Mo' Money Mo' Problems?

(written by Meg + gifs by Kate)

I recently had a discussion with a friend who is in her mid 30s and hasn't yet started trying to get pregnant because she's worried about how she'll afford a bigger apartment, daycare, diapers, and all
the other costs that come along with having a baby. Though I understand and share her concerns, I encouraged her to get going! She might (MIGHT!) have more money in a couple of years, but then she'll also be beyond the magic pregnancy age of 35 and have all kinds of other things to worry about it.

Then I came across this blog post called What Comes First: The Chicken or the Nest Egg? by Rebecca Woolf of Girl's Gone Child. I chuckled when I read her smart words "there is never enough money and there is never enough time and there is never enough of anything ever the end." I couldn't agree more.

Kate and I did wait until we both had decent(ish) paying jobs and an apartment that can (perhaps uncomfortably) accommodate a baby...but we didn't wait until we had enough money to really do this thing.  I'm not sure when that day might come. We had the added financial complication of needing to put up a fair amount of money at the beginning just to attempt to get pregnant, so we actually did have a bit of a nest egg. Since it only took 3 tries (woohoo!), we had some of our baby making savings left over, a bit of which we recently used on vet bills for our other baby, Batman the cat. But I digress...

My point is that I don't think there's ever a "right" time to have a baby. Obviously it's ideal if future parents have enough money to provide the basics for their baby and I certainly do wish we had a little more (who doesn't?), but I don't regret our getting pregnant before having all of financial ducks in a row. I should add that we're very lucky to have very supportive families who would never let BCG go diaper-less. Phew.

We want to hear from you! Do you have financial check boxes on your pre baby-making to-do list? Did you make it it work on a budget? Do you have advice for us? We'll take it.

Week 14: Daycare is Like the NFL Draft

For the first 12 weeks of Kate's pregnancy, I was sort of pretending she wasn't pregnant. That might sound weird, but I am the type of person who would prefer to assume the worst is going to happen and be happily surprised when it doesn't. Kate and I agreed not to buy any baby related items until after 12 weeks, and I think we actually succeeded. I didn't let myself think about the fun stuff- nursery decorations, adorable onesies, etc or the not-so-fun stuff- daycare, never sleeping again, etc. I really didn't think about any of it. Well, that all changed after our 12 week ultrasound. Seeing our baby, who now looks more like a human than a blob, made it all feel very real. VERY, very real.

I am trying not to panic about all of the things we need to figure out between now and November, but it's challenging. The first thing I'm tackling is daycare. Who knew you had to secure a spot in daycare practically before your child is even conceived?

And man is it expensive! The daycare center in Davis Square is $2,100 a month! $2,100!! Wow. We obviously won't be sending Kiddo Curtis there. We have a couple of options lined up thanks to our lovely friends who suggested the places they send their kids. And Grandpa Curtis (it's so weird to call my dad that, I am definitely picturing MY grandfather who, at 87, is in no shape to babysit) agreed to schlep to Boston at least once a week, so that covers one day. We are eternally grateful. In a perfect world we'll be able to arrange our work schedules so that one of us is home 1 day a week, thus needing daycare only 3 days a week. Phew. There are many other life-changing decisions to be made in the near future, and we'll update you as they become finalized.

In terms of buying baby supplies, we haven't done much. Kate is stocking up on maternity clothes (bathing suits- what a pain) and a pillow that will prevent her from flipping over onto her back. She also bought one adorable gender neutral onesie to celebrate passing the 12 week mark and I happened to stumble upon a free nursery glider that was too good to pass up, but otherwise we haven't done much. We know it's still early and we're hopeful that some hand-me-down items might find their way to us. Plus, we don't have anywhere to put the stuff right now, since our guest room (soon to be nursery) is booked with guests (Hi Aaron! Hi Swin!) for a week in June.

When you buy your kid an expensive
toy...

As our friends and family have started suggesting baby items to us, we have been adding them to an amazon.com registry so we don't forget.  So I'm opening it up to you, our dear readers. What products didyou buy and never use? What are the things you couldn't live without? We can use all the advice we can get, so lay it on!