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Daycare Dilema
So out of all the daycares I've called so far in the area within 15 min or so of my house, only one had openings right now. DH and I visited last week and we liked it and thought it was a good choice. Plus it's like 2 miles from our house. The rest of the places I called told me to wait until I get closer to my due date to see what's available.
The one that had the openings (2 last week) told me that when they got down to 1 opening they would call and tell me so I could make a decision about whether we wanted to reserve the spot or not. She just called. They are down to 1. Meaning if I want to reserve the spot I have to start paying daycare now (about 6 months before I'll actually need it probably around late Jan/Feb sometime). She said it would be half price so I wouldn't have to pay the full amount...but still...it's money going out that I really don't want to spend right now and could be spent on other things.
Ughhhh. What should I do? Do I risk waiting until later on in my pregnancy and maybe have to end up with a daycare further from my house in Waterville or even Augusta if none of the other ones near me open up? Is it normal to have to start paying so soon in advance?
Re: Daycare Dilema
I'm not sure if this is the norm or not, but we paid two weeks deposit and that held our spot. We saw our DCP the middle of Feb and made the decision within a few days. Called her and gave them half the deposit the follow week and the remainder a week after that. T started the second week of June at 10wks old.
So, I guess finding a DCP is like finding DH or THE dress...if you feel like they are a great/perfect fit, then run with it. Otherwise, hold out and something else will come along.
I can see paying a deposit to hold your spot, but six extra months (even at half price) seems a little excessive. What if you open your search a little wider than 15-ish minutes (obviously not in the opposite direction of your work or anything).
Have you visited any of the places that don't have openings? Because it seems like it's likely that there will be openings at at least some of them over the course of the next six months. If you knew which ones (or how many of them) you liked, you'd know what kind of odds you're looking at.
This. We had to make the first week of payment to hold his spot. We also procrastinated in looking though since I was hoping to become a SAHM at the time (but wasn't able to for about 6 months). We were putting him in the daycare about 2 weeks later so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. I can't imagine paying for daycare before Bryce was born.