Childcare while job hunting, what worked? (Denver)

The daycare near me wants more than I can pay. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. I am willing to trade favours. Is there an emergency option?

I swapped afternoons with another parent. It took some planning and saved us both money.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.