For All The Parents Out There

im doin it on my own as much as i possibly can

a gun you will thank me later lol


congrats enjoy the ride!!!!!
you think the lowrider is bumpy just wait i got a 9 and 13 year old god help me please lol

I dont think you can ever be fully prepared for what it takes. Babies need a remarkable amount of stuff. I dont think there is really anyway you can ever have what you really need. I think the basics are most important. clothes, diapers (buy different sizes. not too many of the small ones babies grow very quickly!), a place to sleep, and lots and lots of love! If you qualify for help, i would do it. im not suggesting that you live off the gov't. But, there's a reason that the programs are there. For those who need them. I think the best things we ever got were the hand me downs from other parents. Babies grow so quickly that many times an outfit will only get worn once.And maybe not even at all. When you find out what you're having, let me or David know and we'll get you all the spare stuff we have here (as long as its a boy!).

Thanks Sarah. I would definently not say no to help from you and David, or any one on this site for that matter (I hope its a boy)

true dat Chris.... Not saying if you have kids don't use the programs if you truly need them for a while. but people abuse them and forget that it's supposed to be temporary assistance, not a income.

even if you have kids by surprise still got to put in the effort to support and raise them. But sounds like you will be okay Pearl, you may have to live without some of the extra luxurious, but it's worth it. Even if it means taking the job you hate and have been stuck in for years, but pays the bills and provides for the family without the Gov't help.

Good to heard I dont have any problem with getting help when you need it but when sombody says "quit your job so you can get more help from the state or the feds in taxs or food stamps or WIC" is pathetic way at looking at it in my opinion. I have 3 girls and a son best thing I can say is take a lot of photos/video they grow up fast trust me my oldest is 17. Good luck its will be some of the best times in your life.

Thanks chris. I wanna take up 2 jobs but Im afraid I wont be able to see my girl or my baby enough...

Enjoy it all! even the sleepless nights! its a great time to bond with your baby

You can not perpare yourself for this, you may think you can but once the baby is here every thing changes(for the good obviously). Enjoy the time with your kid and save some money also make sure you have somekind of health insurance, kids doctor bills can be expensive( 5 yr old broke his femur and if we didn't have insurance i don't know what we would have done, cause our insurance company will send you copys of what they paid out an it was over $9,000 for everything). Also have to think about is someone going to stay home an watch the baby or have a babysitter. You'll probably not be able to buy anything big for awhile so if you want go and buy yourself something nice cause it will be a while before you can do it again. Trust me I have a 10 yr old girl, 7 yr old boy, 5 yr old boy and a 3 yr girl. An I'm just starting to be able to buy truck stuff again, cause before the money was for the kids, it still is but now i can have some again. All in all have fun and enjoy the baby because time will fly by and next thing you know they will be a grown up. Kids are great, they'll drive you crazy an know how to push your buttons to get you angry, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

I think you guys are taking what I said completely wrong... If you go into things knowing the tax bracket that you belong in, you can get a break from on taxes that is not "living off the gov." What you are doing is working enough to ge by, but not working so much that you are paying someone else to raise your kids... We were completely ignorrant of the fact that we did qualify for tax breaks like the Earned income credit the first year or 2 and I was just trying to make you aware of it... If you fit the bracket or can tweak your income a little bit by not working so much, it is very much in your favor. It's not only a tax thing either, you have your girl available to raise your baby.

It makes sense to me... My girl stays home with our boys and works nights on occasion for the "adult interaction". We know how much she has to make or not make to stay in the tax bracket, plus we are not using her whole paycheck to pay someone to watch our kids...

I know it took me a couple years to figure this out... Since you aren't married, this is something that could be very advantageous to you.