how to know when to choose a nursery/childminder?

[firsttimepregnanthelp]

Hi all, I am clueless with all of this. I am 22w pregnant and I know how difficult it can be to get a nursery place but I am really struggling with knowing how to go about reserving a place - I don't know how much mat leave I want to take (ideally 12 months but may end up being 9 if finances necessitiate it) and I am also not sure where we will be living - bf is extending and renovating a house in a town 20-30 mins away (major project) although work has stopped and been halted for 2 months as he broke his leg very badly and we aren't sure when he'll be back to work on it. So if I don't know how much time I want to have off and I don't know where I will be living how am I supposed to secure a place?!

There isn’t a right or wrong place, just a right or wrong place for you.

Base it on where you are likely to be living, the town house should be in a liveable state by the time you go back to work. If not, you work around it temporarily until you can move in, it’s better than finding a new provider and then moving them.

When you look round, you ask about availability and say you will be going back to work between June and September (or whenever 9 and 12 falls). If they have availability for the they will let you know and that might make your decision. You the confirm when you has a clearer idea. It’s usually better to check for availability earlier if you need to go back earlier and just extend if you stay off longer. Some places might need you to pay to secure the place so that’s something to ask. If you want to go back sooner, you ask if they have earlier availability.

You then pick between childminder or nursery based on availability/how easy it is to drop the off and pick them up/budget/whether you can cover if the childminder is on holiday or sick. Then finally just feels.

@WhereIsMyLight thank you so much for your reply. I felt really worried about it because all I have heard is how hard it is to get a place but your calm reply has made me feel better!

To add to the (great!) post by pp. Start looking now! Particularly if you need to be specific wrt days you need childcare.

I put my daughter's name down when I was 15 weeks pregnant and at that time, some nurseries were already telling me they didn't have space for the days I needed. My daughter didn't start until she was 13 months old. It's crazy.

@MaJoady it's completely nuts! I don't even know which days I will need because it won't be decided at work if I can go back part time until much nearer the time. How did you know what days you needed? I am currently full time and I don't think I am allowed to be part time so I will likely interview for more flexible roles when I am on mat leave, although there is a government reform happening in my industry so it may well have all changed by the time I go back to work which doesn't really help me right now!

It's a very specific decision for your circumstances.
For me, I put my kids on the waiting list as soon as I was pregnant as I knew I would be going back at 9 months and full time so knew which days I needed. We also had no plans to move