How did you afford being able to have and care for a baby? They're not as expensive as you might think, particularly if you're willing to use used stuff. Speaking of used stuff, I'm getting ready to get rid of a batch of stuff. One thing in particular you might want to grab is my Moses basket. It's dark blue, which I think is appropriate for both boys and girls. I know I have a ton of pink stuff for Charlotte, but most of it was given to me as gifts. I also have a musical mobile that I think Charlotte is done with.
Did one spouse quit their jobs? Brian was already basically unemployed/working at home as a writer when we had Tenzin. I quit for Charlotte but that was also due to the move and me not being able to practice law in Oregon anyway.
Did you go to part time work? I would like to do part time when I go back. That will hopefully be when Tenzin is in Kindergarden or at least pre-school.
Did you split your working hours up to allow one person to be with the baby at all times, even though you never see your spouse anymore? For Tenzin I didn't work until he was 6 months old. I had really awesome paid maternity leave benefits.
They sleep a lot at first. Later they amuse themselves. There is a period between maybe 4 months and 7 months during which it seems like they never sleep and they aren't very good at amusing themselves. But yeah, pretty much no spouse time for a while.
Did you own a house? Rent? Rent.
Did a family member help you out? Yes, totally. My mom came up a lot to babysit Tenzin when we lived about 40 miles from her. She came up about once every other week but sometimes more.
1. Don't worry about money, but do think about ways to be frugal. You really only HAVE to have a carseat and diapers (some people say not even diapers but I think they're a little "out there"). Charlotte will probably have outgrown her smallest carseat by the time you deliver. It's fairly nice, with a removable carrier. I'll show it to you Friday.
2. Do you mean with money or with time? We did get money from family in the form of congratulations gifts. I actually had paid maternity leave AND I qualified for low-income medical coverage (California sponsored) that paid for everything related to the pregnancy and two years of pediatric care. I lost the benefits when we moved to Oregon but Brian has Kaiser through work now. I was really lucky that the program was available. Yes, as a lawyer working full time I actually qualified for low-income medical coverage because the county I worked for paid CRAP. Which is part of why we left.
Concerning time/babysitting: If family offers to help take them up on it, even if that means they will stay at your house. Even if all they do is watch the baby sleep, it will give you a chance to do something else like take a shower or nap. Try to limit the amount of time and stagger the dates because if your family is anything like mine, too much of them drive you crazy.
Brian and I were both very poor growing up, so for us it's more comfortable to be frugal. I shouldn't speak for Brian, but I feel really weird and guilty when I spend money.
They're not as expensive as you might think, particularly if you're willing to use used stuff. Speaking of used stuff, I'm getting ready to get rid of a batch of stuff. One thing in particular you might want to grab is my Moses basket. It's dark blue, which I think is appropriate for both boys and girls. I know I have a ton of pink stuff for Charlotte, but most of it was given to me as gifts. I also have a musical mobile that I think Charlotte is done with.
Did one spouse quit their jobs?
Brian was already basically unemployed/working at home as a writer when we had Tenzin. I quit for Charlotte but that was also due to the move and me not being able to practice law in Oregon anyway.
Did you go to part time work?
I would like to do part time when I go back. That will hopefully be when Tenzin is in Kindergarden or at least pre-school.
Did you split your working hours up to allow one person to be with the baby at all times, even though you never see your spouse anymore?
For Tenzin I didn't work until he was 6 months old. I had really awesome paid maternity leave benefits.
They sleep a lot at first. Later they amuse themselves. There is a period between maybe 4 months and 7 months during which it seems like they never sleep and they aren't very good at amusing themselves. But yeah, pretty much no spouse time for a while.
Did you own a house? Rent?
Rent.
Did a family member help you out?
Yes, totally. My mom came up a lot to babysit Tenzin when we lived about 40 miles from her. She came up about once every other week but sometimes more.
1. Don't worry about money, but do think about ways to be frugal. You really only HAVE to have a carseat and diapers (some people say not even diapers but I think they're a little "out there"). Charlotte will probably have outgrown her smallest carseat by the time you deliver. It's fairly nice, with a removable carrier. I'll show it to you Friday.
2. Do you mean with money or with time? We did get money from family in the form of congratulations gifts. I actually had paid maternity leave AND I qualified for low-income medical coverage (California sponsored) that paid for everything related to the pregnancy and two years of pediatric care. I lost the benefits when we moved to Oregon but Brian has Kaiser through work now. I was really lucky that the program was available. Yes, as a lawyer working full time I actually qualified for low-income medical coverage because the county I worked for paid CRAP. Which is part of why we left.
Concerning time/babysitting: If family offers to help take them up on it, even if that means they will stay at your house. Even if all they do is watch the baby sleep, it will give you a chance to do something else like take a shower or nap. Try to limit the amount of time and stagger the dates because if your family is anything like mine, too much of them drive you crazy.
Brian and I were both very poor growing up, so for us it's more comfortable to be frugal. I shouldn't speak for Brian, but I feel really weird and guilty when I spend money.
I have so much more advice but I'd better stop.
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