If all goes according to plan, by early November 2008 my wife and I will be the proud parents of a strapping young lad, like me. My wife thinks it is going to be a girl, but I know better – boy all the way baby!
I am simply overjoyed with the thought of being a dad. There will be so much life to share with our little one, I simply can’t wait until he is born and ready for interaction. I hear that most of the pregnancy and very early infancy is mostly mother-baby bonding time, but I’m still pretty excited to see my wife’s belly grow and to hold a squirming, messy baby as it enters the world. I want to see his eyes and think that one day this child of mine will spread love in the world and shine brightly for all to see. I’ll get to learn his thoughts and know his heart. I am sure there will be struggles – sleepless nights, financial stresses, and serious parenting errors – but I know that it is going to be worth it.
I think that you can expect to see more baby related posts in the future as I prepare our finances for the onslaught of baby. I have numbers to crunch, diapers to evaluate, money to earn, last chance vacations to make, and countless other decisions to make over the next several months that I am sure some of my research and thinking will leak onto my keyboard and into your brain.
Does anyone know of some good baby cost projection stuff? I am really interested in how much baby will add to our monthly budget in food (after breast feeding), diapers, wipes, etc during the first year or two. I absolutely *need* these numbers for my planning purposes.
I do know that Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html) in my area always has tons of free baby supplies. Start checking now and see how much you can get by the time your strapping young lad is born.
bpr
Congrats! I agree with Brady that Craigslist is a great place to look for baby stuff… even if its not free its still usually pretty cheap.
@ brady & chuck – thanks for the input. I didn’t even think of trying out craigslist, but that makes a whole lot of sense.
A boy? Have you not been listening all this time? It’s a girl! I’m telling you…it is.
Ahh.. how exciting! Congrats!
Congratulations on the wonderful news!
Congratulations to both of you! How wonderful. The book Baby Bargains and the forums that go with the book were the best find for everything money related to a new baby. Enjoy every minute of it… it goes by so quickly.
Congratulations! With my first child, I found that the Parent’s Choice diapers at Walmart or the Target brand were the cheapest – we averaged $25/month. Of course, each family has to weigh in their own preferences. If you decide to go the cloth route, Walmart has an all-in-one available online with free shipping to the store – Kushies, 5 pack, for about $43. We use them part-time and like them very much.
Have lots of fun and savor every moment! They grow up too fast!