Anie, one of the women from my weekly Durham Mom’s Night Out group, is due with her first baby right about now, and is already thinking about daycare for her daughter — and rightly so.

She is only able to take four months off from work.

So that means she needs care for an almost-newborn baby, and really soon. Here are the questions her and her husband are debating:

• Do they start looking for care now, or wait until it’s closer to the time they need it?
• The pros and cons of home, centre and nanny care for such a young baby
• Will a newborn be more expensive to car for? If so, how much?

Any advice for her?

I’ve sent her the links from the resource page for parents on the site, which includes great links on questions to ask potential childcare providers, and how to decide what is right for your family.

Personally, I think she should start looking ASAP, as finding care for a baby so young may prove to be difficult when a year or older is far more common. I’d think a nanny would be the best bet, at least for the first few months until the baby is older. Which raises the question of a live-in or live-out person.

Anie’s going to be checking in her for your tips and suggestions, so please leave a comment below for her.

Thanks for sharing your expertise!