Bonus, baby!

Hubby and I are down to living on one wage (like a lot of people I don't qualify to get maternity pay) and right now is when all the bills are coming in. We chose to go to a private obstetrician because we have health insurance and the idea of continuity of care really appealed to me. But down the business end of pregnancy that gets mighty expensive! Having to see the obstetrician fortnightly and then weekly adds up very quickly I can tell you - and this is for a complication-free pregnancy I might add, who knows how much it would skyrocket if something was going in an other than textbook fashion.

I could rush in here and say “I'm not complaining...” but we all know that would be a lie. I am complaining. I know there is nothing I can do about it, I chose to go privately – but having a little whine will make me feel a whole lot better. At least we don't live in the United States (although universal health care did just get signed in, its not up and running yet). I read the blog of a Texan woman (awesomely titled 'His boys can swim!') who did not qualify for health insurance and subsequently had to pay all her medical costs up front out of her own pocket. She kept track of every pregnancy medical bill and the grand total was over $10,000! This is before she's bought any clothes or a cot, making the $1000 challenge look almost pathetic in comparison. We get to sign a little piece of paper for most of our blood tests and get partial refunds from Medicare for every doctor's visit - until you stop to think about it, its easy to forget just how lucky we are. We don't have a perfect health care system by any measure, but right now I'm very grateful for it.

Then of course, we can add to that the Baby Bonus. According to the Family Assistance Office, the Baby Bonus is to paid to families following the birth (or adoption) of a child in recognition of the extra costs incurred by the new addition. Its means tested so the amount of money you receive depends on your income (and some other criteria), but if you were to receive the full amount it is currently a whopping $5185 paid in thirteen equal fortnightly instalments. Not bad. Not bad at all. Definitely better than a poke in the eye with wet fish, or however that saying goes. Plus there are all sorts of other payments like Family Tax Benefit A and B, the immunisation allowance – and as soon as I figure out what those things are I'm sure I'll like them too.

However if I was able to change the system in any way it would be to have those lovely fortnightly payments starting about now. Finish off the nursery, pay those bills and be a little less worried about making the mortgage payment on time... and of course the new plasma TV - practically a right of passage for new parents since the Baby Bonus was introduced.

Budget: Mission Impossible

I now understand the pressure the treasurer feels each year when he hands down the budget. Some people will be happy, laughing all the way to the bank, whilst others will miss out and have to make each dollar stretch further. Fitting everything you want in to a budget is hard work, and I'm not sure my experience with budgeting has me in a very strong standing to be our next federal treasurer... because I've FAILED.

The initial mission was to spend $1000 on Tricky's first year of life, not including medical expenses. Well pretty soon after looking at the prices of everyday items that was blown well and truly out of the water and instead it became a budget for getting ready for Tricky's arrival, in other words preparing a nursery.

So what goes in a nursery budget? Things that I immediately thought I would not include in the budget would be baby wipes and the like that I could just put in to our weekly grocery list (I could always forgo my packet of Magnum icecreams if needed). But then I decided that I would purchase modern cloth nappies instead of disposables – now if I'd gone down the disposable path I'd probably have included them in the weekly shopping too (possibly causing us to swap to homebrand tomato sauce, even if it is like flavoured water), but the environmentalist in me means I've put the bulk purchase of cloth nappies in to the budget... and it's not liking it one bit. Kermit was right when he said it's not easy being green.

With eleven weeks to go before Tricky is born I've gone over budget by $149.50. I could have rounded that up to make it look prettier, but the psychological effect of that 50c is HUGE! I originally included maternity clothes in the budget but as I got nearer and nearer to the big $1K I took them off.

The breakdown of things I've purchased from most to least expensive:
Modern cloth nappies $240
Pram from ebay (RRP $400) $230
Drawers from ebay (RRP $300) $192.50
Cot from gumtree $150
Change table/bath from gumtree $90
Primer/paint for cot $55
Hugabubg from gumtree $50
Sheet sets x3 from BKM $47
Baby monitor from gumtree $25
Window shade $18
Jolly jumper from BKM $10
Nappy bag (RRP $90) from BKM $10
New Romper $10
Baby gym from ebay $8
Books from BKM $6
Rattle (so cute couldn't resist) $4
Shoes from BKM $3
Wall vinyls from ebay $1

All that equals a whopping $1149.50

I still need to buy paint for the walls, some shelves, a nappy tub and a car seat that will cost about a million dollars (one thing I don't want to buy second hand). I guesstimate that I'll end up spending about $1700. Failed. Big fat F on my report card.

But then again, it depends what you think failure is. Do I really think I've failed? Nah. I'm actually pretty chuffed at what I've achieved and how much I've learned. I was never in to buying second hand, but now I think I'm addicted. Why pay so much money for something that is going to be drooled on and chewed for a few weeks before Tricky either outgrows it, destroys it or becomes tired of it?

Through my searching for bargains I've come across not only some fantastic websites and markets, but some really lovely people who when hearing of my self imposed budget were more than happy to throw in a freebie! Though the kindness of friends, strangers and some excellent websites I've scored a bunch of stuff that helped the budget a lot! The freebies include:

• Pram cover worth $50 from one of Hubby's workmates
• A heap of baby and maternity clothes from a friend with a 5 month old
• About ten baby blankets and books from Yoink
• Vibrating bouncer from Gumtree
• Baby gates from a friend (who got them from another friend at his work)
• A change table mobile from the lady who sold me her baby monitor

So yes I've gone over budget and yes, I'm going to go even further over. But I've not scrimped on quality, nothing I've bought would endanger Tricky (I removed the razor wire from the bouncer and will make sure to get rid of the broken glass from the cot before I put him in it), and as a result when I stop working and again when he's born we won't have to struggle to make ends meet. It also means we can use the baby bonus on the truly important things in life, like plasma TVs.

Hear ye, hear ye... shhhh!

According to an article by Laura Wattenberg on US site The Baby Name Wizard, as an expectant parent I have two big naming decisions to make. The first one is pretty obvious; choosing a name. The second decision is whether or not to reveal the name before the birth. Apparently people will fall in to either of two categories; broadcasters or keepers.

I've known people from both camps, those who announce the name as soon as they know the sex (or have a girl's name and boy's name ready), and those who keep it a closely guarded secret. I fall somewhere in the middle.

I've told a few select people our 'top names' just to get some feedback because once its on the birth certificate its a lot harder to change. My own fears prevent me from being a keeper: I have visions of Granny wrinkling up her nose saying that was the name of the old pervert down the street and will then forever only say the name virtually dripping with disdain. Or what if my friend names her child, due a few weeks earlier, the same thing? Do I have to find a new name then? If I tell her my name ideas now do I get first dibs even though she'll give birth first? Is there a legal precedent for these things?

There was even a few noses upturned when mentioning possible 'in-utero' names. Originally it was going to be 'Cletus' (as in Cletus the Foetus) but that was quickly shot down as it reminded my sister too much of the irritating Simpson's character. When a friend mentioned Tricky (a combination of the letters in mine and Hubby's names) it seemed to fit and didn't have any negative connotations. So Tricky it is. Plus its much cuter than Cletus, too.

I've been told that babies are born with a name and I'll know Tricky's name the moment I see him. Now I'm assuming it doesn't come stamped on his head, so how will I know? If I choose to have a drug-free birth will I be so delirious with pain that I don't recognise his name? Or alternatively I might be so drugged up that I want to immediately name him after the lovely anaesthetist. Similarly I could name him after my first impressions of him, and accordingly he shall forever be known as 'Slightly-Squished-And-Covered-In-Crap' which will be awfully hard to fit on forms and even harder to find on a personalised toothbrush or pen. I have a terrible feeling that for months he will be simply known as “Baby Glow-less” and I'll end up choosing by pulling a name out of a hat, just so I can register the birth and get my baby bonus.