Posts more relevant for this blog will be posted in the near future, but our baby boy decided to arrive 9 days earlier than expected, on 7/11. So, we’re learning to be new parents, trying to rest, and welcoming him to the family (sleep, eat, poop, rinse, repeat). Thanks for your understanding!

Switching gears a bit from the usual stuff and back to personal finance….today starts my official maternity leave from work! I’m happy about it (and simultaneously still nervous about the upcoming big day a couple of weeks away). Some of the people I work with are envious, and some single guys especially think I’m going to essentially be on some sort of multi-month relaxing vacation (!!), as I’m the first in my group to have a baby. This is what you get when you work in Silicon Valley, I guess. The last few weeks have definitely been tough. Not being at 100% capacity from being tired, working weekends and long hours…I can use the break for sure. I’m also lucky in that the company I work for has a pretty amazing maternity leave policy as far as US companies go.

I haven’t written much about the pregnancy, but compared to most of what I’ve read, I’ve had smooth sailing so far (knock on wood). Still, there’s plenty to speak of, personal-finance-wise. My hubby and I took a preparation class in which we split briefly into groups of women and men and took 15 min. to talk about worries and concerns in small groups. For a lot of the men in my husband’s group, the financial aspect of having a new baby was a real concern for them, and yet two of them also highly recommended the infamous Bugaboo stroller as a must-have. Not sure what a $900 stroller does that one that costs 1/3rd or 1/4th as much doesn’t, but it seems a bit steep if you’re concerned about your finances.

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