How We Got Here.....

When my husband and I married six years ago, at  21 and 23, we wanted to have two children together.  Our son came within a year and a half and though completely overjoyed we were incredibly naive about the expenses we would soon encounter.  We knew babies were expensive but we seriously underestimated the figures.  Family and friends offered gifts and hand-me-downs and we accepted all of them in an attempt to offset some of the "start up" expenses.   We were given a car seat, crib, changing table....all those pricey must-haves along with some that we thought we were supposed to have. We both worked at pizza delivery places for close to minimum wage and had terrible medical insurance.  The delivery expenses were compounded by my son sitting breach and requiring a c-section; our pitiful insurance policy covered very little of it.   Then after our son was born came the real, everyday expenses of feeding and diapering a newborn.  This we had not calculated at all.

Enter postpartum depression, changing jobs a million times, struggling, injuries, more medical bills, a house in disrepair, more injuries, even more medical bills, money arguments, working weird shifts, missing important milestones as our son grew, missing each other.  You name it we were there.  In our six years of marriage (and 3 years of dating prior) we have been sufficiently tried and tested.  Though there were times we thought our little family would collapse we have stuck together.  Call it true love or tenacity or downright stubbornness, we just aren't willing to give up.

Now our son is about to turn 5 and there is a new found urgency to have a second baby before the difference in their ages widens any further.  We are now trying to conceive but it is not without all the worries that accompany a baby and several new worries attributed to our experiences with our last trip through this process. When thinking about a second baby, it is hard not to remember how hard it all was, but it is also not difficult to see where we went wrong.  I am determined to not make the same mistakes twice and do whatever it takes to have a second baby.  For me that means making and cooking as many things at home as I can instead of buying more stuff and spending more money.  As a stay-at-home mom I have much more time this go 'round and plan to spend every moment, even these pre-pregnancy ones, working on these homemade meals and projects.  Keep in mind that what was wrong for us may not be wrong for you and your family.  And for the record, use all the disposable and store-bought products you like; this is not an environmental awareness page.  I am strictly looking for ways to save my family money on our journey to a second baby.