Starting Nursery but planning to change?

[FunnyOrca]

We have 2 Nursery places reserved for our baby. We are waiting to hear about a place at a third. The third would be our first choice.

As the third is very popular it only takes new children over the summer. This summer our baby would be too young. What are your thoughts on starting at another nursery for about 6-8 months before taking a place there the following summer? The baby will be coming up 2 when the move happens. Is this just disruptive?

pros and cons of other nurseries:

1 -

• start date lines up with end of Mat leave
• really good vibes on tour
• staff seemed lovely
• nicest baby environment
• furthest distance from work and home
• the staff are all young, worried about turnover and continuity

2 -

• very close to home
• easy access from both parents workplaces
• very low staff turnover
• right next to the school baby will eventually attend (so hopefully other families will follow on too)
• didn’t love the environment
• not as reassured by the tour regarding safe sleep etc

Should I just suck it up and stick with one of these?

How far exactly is 1 away?
The staff are young at my DD nursery but majority have been there since my 7 year old attended.
did you ask about staff turnover?

what did 2 say about safe sleep?
what was it about environment?

I found gut feeling is everything when choosing a nursery.

could be disruptive moving at 2, but a lot of people do. It's always a gamble tbh.

1 is basically a 25 minute detour whereas 2 and the more desired nursery are part of both parents’ routes home.

That is reassuring to hear about your daughter’s nursery. They were genuinely lovely and everyone I spoke to seemed really invested. They had recently been taken over by a chain for financial reasons. The manager was very positive about this.

The tour at 2 was very brisk. The manager seemed very competent, but quite no-nonsense, which I think would actually be good for our family (to counter my anxiety!) So when I asked about baby room sleep she just said something like, “we follow safe sleep guidelines” and emphasised that there are no nap times, they follow the baby’s schedule. This meant a baby was sleeping alone in the separate room , behind a closed door when we were touring. Where as at the other place the babies had a much bigger, brighter room with a partitioned area for sleep with staff in the partitioned area when someone was sleeping.

The environment is hard to put my finger on. Firstly, 1 was a huge baby room! There was so much empty space for crawling, whereas 2 was quite compact. 1 is also a converted house and felt like our home with high ceilings and large windows. 2 was possibly purpose built(?) but very much has a portakabin vibe, though this then makes me think it must be good if it has survived this long with the same management despite its building being less attractive.

I also forgot to say, I would have to extend maternity leave by a couple of months for our place at 2.