Im pregnant and keeping the baby?

[mikah_smiles]

This is too large a topic to cover in Y!A. If you want to learn everything you can about basic baby care, I'd suggest seeing if the hospital you intend to give birth at has prenatal baby care classes and a breastfeeding class. Sometimes they charge a fee for these, but they are well worth the money, because they'll teach you a lot about what needs to be done. They'll also do it in a hands on way. You'll actually hold a doll and practice giving it a bath, changing diapers, etc.

If you can't afford to do that, I'd suggest looking into baby care books. You can borrow these from the library or find them at a thrift store. If you do get an older book from a thrift store, make sure that it isn't older than 2-3 years. Baby care information changes as we learn more and more, and some older books have outdated or even dangerous information in them. That's why you can't always take advice from older family members, either. Because while doctors might've recommended they do something back when you were a baby, research changes things. I'd recommend The Baby Book by Dr. William Sears. If you can afford to buy it, please do. Even experienced parents need reference manuals in the middle of the night.

Lastly, I have two pieces of advice: Firstly, babies don't need the best of everything. They won't care if the outfit they are wearing is a hand-me-down. All they want is to be safe, fed, loved and well-cared for. Save money where you can. Accept hand-me-downs when offered. Remember that clothing can be washed and plastic toys can be wiped down. The only thing I suggest buying new is the carseat and the crib mattress. These two are important for keeping your baby alive, so spend money on them to make sure they are in perfect condition. Also remember that you don't need to buy everything right away. Baby might sleep in a bassinet for the first few months, so you don't have to buy a crib right away. Same with things like high chairs and bouncers, that baby will only use later. If you stalk Craigslist, etc, you can often find real bargains on these larger items. Many people will give them away free, just to get the extra space back.

And secondly, please don't think that because you have a baby you can't go anywhere. Having a baby can be a very lonely experience, especially when you're exhausted and still healing up. It'll feel like everyone is coming to visit the baby, not to to visit with you, and it'll start to feel like your friends who don't have kids are drifting away from you. It's important to get out of the house and go and do things every day, even if it's just a half hour walk around the block. Babies are extremely portable, and newborns especially tend to just sleep. Get a sling and a newborn will happily sleep on you while you go for a long walk. It's also great exercise to lose baby weight. Get into the habit of taking baby outside. Go to the park, coffee shops, the library, etc, etc. Anywhere that kids and other mothers gather. It's important to have other parents to talk to, just so you don't feel like you're the only one going through this by yourself. You can also look for parenting groups that meet in your area, or find a Facebook group to join.

Congrats and good luck!