From the moment you find out you’re expecting until your little one (finally) arrives, time does something weird – it can feel like it takes forever for your due date to arrive, and also like time flies and there aren’t enough days to get ready. Spoiler alert: no one is actually ever ‘ready’. But once your little babe is here, the next year will go by in a flash. Yes, time flies even when you’re sleep deprived and blissfully in love. 

So if you have no idea what day it is, or which way is up, take a look at our top 8 things to do before your baby turns one.

1. Accept Help From Others

Did a friend offer to come and help? Say YES! Even better, point them towards the cleaning supplies and pile of unfolded baby laundry and graciously accept their help. You don’t have to feel obligated to go out for a date night or do anything productive with your newfound spare time. We think naps and uninterrupted showers are pretty sexy, too.

TIP: Keep a small caddy with cleaning supplies handy. It makes it easy for someone to step in and help without going on a treasure hunt in your cupboards!

2. Plan Ahead for Education

Do you really need another pair of booties? Less is more, as far as clothing goes. Instead, redirect some of that kiddy clothing budget towards an RESP investment. A RESP is a Registered Education Savings Plan. You can contribute monthly or episodically, based on what your spending plan allows. This also enables you to maximize available grants that top up your investment through the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and/or Canada Learning Bond (BLD). This allows you to support your child’s education later after high school and most plans include flexibility towards trades education as well as formal post-secondary learning.

TIP: Anyone – parents, grandparents, other relatives and friends can open an RESP for a child. This may be a great way to direct well-meaning gift-givers towards contributing to an RESP in lieu of a physical item.

3. Invest In Your Child Through Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance is another way to invest now to support your child when they’re grown. An advantage of Whole Life Insurance is that it comes with a guaranteed investment component that increases in cash value over time. This means that it can be gifted to your children later in their life and used for the most important things; education, their wedding, a home down payment etc. The best way to think about this is: if you can afford it, do it! Your kids might not thank you at 10 years old, but then definitely will at 30.

TIP: just because you have a health condition, does not mean you automatically get charged more! Some insurance providers assess risks differently and your advisor can make suggestions for you.

4. Review Your Own Life Insurance

If you haven’t already, it’s crucial to revisit your long term financial needs and plan your own life insurance. We like to take a “hope for the best, plan for the worst” approach. One thing that’s important to think about is what would it look like if the stars misaligned and your potential to financially support your family was negatively impacted or taken away? It’s unpleasant to think about, but should the worst happen, your family would be grateful that you did that difficult planning in advance. Whether you are the primary income earner or caregiver, you should be thinking about setting up your partner for long term stability should something impact your ability to provide it now. Ensuring that your life insurance policy is equipped to handle these issues is more important with a new baby than ever.

TIP: Term insurance costs less than permanent insurance and is often a great fit for young families. Layer term enables you to maximize your coverage when your insurance needs are greatest and lower it when your kids are older and your mortgage is paid down a little.

5. Be Realistic And Kind To Yourself

Remind yourself (frequently!) that no one becomes a parent and automatically knows what to do. Every parent goes through a learning curve. Some (appear) to adjust quicker or slower than others and that’s okay; try not to compare yourself. For new parents, it often feels like your life has been turned upside down, shaken like a martini and dropped on your head. You likely feel disheveled and your home may be messier than usual. Be kind to yourself, especially during this transition period. Your parenting confidence will come with time. There is no such thing as a parenting manual!

TIP: However clean you think your home needs to be, lower your standard a little 😉

6. Get Critical Illness for Your Child

Stories of families navigating the unthinkable challenge of a sick child are devastating, but it does happen. It’s unpleasant to imagine, but it’s on this list because it is something that can provide a much needed safety net in times when you need it most. A critical illness policy for your child provides a tax-free lump sum available for parents to use at their discretion; for example, living expenses so you can take time off work, travel expenses if you need to stay in a hotel while your child gets treatment at a hospital, etc. The last thing you need to be worrying about in a situation like this is how to crowd fund your child’s expenses, and a critical illness policy can make a huge impact.

TIP: Set it and forget it: critical illness policies can be taken out on infants as young as 2 weeks old. Once you have it in place, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

7. Remind Yourself to Track Moment and Memories

Baby born on the 19th? Set a recurring reminder on your calendar to take a picture once a month. Your phone will give you a head’s up to take a quick photo that day.

8. Celebrate YOUR Milestone As Well!

Your baby is turning one. Well that’s cool, but it also means that YOU have survived one year of parenting. You’re exhausted, but would do it all over again. You may have been pooped, puked and peed on by now. Nevertheless, you love that baby more than you imagined possible. Welcome to the parenting club! Celebrate your achievements!