We are expecting our first child in mid August. Fortunately, I get a full 12 weeks maternity leave with an additional 12 weeks option to work part-time. So, in mid November 2009 I would need a part-time child care service, going up to full-time in January 2010. My husband and I really like the idea of In-home Childcare. My question is how early do we need to start looking around and secure the one we want? And any suggestions on good In-home Childcare is very much appreciated! We live in Hurst near NorthEast Mall, but am open to nearby areas.
Thanks for the advice - this is all new to me!
I recommend Care.com you can pay for a month subscription (only $25) and research any one you want you will also receive background checks. This might at least be a good starting place for you.
N.,
Congratulations! I would ask friends, family, co-workers, etc. for referrals. However, keep in mind that what one person likes, you may not. My son is 18 now & I found my best babysitter ever through an ad in the paper. I had no family around & only a few friends. She was a early retiree & her & her husband kept my son all through my nursing school with my odd hours. I absolutely loved her to death. My son was the only one she kept & he really bonded with her husband.
Best of luck:)
Sometimes you can find someone that might take a deposit to hold a spot and sometimes you really might want to look and interview and then make your final decision about a month before you need. You can save money for your new little one. I am registered with the state, look on their website to learn more about home care and for your provider. Department of Family and Protective Services is an excellent website. You do want someone who is legal with the state for childcare. The state is watching for those who are legal with the state for home care. Check out throughly and ask for references. I know I am far from you but please call for any help and information, ###-###-####.
Try care.com, we got our nannies from there in the past. It's pretty detailed and organized to walk you through it.
A couple of things come to mind based on my own experience:
1. It's good to get out and check all daycare options as soon as you know you are expecting. Yes, it's a looong time off, but if you wind up on bed rest or have other issues, you will have to rush your decision based on availability.
2. In home childcare is great as far as the germ factor goes, if you go with a low ratio. But the reliability factor is dicey and you will have to face the germ factor eventually when you go to daycare or school and it takes a while to catch up.
My thought is that you should go ahead and start looking. Check some private homes as well as some daycares, make a short list...if you do decide to go with a daycare, their ratios are REALLY low for infants, so you will want to go ahead and get on the waiting list. They run about a year behind.
I would suggest picking two private homes and two daycares and checking in with them every couple of months to monitor their availability just in case one goes out of business, etc. This way you won't have to stress when it's time to go back to work. It will be a giant worry off your shoulders. I was stuck on bedrest and spent the last two weeks of my maternity leave FREAKING out about this, all daycares had year long wait lists (not my first choice anyway, but I was looking for the extended hour availability and proximity to my work). I stumbled upon two really great private sitters on that last week but it was so stressful trying to figure out what to do up until then! If I had it to do all over again, I would have shopped for childcare as soon as I knew I was pregnant so I could have spent more of my time hanging out with my baby and figuring out how to be a mom :)
Good luck and congratulations!!
Now is a good time to start interviewing the daycares.
The things is, most daycares only require a 30 day notice if a child is to be removed so they wouldn't know their availability until a month before you need them.
Unless, they are already under capacity, there's just no way of knowing. I began browsing when I was around 6 mos pregnant, found the in hme daycare I wanted, then once my son was about 7 mos old, I began taking him one or 2 days a week. The daycare did not have a fulltime spot open, so she'd call me when there was room for one more on a certain day. I also did this so that my son could get used to the daycare little by little. Then she notified me when a fulltime spot became available and I took it even though I didnt need it quite yet, b/c if someone else wouldve taken it, who knows how long it'd be until another spot opened.
For every one adult, 4 children are allowed. So if there is the main caregiver plus a helper, that is 8 total. I prefer the ones with only 8 because once you start getting closer to 15, you may as well go to a regular daycare.
Good luck. :-)
