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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Nursery waiting list whilst pregnant?!

76 replies

Baby2018 · 02/04/2018 20:09

I was speaking to someone today who recently found out Im pregnant, she said to me " better get on that nursery waiting list" was she kidding? Or do I seriously need to think about joining the waiting lists for the good nurserys? Im due end of Sept.
Thanks !

OP posts:

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NeverTwerkNaked · 03/04/2018 06:56

Judge away @BrutusMcDogface

My son was there already and I knew how absolutely excellent a place it was. None of the other childcare providers locally come close. I was going to have to work a few days a week so why wouldn’t I! I can’t comprehend waiting till later and running the risk of having to resort to less amazing childcare/ having children with two different providers.

BrutusMcDogface · 03/04/2018 07:18

Calm down, I'm not judging. Just seems so bizarre to me but that's because it's not the fine thing around here; obviously we have plenty of nursery places.

BrutusMcDogface · 03/04/2018 07:19

*done thing.

BrutusMcDogface · 03/04/2018 07:19

Didn't they look at you like this:

NeverTwerkNaked · 03/04/2018 07:22

Nope, it’s the norm if you want that nursery now. If you waited until the baby was born you wouldn’t get to the top of the waiting list before they started school.

headoutofthesand · 03/04/2018 07:31

I think it's one of those situations where the adage "if you can't beat them, join them" comes into play. It does seem mad but, if you think you want to go back to work, you will need some form of childcare for your child.
How long are you planning on having off? One thing it took me a while to get my head around is that nurseries run off the school system so tend to have more spaces in September when a whole group will have gone off to school yet there won't be that many babies needing a place; if you are looking for a summer start, then it is trickier as the baby room will have filled up.

ememem84 · 03/04/2018 08:04

We did. Ds was down before he was born and I filled in the paperwork when he was 3 weeks old. He starts in a couple of weeks when he’ll be 6.5 months. To get into the full time all year round (ie not just term time) ones here it’s ridiculous.

A friend paid a deposit for two nurseries to secure a wanted place and a back up.

What irritated me was she’d reserved places at 2 all year full time ones. And she’s a teacher so in theory has no need for holiday childcare. There was a nursery specifically for teachers but it closed.

museumum · 03/04/2018 08:07

I visited them after my 20week scan. I was looking for two days from six months - only half of the ones we liked could take dc then. If I’d been taking a year off work I’d have got places anywhere.

scrivette · 03/04/2018 08:25

It depends on where you are, it is probably worth calling your local ones to find out. DD has been down since she was a couple of weeks old to start (hopefully) when she is a year. However the nursery is very small.

HerSymphonyAndSong · 03/04/2018 08:43

There is an on-site nursery at work - huge organisation so v popular. I had to put name down at about 20 weeks

didireallysaythat · 03/04/2018 09:04

Good point - of course it depends on when you go back to work ! In my case I went back at 3 months both times so needed to know I had a slot (the nursery included preschool ie 3 months to 4-5 years).

ThriceUponATime · 03/04/2018 09:16

OP I'm near you - waiting lists aren't ridiculous, but visiting with a 6 week old who will go to nursery at 13 months was certainly well within their normal!

PrimeraVez · 03/04/2018 09:41

We're not in the UK but we toured a few primary schools a few months back and there were lots of pregnant couples there signing up their unborn kids. It's insane.

HerSymphonyAndSong · 03/04/2018 10:08

It’s not insane if that is the waiting list situation where you live

namechangedtoday15 · 03/04/2018 10:16

I knew DD's nursery was incredibly popular so put her name down after my 12 week scan. They were already full for the baby room but I think someone must have lost a baby as I got a call a couple of weeks later to say a place had come available. She started when she was 1 - so 18 months later.

Different part of the country - first time mum, went round nurseries when I was about 5 months pregnant. Got places for 1yr olds (so about 16 months in advance) at 2nd choice, but 1st choice was full.

I think it's very much about demand - the most popular / perceived as "best" nurseries will get booked up very early. The earlier you look the more choice you will have.

Buxbaum · 03/04/2018 10:16

It does also depend what care you need - I don't know if this is typical but the nurseries that we considered understandably prioritised a full-time child over a part-time one. If you know that you intend to return to work part-time or you are lucky enough to have family support and only need a part-time nursery place then it is wise to get your name down sooner.

thethoughtfox · 03/04/2018 10:17

We visited all the nurseries when baby was 6 weeks and put her name down as soon as we were sure.

BrandNewHouse · 03/04/2018 10:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GlitterBurps · 03/04/2018 12:43

Hi OP I would definitely ring the local nurseries to enquire about their waiting lists and application process. Some require deposits to hold a place and also charge a non refundable application fee, so you don’t get a shock later. My work has a nursery and the HR paperwork recommends to put your name down when you are 9-12 weeks pregnant. I didn’t get that info until I was going on maternity leave so had to find an external nursery.

Mama05070704 · 03/04/2018 12:49

Definitely depends on where you live. I got my eldest into a decent nursery in Suffolk with no issues but moved to Bucks and couldn’t find nursery places for either child so we ended up with a nanny.

Queenhoneybee · 03/04/2018 12:50

Round me if you haven't got a place reserved whilst pregnant you're pretty much not going to get in.

Sashkin · 03/04/2018 13:21

Depends on where you live and how flexible you can be.

Waiting list around here (East Dulwich) is up to two years for the most popular nurseries - I found this out when I went on a tour when DS was six weeks, thinking I was ahead of the game, and some of the other mums putting deposits down were just starting TTC . That is what I’d expect for a particular type of ED mummy though.

There are a shortage of nursery places around here, but when I went back to work I was flexible about which days we needed, and we picked a second tier nursery (it was my first choice, but just not one of the “posh” ones or the subsidised one). I think we were on the waiting list for about 8 months.

NancyFrank · 03/04/2018 15:17

The nursery where I work is ofsted outstanding and our baby spaces are constantly filled, we get a lot of parents viewing and booking places whilst pregnant. The larger chain nurseries you may be able to wait longer as they have lot's of spaces but if you know you're going back to work I would advise going to look around a few places :)

MilesHuntsWig · 03/04/2018 15:19

I put my DD down for a nursery place on the day of the 20wk scan. I took 6mo off work and needed 3d pcw and we didn’t get in. Luckily I had put down a couple of others and she did get a place at a lovely one.

Depends on a lot of factors. Go and ask a few...

CockOffPostmanPat · 03/04/2018 15:20

We booked dd's nursery place when she was 3 months old. We were the last to get a place for that academic year so I'm glad we called them when we did!

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