You're having a baby. Ahhh!

So exciting. And a bit overwhelming.

No matter how familiar you are with kids, there's nothing like going through it yourself for the first time.

There are so many decisions to make.

Medical appointments.

Parental leave.

The STUFF. Who knew there were 35 kinds of strollers?

And there’s so much information to wade through. So much to learn.

I've been there.

I became a mom at 39, and knew plenty of people farther ahead on this journey, but it was still overwhelming:

- Managing my health and changing body in a way that felt right and aligned with my values
- Navigating parental leave from work
- Deciding what baby gear was really needed, that would work best within limited space and budget
- Plus, making this unique time special!

After a lot of late nights spent on Google, I scraped together decisions that shaped my experience, but as they say, you don't know what you don't know. Having one central resource to help organize and guide these decisions and tasks would have made life much easier.

That's what New Parent Prep is designed for, to help other new parents. This is not a typical pregnancy course or information on baby's development - there are plenty of resources for that already. This is a practical guide to help navigate the endless to-do list of this time, with insights to help you reflect on what matters most to you. You'll get:

- Questions to ask health providers to make an informed decision as to where and with whom you want to give birth
- Two essential steps to maximize parental leave working within the existing system (from a US perspective, but still broadly applicable)
- An actually pleasant alternative to the third trimester glucose screening that your OB may not tell you about
- Proven pure, chemical-free formula to avoid stretch marks
- An Excel template to compare features of big-ticket registry items, to define what matters to you and prepare your space to be functional, safe and aesthetic for your little one
- And so much more

Bringing new life into the world is sacred. You're literally advancing the human race. You deserve to consider how to make the process sacred for you.

While we might never be 100% ready to become parents, certain steps can ease the transition and set us up for more ease and mindfulness. Taking advantage of this time prenatally helps us position ourselves to be the parents we want to be.