Starting Your Family? 5 Things You Should Know Going In

Are you planning, hoping or expecting? When you’re starting your family, there are so many life changes to digest. When you have your first child, life changes forever. While children certainly don’t come with a manual and we all have to find our own unique footing in parenting, here are five things that can help you prepare as you begin the journey of parenthood.

Get Your Health Insurance In Order

Make sure you have quality health insurance coverage for your pregnancy and for your newborn child. Whether you’re covered by your company or you pay a monthly premium for your health insurance, make sure you have it in order and ready to go before you show up to your first prenatal appointment, or earlier, if you’re going in for a fertility or urology appointment.

Settle at Home

Buying a house isn’t an absolute must before having a child, but it does offer many benefits. Paying off your mortgage over time raises your credit score, so it helps to start early. If you plan to stay at the house a long time it can really make sense and provide a great deal of stability as you begin your family.

Babyproof Ahead of Time

If you’re actively trying for a baby now or you have one on the way, start babyproofing your home. You’d be surprised how quickly kids start climbing up on the toilets and crawling up or down the staircase. Figure out what you’ll need for your baby’s first year in your home for it to be effectively babyproofed, and start getting it ready now. You’ll be tired later on after the baby has arrived. Plus, you want to have everything on hand at the ready as soon as you need it.

Protect Your Family’s Sensitive Personal Data

All parents should be aware that identity fraud happens to children even more frequently than it happens to adults, which means your newest family member is at risk. Identity thieves like to steal a child’s identity so they can capitalize on it before the child grows up and finds out about their debt and bad credit history. Protect your child’s identity with identity theft protection from LifeLock, so that you’ll be notified whenever your child’s personal data is used to open any sort of financial account. Use this LifeLock coupon to save on the first year of service and get peace of mind knowing your child’s sensitive data is protected.

Make Time for Your Significant Other

For the sake of your relationship and your own sanity, plan ahead of time to take breaks with your significant other once the baby gets here. You can give the baby to a grandparent, aunt or babysitter once a week or once every other week, and have a date together. This helps keep your relationship strong and gives you time together away from your all-consuming roles as new parents.

The idea of starting a family may seem overwhelming. However, when you talk with virtually any parent, they’ll tell you starting a family has been the most important thing for them and they can’t imagine life without the child or children they brought into the world.