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I know for a fact that many young and not so young couples rely on family (grandparents mainly) for babysitting and help with the kids. I also know that a couple can do just fine on their own without any extra help – Rob and I did. Make no mistake, it’s not easy – but certainly doable.

My friends were talking about not being able to move to another city because they were terrified of loosing the support that Nan and Pop are providing and I thought – you can’t allow that kind of fears rule your life. So this post is all about how a couple can have a baby and survive – on their own, in a strange city, where they barely know 5 people.

Here’s how we did it:

We’ve done some research, found out what kind of main baby things we would need – a cot, a bath, a changing table, a pram. A month before the baby’s due date we went and bought them. We weren’t sure about the car seat, what type would be the best, so we ended up renting a capsule for the first 6 months.

I went on my maternity leave a week before the due date. That gave me enough time to get the house ready for the baby, buy some baby clothes and do some reading about what exactly do people do with a newborn. I needed to be prepared because there wasn’t anyone I could ask.

We planed everything for the first 3 months of baby’s life:

  • The route to the hospital when it’s time to go and even where the car will be parked (the hospital was in the city centre so parking was an issue).
  • Rob was taking a week off work to help me out with the baby.
  • I worked out an agreement at my job that I was to take 3 months off and then work part time from home.
  • During the first 3 months Rob was starting early and finishing at about 3pm at work. Then he would come home and take over whatever he could. I was sleeping a lot through the day – to be able to get through the night. Eric and I were awake a lot at night, he wasn’t a good sleeper at all so every time he slept – I slept with him. Of course the housework suffered, but I decided to lower my standards for everyone’s sake.
  • Food-wise we survived on take-aways. We didn’t order junk food – but we were buying pre-cooked food that only needed to be heated. For breakfasts we had an easy 1 minute microwavable oatmeal or muesli with juice or yogurt, for lunch we had pre-made soups, and for dinner take-aways. Rob would cook sometimes but honestly none of us had time (or strength) for cooking. Housekeeping (as in moping the floors and vacuuming the carpets) was done once in two weeks, and the same with the laundry (except for baby stuff, that I washed every other day).

    • This is not the end of it – more is coming. Stay tuned!