When to start looking into childcare?

[Love_London]

I'm pregnant with my first baby and my friends / colleagues advised that I should start looking into childcare while pregnant as I may not have time and energy after the birth. Also, many nurseries have long waiting lists.

I do understand about the nurseries, but how about Nanny Share or Childminder? I wouldn't know if they will have availability at the time I would need childcare?

At the moment, I'm not even sure how many months of maternity leave I will take.

Should I look into nurseries now and leave nanny share or childminder searching till later?

As you can see I have not made my mind up about which I'd go for (nursery vs childminder vs nanny share)...

Thanks!

[goldilocks]

yes - nurseries now and nanny / childminder later.

Bear in mind that when you first start looking at nurseries they all seem like there are too many kids in one place, but you soon get used to that! I was horrified when we first looked but we did end up using nursery for both of ours and couldn't be happier with it. There are pros and cons to every childcare arrangement but good to look into options to see what might work for you.

[Grotty]

Also agree nurseries now and nanny/childminder later. It takes a while to work out which nurseries you like and don't like but unfortunately waiting lists around here are long so to stand a chance of getting in to some of them you need to put your childs name down once they are born. Some nurseries don't have registration fee's so I would put names down for them regardless, as you can change your mind later with no consequence. Others do have a registration fee, therefore a good idea to get a sense of what you feel for them now so you have a bit of time to think it through.

[cazfay]

Yes do! ASAP!

[hind]

have your baby on several waiting lists of nurseries. you will have the choice later.

if you consider private schools some need registartion now {DUCKS}

nannies/childminders require less notice, once you make up your mind and understand the costs yuo can look. there's always someone with vacancies. but worth start doing your homework for contract / share etc.. observce around you and ask for feedback and experiences.

depends on your working hours, one arrangement could be better than the other in terms of flexibility.