What to do??

[sgc28]

I have a 4 month old daughter and was made redundant last year a few months before she was born.

I am looking to be a stay at home mum for a while and start a new job by next year Jan 2014, but unsure which order to do this:

Should I :

1. place her in a nursery/childminder 1st then look for a job or
   
2. Have a job first then place her in a nursery/childminder??
   

I am so confused I am a 1st time mum and thinking about money issues to afford to place her in nursery/childminder when I do not have the money or look for part-time work which I am looking to go into part time not full time until she is settled more and I feel more comfortable with the idea in going back to work full on.

Help anyone?? :)

[lpy101]

I think I would find a job first then look for childcare.
If it takes a while to find a job, you could be paying out a fortune in fees when you don't need to.
However, that said, I don't know what the demand for places are in your area!!
Good luck!

[tilder]

When I was looking for a nursery place I could get limited days by booking 9 months in advance or any days I liked if I booked further ahead than a year. Was a bit shocked tbo and presume people book when pregnant.

Doesn't mean things will be as busy where you are, but worth checking. Booking meant filling in a form with my contact details, the age, sex etc of my child, days I wanted and approx start date. Was free to book.

[MrsMargoLeadbetter]

I'd echo posters advice about checking how busy local nurseries they are in Jan 14. DS was registered before he was born, as is DC who is due in June.

If you get into the swing of job hunting you will need to attend job interviews at short notice. Is there somebody that can help?

Personally I'd go for childcare (if you can afford it) and throw yourself into job hunting.

Good luck.

[PurpleStorm]

Agree it's worthwhile checking how busy your local nurseries are. We had no trouble booking a place for DS 4 months in advance, but demand varies from place to place. We did have to pay a booking fee though, which the nursery said was only refunded if we took up the nursery place.