Baby Talk

If you’ve stuck around with me lately during this internet-less time in my life, 1. Thank you! and 2. You know the husband and I have babies on the brain. Big time.

 

I admit, I’m excited by the prospect of Mommyhood, but I’m so terrified, as well. Hubby and I still have an enormous amount of debt and I have this ridiculous hope that despite of our finances, I would love to take my husband to Disney World for the first time. Or really, any big trip. Our honeymoon was so much fun, I want to re-live it! There’s also the not-so-small fact that if we were to have a baby, we’d both still be working. We don’t have the luxury of staying home with our mini-Stuckert so there’d be finagling to be done there.

 

Thinking about all these things, I really wanted to seek out the advice of the ladies who have been there, done that. I emailed a handful of my favorite bloggers who also all happen to be working Mamas. I wanted to know- how did you do it? What budget changes had to be made? These are some of the highlights from the awesome insight these ladies had for me:

Erin from Running on Chocolate said… “…I will mention something that has been on my heart lately. Jon and I  were married a year and a half before getting pregnant and were dirt poor. We did three trips all to visit family. We did no fun weekend trips or vacations just us. And now all I think about is wanting to leave for a weekend with my husband to experience a new place...without kids. We will have chances to do that, maybe once every few years. So I just want to encourage you and the hubs have fun and make a list of things to  do before baby...connect with him now so that when you have babies and little time and sanity you can remember the times when it was peaceful and simple…”

 

Rachael from Kincaid Parade said… “…It's a cultural thing, for us to wonder if we can afford a baby. I'm speaking grace and truth to you now - you can…”

Lucy from Lucy the Valiant said… “…Babies are expensive. But they are also not as expensive as those terrifying Cost of Average Baby calculators that you see running around. Find a couple of nice kid's resale shops and educate yourself about what baby paraphernalia you actually need (I'm looking at you, wipes warmer!) and it won't be so bad. The problem that I have found is that a lot of the things I could do to cut down on cost are difficult to accomplish as a working mother. Formula is expensive, but it's hard to breastfeed and go to work simultaneously. Diapers are expensive, but it's hard to find a caregiver who will "get" cloth diapering, etc. It would be much cheaper to make my own baby food, but there are literally not enough hours in the day. You have to find a balance between frugality and not killing yourself.

 

 

I’m so thankful for the insight these ladies shared with me. They’re Mama’s whose opinion I truly value and if I could pick one resounding theme from all of their messages it would be this- You will never be truly ready for parenthood. Just do the best you can and things will work themselves out.

 

And boy oh boy is that the truth- I am not ready for parenthood. But I never will be. I just have to trust in God’s timing and Chuck’s and my relationship and go from there. I still don’t know when we’ll decide to have a baby, but I just have to trust that it’ll happen when it’s meant to.