*Baby Corner*

[nannygirl82 0]

What's up my pregnant peeps? Someone getting in a few naps for me?

oh yes.... one thing i am going to miss after the baby gets here....my sleep..... i was watching the news last night and the were talking about "mom-nesia" aka mommy brain and reserchers feel moms loose about 700 hrs of sleep for the 1st year.....

[ajames79 0]

Alright all you mommies, mommies to be, etc etc...

Husband and I are talking JUST talking about having a baby.

I've been following your threads for quite sometime, in and out.

I know that you should go to the Dr. for a checkup...and see if you are ready...

But how did you guys know that you were ready? How did you prepare mentally and most importantly how did you prepare financially? Did you just bite the bullet and hope for the best? Did you have a nest egg? How well did your insurence help you out?

This is what scares me the most. Can we afford this...

[Dr. Obvious 49]

But how did you guys know that you were ready?

You don't. There is nothing you can do to completely prepare you for the 24/7 job of being a parent. So, it is a leap of faith.

How did you prepare mentally and most importantly how did you prepare financially?

Finances. Barring serious health issues, infants and toddlers are surprisingly cheap to maintain. People will give you all kinds of things for the first two years. I think it is hilarious to think how many people spend hundreds on crib bedding. My daughter threw up and had diaper explosions all over it so many times I was thankful everyday that I got it used from a relative for nothing. Invest in a good HE washer and dryer. You'll do more laundry than you thought imaginable. Some things may not end up as free as originally planned, like breastfeeding. Be prepared.

Daycare is very expensive for infants and young toddlers. It gets cheaper as they get older, but start pricing daycares if you or your husband both plan on going back to work soon after the birth.

Overall though, children do get more expensive as they get older. Activities, airfare, meals, utilities, education, furniture, clothes, etc. It all goes up.

As far as insurance goes, I cannot answer. My daughter was born in Germany with the benefit of their health care system. I think I paid 40 euros for everything. I am sometimes really amazed to see some people paying thousands of dollars for their uncomplicated vaginal births with insurance. :/ I would check with your insurance and see what they will cover. If you have no insurance and make 200% or less of above poverty level, you could be eligible for state run programs. Very few individual plans allow for maternity coverage and the ones that do are outrageously expensive, IMO.

Afford it depends on the lifestyle you want to provide your child and what you feel is important for your child to have. Something only you can evaluate with your husband.

[Eveline 9]

Alright all you mommies, mommies to be, etc etc...

Husband and I are talking JUST talking about having a baby.

I've been following your threads for quite sometime, in and out.

I know that you should go to the Dr. for a checkup...and see if you are ready...

But how did you guys know that you were ready? How did you prepare mentally and most importantly how did you prepare financially? Did you just bite the bullet and hope for the best? Did you have a nest egg? How well did your insurence help you out?This is what scares me the most. Can we afford this...

Ready to get pregnant you mean?? We were talking about getting pregnant but it was me who wasn't all that sure about it. I bought the book Pregnancy, Childbirth and the newborn just to read a little bit about pregnancy and eventually we just said..."The heck with it, let's try it" and so we did. Six weeks later I found out I was pregnant.

At the time I got pregnant with ADam, DH was still in the Military so health care wasn't the problem there. As Wacken said, Babies are really not that expensive if you just buy the necessary stuff. THey are babies, they don't need the expensive Wallpaper, drapings etc. As long as they have a diaper on and some clothes and a ####### or bottle in their mouth...they are happy for about half a year. As they get older they are a little more expensive. I cloth diapered the first six months which saved a lot of money. Babies grow out of clothes real fast so buy second hand or at once upon a child, they sell cheap baby clothes and some of it hadn't been worn at all. I made my own babyfood to save some more money etc...

We still are no rich kids. We both don't work right now and money is tight at the moment. Baby number 2 is expected in August 2008 but I'm not worried about finances in the least. You can go to your local WIC office to see if you are eligible for the WIC program, which saves us a good 40 bucks a month on milk, eggs, cheese etc...

There's a lot of options and as mentioned before. If you go with only what's necessary (a few toys included) you'll be fine and surprised that you actually still have money left on your account by the end of the month.

Good luck, all the best.

[tsunamihart 0]

What's up my pregnant peeps? Someone getting in a few naps for me?

oh yes.... one thing i am going to miss after the baby gets here....my sleep..... i was watching the news last night and the were talking about "mom-nesia" aka mommy brain and reserchers feel moms loose about 700 hrs of sleep for the 1st year.....

We're at almost 6 months now and Sofia wakes up at least twice during the night...usually for "where's the pacifier? I had it here a second ago" groggy eyed and in a trance Dad puts it in her little boca and kisses her goodnight...Sleep is for weekends, everytime else is just frosting...

[yassmine2878 1]

What's up my pregnant peeps? Someone getting in a few naps for me?

oh yes.... one thing i am going to miss after the baby gets here....my sleep..... i was watching the news last night and the were talking about "mom-nesia" aka mommy brain and reserchers feel moms loose about 700 hrs of sleep for the 1st year.....

I was such a sleep addict before pregnancy, I was scared out of my mind about the prospect of losing sleep once the baby was born. But actually, its not that bad. I dont look on it as being deprived, really. Its amazing how your perspective changes once you're holding that little bundle. You stay up because you cant fathom going to sleep when your little one needs something, you dont think twice about it, you just do it.

Alright all you mommies, mommies to be, etc etc...

Husband and I are talking JUST talking about having a baby.

I've been following your threads for quite sometime, in and out.

I know that you should go to the Dr. for a checkup...and see if you are ready...

But how did you guys know that you were ready? How did you prepare mentally and most importantly how did you prepare financially? Did you just bite the bullet and hope for the best? Did you have a nest egg? How well did your insurence help you out?

This is what scares me the most. Can we afford this...

We went back and forth about when to try and when to give up and lets things happen on their own. In the end, we had given up on trying so hard and forgotten about the whole thing. Boom, baby on the way! There never really is a perfect time to get pregnant, IMO. But it is a good idea to get a check up from your OB and address any health issues that might affect a pregnancy.

Mentally, I think you get prepared over time. No one is 100% ready at any given point. There are going to be tears, roller coaster emotions, fuss fights with the spouse, etc. Its part of marriage and having kids. One of the things that has helped me the most is having a support group, of sorts. Sharing with the women here is very helpful, also a couple of family members advise when needed. But Ive found a great deal of support and goodies in the baby newletters (available from most manufacturers websites for baby products). They deliver weekly newsletters to your email, filled with helpful stuff. Helps get you in the mindset.

Finanically, Id advise giving a little bit of prep ahead of time. I was a high risk case and got kicked on to early maternity leave 2 months before I had planned. This put a huge dent in our finances and kinda crunched what we could afford to buy. We got almost all the basics as gifts, but I had planned to stock up on staples (diapers, wipes, OTC meds, etc) and didnt have the spare cash to do so. But as noted above, you're going to get alot of handmedowns and gifts. Plus infants arent too terribly expensive (relatively speaking). The thing you're going to spend the most on is diapers and wipes (and formula if you're not breast feeding).

On insurance, I have my son on Medicaid. I have private health insurance through my job, but its wayyyyyyy too expensive to add my son on (and not cost-effective). Since Im out of work we qualified easily for Medicaid (temporary for me to cover my pre and postnatal care). You may want to look into that. So far Im very pleased with the coverage and service.

Whatever your decide, I wish you the best

[chri'stina 190]

ajames-

I agree with a lot of what the others have said.

We had a plan. We kept talking about having a baby but didn't know when we'd be ready. We put in a plan to start trying in Jan 2007, for financial reasons. We knew we'd have some more debt paid off by then. My husband is very concerned about finances so really he was the one who thought waiting til Jan 07 would be wise. I didn't get pregnant til May 07.

We don't qualify for WIC or any assistance, so we did have to think about the insurance costs for me and Kavi. My hospital copay was $500, not horrible, and I had $30 co-pays sometimes for tests during pregnancy. My regular visits were all covered by our insurance so no co-pays there. We did have to add Kavi to my husband's insurance and it is not so cheap, but we managed our budget to make room for it and still be able to save money every month.

We did get tons of stuff bought for us and given to us by friends and relatives, so we hardly had to buy anything for the baby so we saved lots of money there. Hope you figure out what you want to do!

[ajames79 0]

Let me just say, you guys are all awesome! All the advice and information made me feel a little more at ease!

I have fantastic friends and family for support and help but I am always worried about making things work. They always do so I don't know why I worry so much!

We talk to our insurence guy next week so I will ask the proper questions then.

Hopefully, God willing, I will be joining you guys a little more often with in the next year! Whoa...

Ohh, how many of you guys are going back to work after a few months off??

[Dr. Obvious 49]

I have fantastic friends and family for support and help but I am always worried about making things work. They always do so I don't know why I worry so much!

It is a big decision. You can't put it back if you decide that it may have been a mistake. A little apprehension is normal and probably good just as long as you don't let it paralyze you.

Good luck with the insurance. I hope you both find something that provides good maternity coverage without breaking the bank.

[TracyLuis 0]

I'll be going back to work after 12 weeks of leave. NOT looking forward to that at all!

On another note, I actually dread going to bed at night now because it is such fight to actually sleep. I'm becoming concerned now that my exhaustion is going to eventually take it's toll on my body/immune system. That, coupled with the fact that my husband has been gone for 2 1/2 weeks and doesn't want to leave his country now, has me pretty freaking frazzled. He'll reluctantly return on Sunday. How depressing.

I don't know how much more I can take...

[Alex+R 0]

Oh, Tracy... has he now met his child?

hugs

[TracyLuis 0]

He's been with his son (which is obviously very emotional for him), his twin brother just had to endure another surgery, and in general, he misses Lima A LOT. If I wasn't pregnant, I truly believe he'd just stay there for a while.

(And yes, it was determined that the child is his. I know he's in turmoil and my heart breaks for him and the child that has to live so far away from his father. This situation has been devastating for us both.)

Edited March 7, 2008 by TracyLuis

[ajames79 0]

I have fantastic friends and family for support and help but I am always worried about making things work. They always do so I don't know why I worry so much!

It is a big decision. You can't put it back if you decide that it may have been a mistake. A little apprehension is normal and probably good just as long as you don't let it paralyze you.

Good luck with the insurance. I hope you both find something that provides good maternity coverage without breaking the bank.

Thank you!! I am excited! I've always wanted to be a mom. But still nervous! Ohh and thanks for spelling insurance correctly. It's been bugging me all day but I had no desire to look up the correct spelling. Guess I am being lazy!

TRACY~ You poor thing. I am sorry you are going through a stressful time. How about a nice relaxing bath...Good luck working through all this!

[Alex+R 0]

He's been with his son (which is obviously very emotional for him), his twin brother just had to endure another surgery, and in general, he misses Lima A LOT. If I wasn't pregnant, I truly believe he'd just stay there for a while.

(And yes, it was determined that the child is his. I know he's in turmoil and my heart breaks for him and the child that has to live so far away from his father. This situation has been devastating for us both.)

I'll bet it has. I'm so sorry you're going through it.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

I am also sorry you are going through this Tracy. I hope things start looking up soon.