What do you do when you have found out you are unlikely to get a place in the nurseries of your choice

[SaBearOz]

Just found out today that DS is unlikely to have a place in any of the nursaries I have put his name down (3). He was due to start in Jan 2013 at 11 months of age. We are in south west London and his name has been down since he was 4 months of age for a fulltime place.
Should I reconsider the other ones that I didn't like? Hope that a place does become available? Or just sit here and cry (which is what I felt like doing all afternoon).
Anyone else been in this situation or have any advice?

I would look around for others. Maybe look closer to work, or en route. Also reassess why you didn't like others, they, or your feelings, may have changed. You could also consider a childminder for the interim, until a place becomes available.

Crikey that's tough. I would look for a childminder/nanny/nanny share. I was in a similar situation a few yrs back. Advertised for a nanny on Gumtree and found my amazing childminder (who has since loved away sadly). Also, ask everyone you meet especially anyone with school age kids. It's amazing how often someone knows someone who's looking for a mindee or nanny share. Tell people at playgroups, look on the childcare boards here. You've still got lots of time so try not to panic.

Also keep calling the nurseries you like. It only takes one family to move away (preferably one with triplets ) for spaces to open up. Make sure they know how keen you are.

Loved = moved. She has not loved away as far as I know

I was in a similar position and managed to get a place for DS by starting him at the nursery I wanted him to go to 3 months earlier than originally planned but just for one day per week - they were prepared to confirm that he would have a place for 3 days per week from the date I originally wanted him to start on that basis. Might be worth looking into whether you could secure a place that way? And remember that lots of people put their names down at lots of nurseries, so the nurseries might think they won't have a place based on their waiting lists but the reality could be different.

If that hadn't worked the other option I was looking into was getting DS into nursery for as many days as they could offer me and getting a short-term nanny to cover the rest until the nursery could up his days.

Thanks for all the advice and support. I have wiped away my tears and made some phone calls to some other nurseries closer to my work rather than home. I have also investigated some childminder options in case none of the nurseries have availability.
I will try and see if my preferred nurseries have any availability for one day starting soon to see if I can get in that way.
Thanks again