Sticker Shock
As my second trimester recently closed, the 3rd trimester brings excitement for the final months of preparing for Pickle. What many don’t share is that it also bring some anxiety with it. Not anxiety about our impending labor, though that happens too, but anxiety about how much all this baby stuff is gonna cost.
It all began when we felt is was time to sign up for birthing classes. After researching, we settled on this charming baby store/learning center for our birthing classes. We also decided to sign up for the childcare 101 class. We really liked the atmosphere and how much of a community it is there. And, they have group mommy gatherings to meet other new moms in your area as well as meetings with lactation consultants for breast feeding help. Anyway, these 2 classes cost us $250 for the birthing classes and $100 for the childcare. We winced a little but when we broke everything down, it’s only $20 per hr… that doesn’t seem so bad. So we booked it.
Next, it was time to register. When we registered for our wedding, we had a great time! It felt like shopping without spending any money. It was awesome debating weather we wanted the Teflon pan set or the stainless steel. Now was our chance to go crazy over the cutest items retail has to offer right? Wrong. It was painstakingly long and strenuous. I was even well prepared with what I wanted thanks to The Girlfriends Guide to Baby Gear and a previous trip to BabiesRus to test the stroller and car seat we wanted. It still took forever to decide what fricken pacifiers to scan! There are so many types and brands of everything! In the end, we left there not feeling like we went on a shopping spree without spending money, but more like what’s the likelihood people are gonna get us crap we need and not just a cute outfit? I understand though.. It’s not very much fun buying your friend nipple cream and breast shields.
So what’s next? Ah yes… Daycare. This is by far our biggest worry. In LA, daycare runs about $1000 per month for an infant (give or take a little bit). Obviously, this not for the cute lady down the street who wants to love on a baby all day. This is for actual care either in home or facility. Once we realized what this costs, we had no other answer except that we don’t have an extra $1000 per month that we just blow around town. Yet, the money I make at work far outweighs staying home… so daycare it is. Somehow, we will make it happen. I sure am really jealous of the majority of people who have family nearby to help them. If this is you, make sure you tell them thank you often!
Are you feeling my anxiety a little? Me too.
The good thing is, we have tried to make some choices where we could to save money. We plan to cloth diaper, I plan to breastfeed as long as I possibly can, I’d like to try making my own baby food. Things like that. We have also been craigslisting all the furniture and what not that we don’t need to go toward the stuff we do need. And, there are people in harder situations out there that make it work. It will all be fine I’m sure. Thats what we tell ourselves 
Though, I’m still not 100% sure what that hospital bill is going to be after the baby is born. I think I’ll be in for more sticker shock later.
~Piece
You don’t have family close by,but you got good friends.. I can’t wait to see your little angel.. LOVE
Thank you Bobpuin! It means a lot to me. I cherish your friendship
. Be prepared to have lots of practice holding the newborn baby! 
It was refreshing to read this post – DH and I are partially putting off children because I don’t know where I’m going to get $800 a month for daycare (what it runs in our area). I’ve figured out the other baby-related expenses for the most part…but how the hell do you make $800 extra dollars appear every month? We’re already scrimping and not exactly eating out every night and buying Starbucks every morning, if you know what I mean.
It’s mind boggling.
We’re also stuck in the “hundreds of miles from a support system” zone, so there’s no family to rely on.
As you go through this process I’d be eager to read how you make the daycare work
Haha! Let me guess… people tell you “you’ll never be ready”! Am I right?? I always find this a little silly. It is impossible to try and prepare yourself for the complex emotions you and DH will experience, but there is such a thing as feeling somewhat financially stable. That being said, remember that there will always be things you can want to spent your money on, or save it for, other than baby. Its a delicate balance of being prepared yet not waiting for everything to be perfect either.
I have no idea where this daycare money is gonna come from. Right now we are tracking our finances closely to see where it all goes and how much of it slips through the cracks with movie rentals and little crap you forget about (or seem insignificant). Hopefully then we will have a better handle on it all. Somehow, people seem to make it work. This is definitely not the end of this topic.