Where and when do you start?!

[slvhear]

Hey
I'm feeling very overwhelmed - advice please! Currently 20 weeks pregnant. Contacted a nursery to have a look round thinking I was getting ahead of the game, only to find out the waiting list is until May 2028! So exploring other options, but I'm so lost in terms of when and how to do everything. If we went down the childminder route do I also need to be contacting them now for a October 2026 start? How on earth do you know someone is going to be a good fit for your baby you haven't even met yet! I got it a bit with nurseries, but it increasingly feels like that's just not happening. Will get on the nursery waiting lists anyway but just don't want to end up stuck

Thank you xx

You need to check other nurseries in your area to get a sense of how long ahead you need to book. We started looking around the same time as you and there was space for our little one to join this November when he will be about ten months old. I looked at Ofsted reports, local FB groups and then asked other parents what they looked for in nurseries. Also worth asking nurseries what their rules are - for instance, a nursery near us only allows entrants two times a year and has a set amount of days that can only be taken at certain times of the heat, others are term time only etc. I would definitely be chatting to childminders now to see what their time expectations are - October is prob good as they'll likely have a kid or two heading to school in September. Good luck!

Thank you <3 I've contacted all the nurseries nearby to see if their waiting lists are similar. Definitely expected there to be more of them around! Once I've heard back might try childminders too, suppose it'll help to at least know some names now

A September start is a lot more realistic than an October start.

Yes, definitely start contacting childminders now too.