Navigating Your Pregnancy

Shelly overcame these worries with the help of her supportive sister. “Once I realized how great it felt to actually get excited about being pregnant with a person who would share that excitement with me, I decided to just avoid negative people until they got the picture,” she says. It’s impossible to avoid all the negative people in your life, but you can limit your time with them.

Sarah Green of Lansing, MI, whose second pregnancy was unexpected and laden with non-stop fatigue and nausea, had trouble getting excited about her pregnancy. “I’d really been enjoying just getting to know my one child, who was only a little over a year old, and suddenly I found myself exhausted all the time and unable to enjoy him, much less enjoy being pregnant,” she says. “I decided to focus on a couple of silly things I really love about pregnancy, like new and improved cleavage and not worrying so much about fitting back into my size six pants. Once I was feeling a little bit of joy about the pregnancy, I began to think about how great it would be for my child to have a brother or sister.”

Babies Costs a Bundle

Let’s face it, babies are expensive; not only do you have to feed and clothe them, but you may also have to make adjustments to your work schedule—and maybe your home or car—to accommodate their needs. Even if it seems tedious analyzing finances at this exciting time, doing it early will give you time to correct and/or avoid any issues that might put a wrench in your post-pregnancy plans. Whether you want to take some time off work, quit your job altogether, move into a new home or hire a nanny, you’ll enjoy your pregnancy more knowing the financial details are all ironed out.

Sit down with your partner and lay out the costs of things to come. Look into the costs of hiring a nanny or using a daycare center, adding another person to your health insurance and the cost of the birth itself. Also, don’t forget to include the cost of any unpaid time you may take after the baby is born. If you plan on returning to work, be sure to establish an accurate picture of what your take-home pay will look like after all the associated expenses—for example, after childcare, work clothes and meals out.