Finding quality child care for a newborn infant is difficult. You can simply get the yellow pages and schedule an appointment with a chain center, but remember that infants can be in a room with three adults and 12 babies. It is a lot of noise and germs. Ideally the teachers are master classroom managers and the team of administrators, cooks and housekeeping make it work out very well, but sometimes. . . .
In a child care home the provider is only allowed to have 8 children under the age of 12 of which 3 of those children may be under the age of 2 (If they have an assistant that number could be higher. Most providers do their own cooking and cleaning and sometimes have pets. Everyone is a little different. It is very difficult for home providers to make the commitment to care for a newborn full time because infants come with a lot of considerations (crib, bottles, changing table, diaper pail, bouncy chair, etc.) This is why you will be paying a premium price (I charge $250 per week for infants under 1 year).
You will be able to find a whole list of providers through the Will County Child Care Resource and Referral. http://www.childcarehelp.com/programs-services/parents/fi...
They can also give you a sample list of questions to ask the provider and then you can make an appointment to meet the provider at her home to see the facility and meet the family.
You have plenty of time to do your research, but if you find the "ONE" that feels right, put down a deposit. Once the spaces are filled, you are shut out.
Good luck! P.S. DCFS licensing has changed the rules and now allows home providers to care for babies from day one (it used to be 6 weeks). So you could do a couple of hours here and there to give the provider some time to bond with your child.
