Ok... so I am posting on the bump.
jess!ca
member
Hi ladies,
DH and I have been talking about having a baby for a while now. We think we might start trying this fall. I am excited but also nervous. I think it will be so cool to have a little one, and start a new phase of our life, but I am also trying to wrap my brain around what changes we'll need to make in our lives. Anyway, I thought I would pop over to start asking some advice from you ladies since I know some of you either on here or IRL and you aren't as intimidating as the national boards. 
We've been thinking a lot about what we need to think about to plan this all so that we are ready. I am a little stuck thinking about the costs -- I know that we'll need lots of "stuff" to care for baby, and we'll need to pay for a family insurance plan and daycare. How else did your budget change when you had your first child? Is daycare just crazy expensive? Health care is something I can figure out, but I'm having trouble figuring out how our family budget should change. I would like to start living like we will "need to live" with baby, including putting money in savings for college, for a few months before we try so we can get a "real" idea of what that aspect of life will be like and what other changes we may need to make.
Re: Ok... so I am posting on the bump.
That's great that you and dh are considering parenthood. There is definitely nothing like it! It's definitely a good plan to try putting away the money you'd spend on daycare to see what that would do to your budget. It's not cheap, but I was surprised to find some places that were pretty reasonable and offered good care. A lot of the larger daycare centers near me post their rates on their websites, so that may help you get an idea of what you can expect to pay.
Good luck to you!
you'll find that daycare costs vary. You'll always find something in your price range. You can just start calling around and asking how much newborn care is. In home daycare is less expensive but harder to find.
as far as the "stuff" goes you can always go to a consignment store or sale plus craigslist and garage sales. A lot of times things are barely used. You can find clothes with tags still on them or things people never use.
Congratulations on taking the journey into parenthood! It's truly wonderful and the best thing that I have ever done.
We are lucky w/ day care in that MIL watches Stella 3 days/week. But the other 2 days she goes to a center. It runs around $170/week for an infant. Definitely use word-of-mouth to check in to in-home care, which is sometimes cheaper.
Honestly, infants don't need a lot of stuff. We haven't bought anything major for Stella...a few clothes and diapers. We got a ton at our shower and friends & family were so generous we ended up with a 2nd car seat, 2 swings, a bouncy seat, a Bumbo, and lots of clothes....it's great! But also check secondhand shops and garage sales, you can find a lot of nice things there, too.
Good luck and let us know if you have more questions!
Congratulations on making this next step in your life! It is such an exciting time!
I'm with the other girls, garage sales and craigslist have been the best for baby-deals. I hate spending the money on brand new when I know she's only going to use this stuff for such a short period of time.
Daycare, like PP's said varies depending on if you are able to find in home vs. center care. And of course, depending on if you plan on working FT or PT will make the difference as well. I've seen as cheap as $100 a week up to $500 a week for FT center care.
Saving money before the baby comes is definitely smart. We saved money & also paid off my car. We had wonderful, wonderful shower- so as far as "stuff", we didn't have to buy Justin a thing. We received our entire registry and got enough gift cards to purchase a nice pump. Also, we got so many diapers we didn't have to buy them for months. I breastfed- so it was free.
I was scared that by dropping 1 income we would really be struggling. Looking back, I don't know where all that money was going! We were blessed that DH got a big promotion when Justin was 7 months old. I've gotten a lot better at saving money- it's my way of contributing, as I see it. We still live the same lifestyle financially; travel, dining out when we want, shopping etc...
Good luck!!!!
I imagine you guys are pretty much in a good place to have kids. My main thing was that we were settled.. had a house, enough space, secure jobs, that kind of thing. DH always wanted me to be a SAHM (of course I did too) but it is just important to be on the same page (as to whatever plans you have).
If you are doing daycare, that probably would be your biggest expense. There are plenty of ways to save though - assuming you had a baby shower, you'd probably get most of your stuff that way. But there are plenty of other ways to save, like sales, consignment, etc. People get all kinds of crazy about baby stuff, but we didn't even buy a crib until my first daughter was 5m old (we were renovating, only had room for a pack n play/bassinet). And my second daughter hasn't slept in her crib yet.. either way, we got a convertible crib (it converts to a toddler bed and then a full size bed). To me I can't imagine buying a crib, a toddler bed, and a full size bed set, but it's all about how you want to spend your money, and if you plan on multiple kids etc.
Also in terms of planning ahead for actualy pregnancy, you may want to think about things like: starting a prenatal now (I started 6m before), stopping birth control (if you are on hormonal bc). If you want to try to conceive quickly or whatnot, you may want to think about things like drinking green tea, using a conception-friendly lube, eating healthy, etc.
GL! Let us know if you have more questions.. I feel like I'm forgetting some stuff but I haven't had much sleep lately lol
Nest Bio ~ ~ Baby Food Blog
Thanks, ladies! I appreciate it. I think I'll start looking at daycare prices around Albany just to get ideas. That one worries me because we are both def. going to be FT. I wish we weren't, but that's how it's going to be.
I think this is my last pack of pills and then I'll start trying to "regulate" myself without hormones. Should be an adventure!
Good luck with everything! We didn't plan for me to be a SAHM, and I know we didn't save like we should have before DS was born but it all worked out - it always does. And just FYI - everyone is different, but I took my last pack of pills to regulate myself in July '07 (after being on BCP for 10 years) and got my BFP on Sept 9. I was thinking I'd 'regulate' until October - um, nope!
LOL! Thanks, Abba!
Your siggy pic is SOOOO cute!
Sean told me that he saw you and Robin with the boys this weekend and I was SO JEALOUS!
This exactly. Got to get the LO to bed but I'm so excited to see you post this!!!