And baby makes three! New parents have many adjustments to make, and the expense of raising a baby can be one of the big ones. Decorating a nursery, buying baby furniture, clothes, diapers, a car safety seat, a stroller - these expenses can add up very quickly.

If you're on a tight budget, the first consideration is not what the neighbors or relatives or co-workers expect, rather the question to ask yourself is, "What does the baby need?"

First and foremost, the baby needs to arrive in the best condition possible, so if you're a smoker, start saving money before the baby arrives by picking up a pack of stop-smoking patches instead of a carton of cigarettes as soon as you know that you're pregnant. Note that the nicotine patch system starts with Level 1 patches and moves to Levels 2 and 3, with each level providing less nicotine to your system. A pack of Level 3 patches costs almost as much as a pack of Level 1, so just buy Level 1 and move from using full patches to partial ones as your addiction diminishes. As is the case with many generic drugs, the brand name ones can feel quite different from the no-name product, so if the first brand you try does strange things to you, try a different one instead of giving up. Think of the money you'll be saving for the rest of your life.

The same is true for alcohol and any other recreational drugs that you may enjoy. Unless you can stay away from them completely for the next nine months (or more if you're going to breastfeed) you're running the risk of creating all manner of unexpected expenses later in your child's life. Raising a developmentally-delayed child brings with it a surprising number of extra costs and difficulties. Every time you deny yourself a glass of wine, put the money you'd have spent on it into a savings jar and save up to buy something special for the baby.

Don't even look at department store displays if you want to save money on clothes that baby will wear for a few weeks at best. Go to thrift stores, garage sales, and second-hand clothing stores, where you'll find better quality items, practically new, for almost nothing. The trick is to shop often and pick up a few really good, versatile items in whatever size happens to be available. Chances are, if you're having a baby, so are some of your friends or relatives and you'll need baby gifts, so gender-specific clothing that you don't use will make a welcome baby gift for someone else. Boy or girl, you'll need only undershirts, sleepers,

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