Your pregnancy test is positive; you and your partner are excited. What is next? Being a parent is the most demanding and expansive job in the world. It is estimated that the cost of raising a child from birth to eighteen years old is about a quarter of a million. Fortunately your income will increase as your child's needs become greater. You really don't need to be rich to be a parent, but the more prepared you are, the better off you will be. Before marching out to buy the most adorable furniture or outfit for your newborn, you should read this.

How to Prepare for The Coming of A Baby?

Pick A Good Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB/GYN):

If you don't like your current OB/GYN, consider looking for another one. Having a good OB/GYN is more important than having a good birth partner, you two will work closely together for the benefits of your newborn. Ask your friends who have children already for referrals. Interview your OB/GYN and make sure that you are comfortable with him/her because pregnancy is a long journey, you really shouldn't get stuck with the OB/GYN that you don't like.

Health Insurance coverage:

Contact your health insurance company and figure out how much they will cover for the pregnancy checkups and delivery, so that there won't be any surprises. The average out of pocket cost in my area is about $2,000 for vaginal delivery and $2,400 for C-Section.

Maternity Benefits:

Contact your Human Resource department and figure out how many maternity days off you will get with pay. You may want to start saving all of your vacation days, and setting extra money aside so that you can take some extra time off to be with your newborn.

Research for A Good Quality Daycare:

If you are planning to return to work, this is the time to interview all the nearby daycare, and put your newborn on a waiting list. This is such an emotional task that many mothers find themselves not being able to tolerate the idea of having their newborns taking care by strangers. Doing this early in your pregnancy helps you make a better decision for your newborn.

Infant Formula:

If you are not planning to breastfeed, it will cost you about $400 and up a month; it depends on the brands of formula.

Diapers:

Infants soil their diapers after each feeding. You can easily use up 2 packs of diapers in a week. Each pack of diapers cost from $10 to $20, it depends on the brands. You can start stocking up on diapers now, when you see a sale.

Frozen Meals:

Two or three months before your due date, start doubling your recipes when you cook a meal, put one in the freezer and serve the other one immediately. Keep doing it until your freezer is full. Taking care of a newborn is a very demanding job; you will find the frozen entrees very handy, especially when you are exhausted. Trust me, the last thing you will have energy to do is to cook.