Advice for switching daycares/ creche

i just changed my sons school. we made it an adventure for him. we kept talking about his new friends and new school and how exciting it is. We also drove past the school several times to point it out to him so he got used to the idea that that was where he was going to go..

he was so excited by the time i eventually took him there and he loved it so much.

he also gets a gold star on his star chart every time he's a good boy at school.

he's just turned 3.

Would you be able to take him to the new creche at least once before having to leave him there full day?
With my son I take him the day before he starts, and I introduce him to his teacher and then I stay there for about half an hour. If he wants to be held I hold him while I'm chatting to the teacher, explaining things and finding out their routine etc. Eventually his curiosity gets the better of him as he sees all the other kids. When he indicates he wants to go down i put him down. He hangs around my legs for a few more minutes then ventures out to play with the other kids. I wait a few more minutes, then go and tell him I have to go to the shops quickly but will be back soon and then I leave. Then I go back about 2 hours later.
The next day when I have to leave him for the whole day he already knows the kids, the teachers, and the environment, so it's not so scary.

Hi Deja

Unfortunately not . My mom is his only surviving grandparent and she works half days at a school, including during holidays for their holiday care program. She does get a few days off, but she has told us before that she is not up to watching him full-day (we're lucky if we can get her to babysit one evening a week or every second week).

Hi Ladies

I just registered so I am new around here, but I am hoping some of you ladies have some advice for me. It's a little complicated so please bear with me, but here is the background:

My son is 2 years 4 months old. He went into a daycare at 15 months as I was working from home and it got to a point where he was very mobile and I could either do work or be with him but not both at the same time. He loves the daycare he's at, and it is great, but it is incredibly expensive (double what most places ask) and a fair distance from our house, but he's been happy so we've kept him there. They close often during the year in addition to a 4 week break at the end of the year (2nd week of December to 2nd week of Jan). Previously this was not an issue as I was at home and could look after him.

We have also been looking to move / buy a house and decided that we need to most likely move him into another daycare to try and reduce costs (as mentioned, the one he's at is expensive) but also have something closer to where we are. I have found a potential place which has an open day that we will be taking him to in October, but we can only place him there from the 2nd week of Jan. We are required to give 2 months notice at his current daycare, and the notice may not be given in November or December. That means in order to move him, we have to give notice now so that he finishes up there end November.

My work situation has now changed quite suddenly. I was on a contract basis with my company and they now want me to come back on site full time (permanent) as of 1 October (I was told this about a week and a half ago). Because we were not expecting this, and because we thought I would still be home in December, my husband took his full leave in April / May so he can't take off work to look after our son, and I'll have only just started again so I won't have any leave due. This means my son has no where to be for December.

I have been making frantic calls for the past week and a half and I may have found another daycare (a place I previously checked out but were full) that is very kindly prepared to squeeze him in just for that one month. So we are hopefully sorted.

But, here is my dilemma. I know that this chopping and changing is not going to be good for him and it is going to be very confusing, but I don't have any other choice. I really need some advice as to how to make it easier on him.

When he started daycare, I used the first week to ease him into it - I left him there half day for 2 days, then until just after lunch, then until about 2:30 and finally a full day on the Friday. It worked great for him and he adjusted quickly. I won't have that luxury this time around and I am really worried about how he is going to handle being placed in a strange environment with children and teachers he doesn't know for a full day from the get-go. I feel terrible about it but really not sure how to make it better for him! And this will happen not just once, but twice - the start of December and then again in January at the new daycare. Anyone have any suggestions?