kinderkrippen - how to

[Ania]

Hi everyone!
We are new here in Germany.
My husband works as an engineer here (will sign a contract on 1st September, now he's just detached from our home country) and I am a stay at home mom.
We have a daughter 15 months old, and our second is on his way... due on 3rd March next year.
I am not feeling that great and I would also like some time for myself to be able to get some stuff done, so learn german, etc so I was looking for some options to get some help with my daughter.
So I found out about babysitters that seem too expensive for regular use, about tagesmutter ... which could be an option... allthough I don't really know the price and how I can found someone trustworthy. And then there is kinderkrippe - which could be a very good option I guess.
What I am asking is how do I sign my baby to a kinderkrippe? How long does it take to get in? Do you have to sign to multiple kinderkrippen? Do they take my kid if I am a stay at home mom? How much does it cost per month?
I know there are a lot of questions... but my German is really lousy ... so here I am asking in English
Please if you know details about babysitters and tagesmutter, do write about what you think... any advice is wellcomed.
Big hugs!

[metri]

Hi,
in most areas of western germany kinderkrippen are very rare. Therefore you should sign up as early as possible and you should sign up for more than one. As a stay at home mom it might be difficult to get a place, because places are rare and and kids where both parents are working are favoured.

Tagesmutter are often 'managed' by the Jugendamt of the city. You could check the internet page of the town you are living in. Costs are depending on the region between 3 and 6 Euro per hour.

[Uta]

You should ask at the Stadtverwaltung (city council). They often have homepages that list all "Krippen" or "Kindergärten" (in some areas the small children are together with the older ones in mixed institutions). Then you can phone the diffenrent "Krippen" and go to see them. It depends on where you are living whether you have a chance for a place for your child. In my town they only take new children after the summer holidays - and you have to inscribe them months earlier. But in bigger cities it might be easier. Good luck!

[Thistle]

For us, it would have been a problem if I had been a SAHM. Spots in Krippen are relatively hard to come by over here and we signed up for quite a few at the time. Soph started Kita in August, as that is when the Kita year starts in Berlin. Everything very much depends on where you live, really. If you need any assistance calling places or whatever, I'd be happy to help.

[anjali]

Hi Ania, and welcome to Germany!

It really depends on where you live and what the childcare situation is in your area. Here in our town, it was no problem whatsoever to get a Krippen spot - I was also pregnant, had health problems and just needed some help with my son. He had a spot in Krippe within days, even though I wasn't working at the time. The costs here are about 250 Euros (plus extra for meals) a month for 4-5 hours a day. In our Krippe, that is the lowest number of hours you can book, butof course you can just bring the child to Krippe three days a week, if you choose.

[Gast]

Thanks for all your infos. For now I decided to write a letter and sens it to several kindergardens and see how that goes and what they tell me.
Maybe I get lucky, and from September we'll get a spot.