I'm in Australia and its pretty much the same situation all over. They take babies from 6wks old here but the spots in the babies rooms are limited and there are long waitlists. They tend to recommend you start looking 6mths before you require it and some cheeky centres have started to make you pay a deposit to put your name on the waitlist. I had my son down on one list for 8mths before I gave up and extended my maternity leave. I'm hoping he has more of a chance of getting a spot in a toddlers room at a day care when he's a bit older.
Oh and yeah, you can't apply at a day care without the birth certificate anyways. So . You would have to wait till the baby is born wich really *****
I'm in the same position as you. I start school this Monday and im going back to school October, I have to find a daycare that can take infants. The only one I found that is near my house and is really nice only takes up to 3 months , but my baby will only bee 1 month old. My boyfriend works so he can't do it. He thought he should give it to a friend of his mother's to take care of but I dont know her well enough to trust her with baby. There is so much sicos out there now and days