Childcare while job hunting, what worked?, graphic designer here

The daycare near me wants more than I can pay. I worked as a graphic designer before this. A neighbour offered help but not every day. What worked for you?

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.

Libraries and community centres run free activities that gave me a couple of hours.