Okay, so I am 3 months along and thought I was jumping the gun by looking for daycare now. Turns out, I was sooo wrong. . .

Initial questions to ask yourself:

• Do I need full time or part time care? If you are
  employed part time, work flex hours or have the help of a friend or relative, you may not need full time care. Part time care may save you quite a bit of money depending on the facility, and you may want to look for a facility that charges daily or has a pay scale that includes a three day a week rate.
• From when to when will I need care? What are your working hours?
• Does a religious affiliation matter to me?
• Am I intending to take the child out of daycare when they learn to walk, potty train or for preschool? This may also affect how you think about pricing. Many but not all facilities offer reduced rates as the chid gets older or hits certain developmental milestones. If you plan to keep your child in daycare for a long time you may want this option. Also many daycares also function as preschools for older kids.
• How long am I intending to take off from work? Some daycares start with newborns, for some it's 6 weeks, 8 weeks or 18 months. It's good to think about this even before you turn in your maternity leave to your employer so you can base it on how much you may have to take.

How to find daycares:

• Referrals. Ask your co-workers first. They will most likely know good places that fit within a budget similar to yours and that are convenient to your work schedule. I even asked my boss. This not only opened a dialog to the costs of daycare these days and got him involved, but also showed him I was being conscientious about work after having the child and ended up getting me a great daycare to boot. Neighbors, churches, doctors' offices and schools often give good referrals as well.
• Local parenting magazines. There are often free parenting mags full of coupons and ads at the supermarkets and baby and maternity stores.
• Internet search. Search for day care and your city. You will have more than you can count, then narrow them down by location to start with. Who needs the extra stress of a thirty minute drive?
• Referrals from daycares. Most facilities are booked to the gills so they don't really need your business, so usually if they are full, the hours aren't right or the cost isn't they will be happy to refer you to another that might better fit your needs.

Questions to ask on the phone:

• How young do you take the children?
• What are your drop off and pick up hours?
• Is there an extra charge if you are late?
• What are your rates and do they change when the child gets older?
• Do you bill weekly or monthly?
• What is the child to caretaker ratio? This should range between 3:1 to 5:1 for infants. As the child gets older it is commonly 6:1.
  
• Are you certified? There are many different certifications. After they tell you yes, make sure you write down which certification and look it up on the internet.
  
• How long has your staff been with you? A staff that is happy will stay a long time and tend to do a better job. Look for longevity.
  
• Do you have specific staff assigned to specific age groups or do they rotate? Staff that stays with the age group provides more familiarity for your child and will be more attuned to your child's quirks and needs.
  
• How many cildren do you commonly have at your facility and how many are infants? Less is more as they say. Less kids, more attention.
  
• Are your staff certified in child and infant CPR?
• How long do the kids normally stay with you?
• How long have you been in business?
• How do you feel about parents coming in to see their child during the day?
• If we need to get in touch with you during the day, how easy is that to do?
  

Things to ask about or look for when you visit: now you should have been able to narrow your choices down to just a few and arrange a visit.

• Can you make it in time with rush hour traffic? Or is it tight?
• Can you make it there and back on your lunch hour?
• Does it smell funny?
• Do the kids look happy?
• Does the staff look happy?
• Are there any unsupervised kids?
• How many are crying?
• Is it neat and clean?
• Does each infant get his or her own crib? For the day or for the duration of their attendance?
• Are parents required or allowed to bring their own diapers? Wipes? Milk? Food? Linens? If so, is it labelled?
• How often are the linens washed?
• Is there a proper kitchen on the premesis or is it just a fridge and a microwave?
• Are the play areas safe and well maintained? Is there are contingency for rainly days?
• Are the infants kept seperate from the older kids?
• Is it well-lit?

General tips:

• Try to visit during a busy time so you can see how all the kids are interacting, and you can see things at their worst.
• Start early! Some day cares I have contacted have waiting lists until 15mo from now. Many have them until 8 mo.
• If you don't visit during rush hour, do a test drive during rush hour so you can be sure you will make it to and from work within their hours.
• Google them on the internet to make sure they haven't had any negative notations you may not otherwise be aware of. Many times you can also check with the agency that sertifies them for violations.