Submitted by liquid-city-hotel t3_12736b4 in personalfinance
How can I best prepare myself to set this baby up for success? He or she won't be here until end of October so I know i have some time. But it's never too early to get my ducks in a row. :)
We’ve gotten so much name brand baby stuff for cheap or free on our Nextdoor app. I wish we would have done this sooner.
The expensive swing my wife bought? Baby used it for 6 months before absolutely refusing to be in it.
Same with clothes.. So many expensive outfits they grew out of after only wearing once or twice.
When my first kid was coming, my brother gave me the following reassuring advice, "Just remember that the first 6 months may at times feel like you are in prison, but it gets better and better each month."
The first kid is like a shock to your system but it's true, you'll adjust as the baby grows. Congrats to you. My 4 kids are the best thing that ever happened to me!!
Set up a sleep routine. Decide who will get up late nights, and who will early am. Aka who stays up. And who gets up. Its better for both of you to sleep solo for x hours then both of you worry about 24 hours. Solid sleep is most important. Decide based off of lifestyle what make sense. Sleep helps both parents. Sleep helps with postpartum depression as well. Dedicate a sleep routine, I can't stress this enough. Spilt time..don't double time!
Congratulations on the baby!
Review your budget. Are you investing at least 15% of your income for retirement? Have you budgeted for childcare?
Is your emergency fund in good shape? Do you have sufficient term life on yourself and your co-parent? Both are essential to giving your child a stable childhood.
Take advantage of thrift shops, Buy Nothing groups, and other inexpensive options for baby equipment and clothing. Babies and toddlers outgrow things long before they wear out.
Stock your freezer with easy to re-heat meals. The first few months are exhausting, so you can blow the budget and your waistline on takeout and delivery.
Think about how you’ll handle cash gifts to baby. Do you want to open a 529? Buy savings bonds? Do something else?
Remember to fund your retirement before investing for college. You can’t borrow to retire and you don’t want your children stressing over elderly parents.
Congratulations!
There is no answer for that. The reason is, you can't prepare yourself.
Every people are different in that situation. The only advice I can give you. Enjoy every stage, Every moment with your partner.
Have your own finances in order. The rest will work out. I also highly recommend that you don't go too heavily into baby podcasts/down the Internet black hole. You'll just make yourself crazy!
I’d start a college fund, use room temp water for bottles, and remember it gets better. The first year or so can be a rough adjustment but I’d bet the guy who’s asking these questions now is going to be a good parent :). Good luck man/mam!
Get all of your deducting, co-somethings, and OOPing ducks in order. Those are the first 3 ducks.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch. There's no rush.
But there are lots of books and podcasts on parenting. You need to prepare yourself, assuming it's your first.
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Since this is a personal finance subreddit I’ll just focus on that.
Set up a 529 account for the baby. Good idea to pass that info around to fam and friends to contribute on their birthday.
If you’re planning on utilizing childcare, make sure you factor in costs of daycare or nanny services. Where I am it’s about ~$1400/month.
Don’t buy too many baby clothes yourself. They’ll probably be gifted and the baby grows sooo fast that you’ll be left with a ton of clothes (some of which they didn’t wear).
Costco diapers are the way to go. Don’t buy too many newborn sizes. Focus on sizes 2-4.
bro_lol t1_jecgyl5 wrote
My advice: buy whatever you can second hand and join a local Buy Nothing group and search for things for free on Facebook Marketplace. Secondly: if you end up formula feeding use room temp water all the time. It is much faster when feeding and way easier on the go.