not very helpful, I know.

[wicked22]

My home daycare was the first person I told after telling the dad when I got a BFP from POAS. There's a bit of a special bond with her because my sister 2 kiddo's have been/are there and she super easy to talk to so I didn't have a problem telling her so early.

[musicalsilver]

I'm with bee. If your center doesn't have a huge waitlist or gives definite preference for siblings, you might be just fine waiting the three weeks. If there is a huge waitlist and there's no sort of preference (which would seem silly to me, but I don't run a daycare, so who knows), those three weeks might be really important.

How critical are those 2 days a week for you? Can you find alternative care if you have to wait?

I'm not telling our daycare yet because my job situation sucks. If I can't find a job by the time #2 is here, we can't afford daycare anymore, so we won't need a spot. If I do find a job we will need a spot, but it's hard to say if I'll get a job. So I'm in a similar, but different, state of limbo.

[akraus2015]

I'm starting daycare tours today. This is my first, so we will also be starting from scratch, but I'm always a fan of getting a head start.

[bee]

Jun 17, 2015 11:36:50 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

I'm starting daycare tours today. This is my first, so we will also be starting from scratch, but I'm always a fan of getting a head start.

I'm not sure where in STL you are but Elaine Rosi Academy is way awesome. DS went there before I decided to stay home. Definitely worth a tour if it is close enough!

[akraus2015]

Jun 17, 2015 11:46:47 GMT -5 bee said:

Jun 17, 2015 11:36:50 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

I'm starting daycare tours today. This is my first, so we will also be starting from scratch, but I'm always a fan of getting a head start.

I'm not sure where in STL you are but Elaine Rosi Academy is way awesome. DS went there before I decided to stay home. Definitely worth a tour if it is close enough!

I live in Illinois but work in South City. I can't decide if I want a daycare close to home or close to work. If I'm close to work I can stop in and breastfeed, and will be close by if something happens. However, my husband, parents, sister, and everyone else are in Illinois. If something happened to me or if I was not going into work one day, it would be almost an hour commute for someone else to take LO to daycare. So I think I'm leaning towards Illinois, but I don't know. I'm going to tour The Goddard School this afternoon.

[akraus2015]

Sorry natescupcake, didn't mean to jack your thread!

[bee]

Jun 17, 2015 11:50:41 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

Jun 17, 2015 11:46:47 GMT -5 bee said:

I'm not sure where in STL you are but Elaine Rosi Academy is way awesome. DS went there before I decided to stay home. Definitely worth a tour if it is close enough!

I live in Illinois but work in South City. I can't decide if I want a daycare close to home or close to work. If I'm close to work I can stop in and breastfeed, and will be close by if something happens. However, my husband, parents, sister, and everyone else are in Illinois. If something happened to me or if I was not going into work one day, it would be almost an hour commute for someone else to take LO to daycare. So I think I'm leaning towards Illinois, but I don't know. I'm going to tour The Goddard School this afternoon.

Good luck! I hope you find a center that you love! I don't think Elaine Rosi would work for you since its in Brentwood. I just think they are freaking great. They get daily music classes and weekly Spanish! Even the babies!

[SubtleGrandeur]

I think probably after we confirm there is an actual baby in there... so, maybe mid-July?? I'm going to try to see if they can get me in for an u/s earlier than that, though.

[flockofmoosen]

For those touring, are you considering licensed in-home day cares, or nannies?

[akraus2015]

Jun 17, 2015 23:01:23 GMT -5 flockofmoosen said:

For those touring, are you considering licensed in-home day cares, or nannies?

i would love a nanny but I'm not sure we can afford one.

[bee]

Jun 18, 2015 6:37:04 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

Jun 17, 2015 23:01:23 GMT -5 flockofmoosen said:

For those touring, are you considering licensed in-home day cares, or nannies?

i would love a nanny but I'm not sure we can afford one.

Check out care.com. You would be surprised on what you could find. A lot of the time a nanny can be cheaper than a good center.

[SubtleGrandeur]

For those trying to figure out center/in-home/nanny:

My two biggest considerations for daycare were the hours of operation and whether they had a curriculum.

I start work at 6a, so DH is the one who drops off and I pick up. He starts work at 7a, so we needed a place that opened at 6:30. Most in-home places don't offer that (very few centers in my area offer it either--most open at 7). Plus, with an in-home place, you have to consider what happens when they get sick/go on vacation/etc. and we just didn't want to mess with it.

Obviously, curriculum isn't a big deal at the infant stage. But, I wanted a place that was more structured and had actual lessons instead of it kind of being a free-for-all. I realize that some in-home places can do that... but, it gets hard when you have kids of different age groups.

There's actually a Goddard School VERY close to our house that has GREAT reviews and I would love to send her to. But it's quite a bit more expensive... and, with #2 on the way, there is NO way we could afford it. Hell, we'll be pushing it with just having both kids at the current place. Although, they do give a 10% discount for multiple children... but, it comes off the lesser amount. NOT.HELPFUL.

[akraus2015]

MH and I both work really long hours, so I like the idea of a center because most around here are 6:30-6. I just don't think we could afford to pay a nanny for 9-10 hours a day. I'm not sure what the going rate is for a nanny but I would guess at least $10/hr. At 5 days a week, it would be much cheaper to do daycare.

[wicked22]

Jun 18, 2015 15:27:24 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

MH and I both work really long hours, so I like the idea of a center because most around here are 6:30-6. I just don't think we could afford to pay a nanny for 9-10 hours a day. I'm not sure what the going rate is for a nanny but I would guess at least $10/hr. At 5 days a week, it would be much cheaper to do daycare.

When your going for a day don't think in terms of per hour, per hour is for more for babysitting. For instance my daycare charges $5 per hour but max of $30 for the day. I drop off little man at 7 and pick him up at 5 and pay $150 per week which is average for the area, My back up only charges 25 per day. 

ETA My main and back up daycare's are both in home state certified and are both amazing. 

[letal316]

I'm not in a rush to tell them. We're moving DD to a Montessori school in Nov when she's 18 months and I guess technically new baby would start at the current DC next August. I'll tell them and secure a spot before we pull her out but I think I'll wait at least another month. I'm not worried about it.

[natescupcake]

So I did end up notifying daycare this week. I decided I would rather have to tell them to give my spot away than risk not having a spot.  I'm glad I did!  The owner told me that they're full through February right now and they will be saving us an April/May spot :-)