Mornings only or 2.5 full days for 3 year old?

[Leel32]

Hi I need to register my dd next week for nursery for when she turns 3 in September but torn with what to do. At the moment she is looked after by our parents and goes to a little playgroup couple times a week only. Options are mornings Monday to friday 8am to 12.45pm or 2.5 days flexible which is 8am to 5.30pm and 1 morning. It would be for the full year

Swaying towards the mornings as the full days might be too much? We both work full time however I have found out I am pregnant and will be due just 3 weeks after she is due to start so hard to tell what will work best.

Looking for experiences / advice :) particularly from anyone who gave birth to 2nd around the same time!

I would say look at for pros and cons - long term to suit work hours too.
We asked for mornings and were offered afternoons only. That wouldn’t work for us. Then I changed nursery and got 9am - 3pm.

Realistically, and for various reasons mornings wouldve suited my daughter better. We had to reduce her hours slightly. I don’t think my DD would last a full day, depends what your DC is like.

I had a baby just before my daughter started. Thought I could nap whilst DD is at nursery, never worked out. Time goes in so quickly. Feel like there’s not enough hours to get everything done!

When DD was at nursery she started on 2 full days and one half day but I found that we weren't using all of her hours that way because I wouldn't drop her off till 9/9.30 and I'd pick her up around 4 at the latest, I felt that 8.30-6 was too long a day. We then got the option to switch to term time hours which was 9-3 4 days a week and that worked really nicely. I had just had her baby sibling a few weeks after she started so it gave me time to drop her off then go and do a baby class or whatever then some housework before pick up.
My youngest is due to start nursery this year and term time is no longer offered so I've chosen mornings which should tie in nicely with school drop offs then I still have a couple of hours with her before it's time to collect my eldest from school.

Mornings only is better for the child - they get daily stimulation and exposure to peers, and don't have to re-settle after a long gap. It is less useful for the parent for childcare as it's hard to fit in work or even appointments and short trips, as you need to get back for pickup so quickly and some places aren't open until 10am (eg some shops). But perhaps less of an issue if you'll be on mat leave. I liked having mornings with the baby while my eldest was at nursery - we did groups and classes in the mornings and did more chilled activities with both dcs in the afternoon.

I did mornings for mine (the second one) as they’d have lunch there and then a big nap which with my non sleeping third was a blessing, they’d fall asleep for a couple of hours (often on the way home) and I would get some rest then some time post nap to go out with them (to the park or swimming or whatever) having had a morning with the youngest to do whatever groups I wanted to.
We ended up going for Monday to Thursday mornings only so Friday was a day for trips out (zoo / beach )

Mornings every day would be the better option for your child as they do get very tired from long days. Most of the learning part is in core hours (your settings equivalent of 9-3) the rest is wraparound for many settings and they may provide care for school children in the evenings.

I think for the child consistent mornings is better