I’m baaaaaaaaaack! And I come bearing babies :) Even though they like to keep mommy and daddy up all hours of the night, those little boogers…
That’s our new little one pictured above – already two weeks old now, crazy! You’ll find more down below too, for those who only care about pics today, haha… (you know who you are – MOM!).
It’s been a whirlwind of a couple weeks now (fun fact: Nickel was supposed to be born on Mother’s day!), but due to some complications we had to get him outta there weeks early. Turns out momma had Cholestasis, where your liver bile doesn’t go where it’s supposed to go, and instead makes you annoyingly itchy all over while seriously endangering the baby. It got so bad that we had to go into the docs first thing in the morning, and for once it turned out Dr. Google was correct – she indeed had this problem! So now I’m never allowed to make fun of her for thinking she’s dying with X, Y, and Z diseases cuz of what Google says ;) She saved our baby!!
From that moment forward (Monday), we rushed around getting all our stuff together for an induction the next morning (our first babe was 8 days LATE so we didn’t see this one coming!) and 24 hours later (Tuesday) he was born a happy – and healthy! – baby boy :) 7 lbs 3 oz, and as chill as can be.
And the funny part is I almost missed it! I had gone home to help put Baby #1 down (now referred to as J. Penny), and my phone starts ringing off the hook as my wife frantically tries to get me to turn around and rush back. The doctor had come in to do a check up, thinking the baby was still a few hours away, and when she looked under she saw a head popping out :)
So I rushed back – driving as cautiously as I possibly could in such a situation, even though I wanted to run every red light! – and as soon as I walked in my wife started pushing and out he came literally 2 minute later. What a miracle. Just in time for me to cut the chord and hold his wrinkly purple body too for the first time ever :) (Fun fact #2: unlike in the movies, babies never look like babies when they first come out. They’re more like purple little wrinkle monsters who scream at the top of their lungs, haha…)
And just like that our Money clan grew by 33% – now a family of four. Man that sounds weird to say… what am I, 40? (No offense to the 40 y/o’s out there). I totally need one of those stickers to go on the back of our car w/ all those stick figurines, haha… Or in this case would they be coins? ;)
Here’s the updated glossary of our family:
- J. Money (dad)
- Mrs. BudgetsAreSexy (mom)
- J. Penny aka “Penny” (boy #1)
- J. Nickel aka “Nickel” (boy #2)
(Shout out to Nate and others online who convinced me of this new naming mechanism. Though I know I’m gonna confuse myself calling the new little guy Nickel when it’s such a larger denomination! ;))
Some things I’ve learned so far…
- It IS possible to love another person so much!!!! I was kinda scared about that one.
- J. Penny just ADORES J. Nickel. It’s “baby this” and “baby that” all day long :) ‘Cuz now he actually talks!!! Which avoids another scare of ours in baby land…
- It’s much easier dealing with just ONE baby.
- Though with two, at least you have one baby per person which is still do-able (the wife swears we’re done, but I’m going to push her for one more try for a little girl once the hormones wear off ;))
- I’ll have less time than I did before to work – mainly because of the above (now that I’m “in charge” of the eldest, it’s my job to take him back and forth to daycare, as well anything else related to his upbringing – shaving off a solid work hour I used to have)
- I’m pretty pumped to watch them both grow up and have fun with each other :) I know I already told you this before, but the VERY first thing I thought once I found out we were pregnant again was “Awesome! Our boy’s gonna have a best friend forever!!” I have a brother myself close in age, so I was overly thrilled to give him a playmate to hang with.
{Look how drastic their sizes are! It looks like Penny’s gonna eat him!}
Some Money Stuff…
So, money. Well, the good news is most of the hospital stuff should be taken care of with my wife’s insurance she gets through school (she’s in a PHD program). The bad news, however, is that I just added little Nickel to my own health insurance – where little Penny is too – and now it’s jacked up $130 extra a mo, ugh… Not that I expected anything different, really, but still – we just got used to a lowered $270 premium and now we’re back in the $400 range again. Though thankfully down from $643 when we had our old plan (that’s a car/house/tank payment!).
(I have Anthem BlueCross BlueShield btw, which I found through eHealthInsurance.com and quickly signed up. They’re bad ass, if you’re on your own and looking for a good place to start (they’re like an aggregator which filters plans based on your needs).
In other money news, I’ll now of course have to open up a new savings account for the little guy (yay! the fun part!), and then start looking into 529 plans again as well. Depending on our financial situation here over the next handful of months (we may have to wait until the wife goes back to work next year). Oh, and I’ll also be updating our net worth here this week too – so look for a post out on that for those who enjoy ’em…
And I’ll tell you this much – I’m damn glad I don’t have to keep updating that baby money tracker anymore!! I have barely enough time to THINK these days! Haha…
Other Interesting Stuff…
Similar to the last go around with late nights w/ baby, I’ve started consuming a lot of visual content again. Only this time I’ve focused more on cool LEARNING videos/interviews/shows instead of reality TV :) Oddly enough I don’t miss Pawn Stars or Storage Wars one bit?
I thought I’d share some of my favorite clips with you in case you’re looking for some inspiration yourself (or in case you, too, have a baby and want to use your time more productively at night!):
- Mark Cuban: How I Became a Billionaire
- Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address (I had never seen this before – SO GOOD!)
- Mark Zuckerberg at Y Combinator’s Startup School 2013
- The Path To Meaningful Work: Chris Bailey at TEDxGatineau
- Motivational Mark Cuban Interview at The Howard Stern Show (He’s so freakin’ down to Earth)
- The Meaning of Life by Derek Sivers
Pics snapped at the hospital
I’m still debating on whether this was a smart move or not, but something the hospitals like to do is send in a professional photographer the day after your baby’s born to snap pics when you’re all emotional in hopes of plucking a few bucks from your wallet ;) And by “a few bucks” I mean “a shit ton of bucks.” Those 2 pics below cost us a staggering $50. For TWO. And don’t even ask what the top-tier packages went for, aye ye ye.
But again, pictures of your newborn right there on the spot when you’re all lovey dovey? It’s a hard one to turn down. And to this day we regret saying no to the first round w/ lil’ Penny, thinking we’d go and shoot them ourselves which of course we never ended up doing. So we splurged and just did it, and so far we’re pretty happy about it :) While still feeling bad we don’t have cool shots of #1, haha… oh well.
Here’s baby Nickel on Day #2::
Pretty cool shots for being taken on a hospital bed, eh? They made sure to not get my black nail polish in the shot too, haha…
And now, back to reality :)
Everyone’s home and healthy now, so we do our best to adapt and enjoy the process as we figure it out. Less that two years ago we had 0 babies, and now we have two! Pretty incredible, considering we thought we might not even be able to have any (took us two years to conceive the first, and then literally ONE DAY to conceive the next! Hah!)
I’m a blessed, blessed man, and I love that you all are a part of this with us :) We’ve grown up quite a bit in the past 6 years, and I’m so thankful to wake up and talk money with y’all each and every morning. I have nothing but love for you guys, and thank you so very much for all your support and well wishes throughout this latest adventure of ours. It could have been a scary one, so your thoughts and prayers worked!
I’ll see you back again here soon… Poppa Jay’s back in action :)
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So many congratulations for you and the Mrs! He is adorable and is very clearly lucky to have been born into the $-clan where he’ll be so loved. =)
Hehe, thanks!
Congratulations to you all! He’s lovely!
What an adorable addition to your family, J. BTW, as a 40 year old, no offense taken. :)
You’re 40??? I would have never guessed!
Congratulations to you and your wife. He is so cute. I want another one!!!LOL
Start practicing again ;)
Congratulations, he’s such a cutie!
Adorable. LOVE the naming system. If I can afford ANY babies before I’m 40, I’ll be thrilled ;)
I don’t think anyone can really afford them at any time – they just come out and then it’s “oh $hit – time to make it work!” :) and luckily they’re entertained pretty easily, haha… it’s just the diapers and food that start adding up ;) (well, and insurance, daycare, etc etc depending on the situation)
Congrats! What a couple of cuties! Its so funny how a toddler still seems like a little “baby” until you put him next to a REAL baby. Then you realize he’s not so little anymore huh? You are really blessed. :-)
It is pretty funny changing a diaper the size of my palm, and then one the size of half my body the next, haha…
Wow! What a story! Congratulations! I can’t wait to meet J Dime, J Quarter, J FifthCentPiece, J. Sacagawea Dollar (yes, I had to Google the correct spelling), J Silver Dollar, in future posts…
;)
So glad you made it back in time!
man, we’d have to pump out a LOT more to finally get to Sacagawea! Haha… but if that’s what it takes to get a girl, then game on! :)
Congratulations to the J family! Glad everyone is health and happy!
I had the professional hospital pics done too. It was just too hard to resist!
Congrats on your growing family!!!
Congrats dude!! Glad to hear everyone is doing well.
“It IS possible to love another person so much!!!! I was kinda scared about that one.” Isn’t it crazy how that works out? I think we all deal with that fear and then you see that new little one and your heart instantly finds a crap load more room. :) Congrats on the new little one and so glad all are doing well. Just wait til you go to the “zone” coverage…that makes man to man look simple. ;)
haha I bet! I’m perfectly fine with man-to-man right now, but of course that’ll end once #2 is old enough to start chasing around his big bro :)
J Nickle looks like a million bucks in the professional photos, so I’d say the $50 fee was a good investment! Congrats!
Congratulations!! He’s absolutely beautiful! I’m very happy to see that both baby and mama are healthy. You guys are awesome – thank you for sharing your little bundle of joy with us!
Thanks for sharing your sailing/money adventures with us :)
J. Money, hope those little coins turn into great investments that change the world. Truly am glad for you.
Regards,
Joe
Haha… thanks brotha :)
Oh, he’s so sweet and perfect! My baby is turning 1 on Saturday, and it’s killing me. It goes by way too fast. Thank you for sharing the photos.
Yayyyy! Congrats on your 1 year old! The only cure to go back to baby town is to have another, hehe…
That picture of your two boys together is just awesome. Best of friends they’ll be, I’m sure. Congrats to you and the Mrs.!
Congratulations! And welcome to J. Nickel!
Welcome to the world baby Nickel! So glad everything worked out. My second son was born just a week before J. Penny, and my third was due May 10, but came on April 15 this year, so we’re right here with you watching our family grow and learning to adapt. I can’t really say that it gets easier to deal with those sleepless nights, but there are so many fun things about having a new baby. Like watching the older siblings interact with them! And at least each baby gets a little cheaper since you don’t need as much stuff. Looking forward to more updates on the Money family! Congratulations!
Agreed! Should def. be easier on the wallet, at least until daycare time comes :) Congrats on your new bundle of cuteness too! I’ll have to keep going as to catch up with you :)
He is so adorable! Congratulations! I must say it’s going to be a bit confusing for me if you keep referring to Penny in your upcoming posts – that’s my daughter’s name :) I love the naming scheme you have though. I’m happy that you all are adjusting well with your new addition.
Your daughter has a perfect name then :) Will you be naming your next one Money after me? Please???? :)
Adorable! Congrats to you and the family. My wife wanted me to put those stick figurines on the car…I just couldn’t do it. I don’t like them!
I bet you someone’s come up with cooler looking ones. Like, more manlier ones for us guys or something. You should Google it if you’re left with no other choice in the end ;)
In the parking lot, I saw one where they were zombie stick figurines and it said that they ate your stick figure family. Funny but I’m not putting that on my car either.
Hahahhhaha.. oh come on! ;)
SO cute!!! I am glad that other than sleep deprivation for you and the Mrs. that everyone is doing well. And I can’t wait for the day that J. Penny realizes that you value his brother 5 times more than him. Also, don’t worry about the 529, you can actually use money from Penny’s to help fund Nickel’s college costs because they are related. In fact, I have some clients that just fund one for all of their children that way that don’t have to be concerned about which will go to school and who will not and moving funds around later.
Oooh good idea! I didn’t realize you could do that but it does make sense. Would be easier to manage too over time – good tip!
Congratulations! I’m paying $400/mo for health insurance just for my husband (mine is free!). Of course, I know I have a way lower deductible, and no co-pay for many services, but I was still surprised to hear that yours was so low!
yeah, I moved from low deductible and co-pays for higher ones cuz the change in rates was so drastic (almost $400!). but I think also cuz it was a new plan and state/etc. if I go this rate with kids though I’ll be right back up to the $600s again – ugh!
WOW! So glad your wife and baby are healthy. J. Nickel and J. Penny may be the cutest pet names I’ve ever heard. And I got a kick out of the emotional ploy to snap professional photos at the hospital, but those are insanely adorable photos and I’m sure they were worth the $50 to you.
Congrats dude!
After our next one comes in July we are officially done. Two is enough for us. If for some reason we decided we wanted a third we would adopt.
that’s the tune my wife’s singing right about now – only if we adopt one that’s already past its first few months so no more sleepless nights, haha… but we’ll see once she forgets later ;) though we would like to adopt at some point too – so not a bad idea the way you guys are setting it up. Congrats on your #2 coming out soon too!
I’m in LOVE with the new kid in the Money family! He’s adorable!!! I would have been a sucker and bought the “all in” package of pictures from the hospital. There are still times when emotion drives my buying decisions and that certainly would have been one…consider yourself lucky you made it out with just two!!! They’re awesome and you’ll treasure them forever…treasure is certainly worth $50!
Can’t wait for more updates :)
Ree
Thanks friend!
At first we WERE going to go with a higher package ($170), but then asked if we could take our time and she said she’d come back later… Which was just what we needed to get our heads on more straight :) They try and lock you in within seconds of taking the pics – they’ve got this marketing process down pat! Haha…
Congratulations!! What an adorable little boy! So glad to hear everyone’s healthy and happy :) We bought the ‘first picture’ when our first was born (and just the one picture was ridiculously expensive – like $35!) but the same hospital didn’t offer them when our second was born, so we took plenty with our own camera!
Congrats man! Another future coin collector, I can see it already!
HAH! You know it.
Congratualtions! I, too, regret not having newborn pics taken of our little guy, so we’re definitely doing it for #2. It’s $50 well spent.
What a cutie! I’m glad it all worked out and that you, the wife, and the Change are all doing well. Those pictures are interesting. I always read about them from the side hustles for photographers perspective, never actually as the consumer!
The “Change” – I like that!! :)
Such a chilled-out kid! Congrats to the whole family :)
Congrats! J. Nickel is too cute :)
Cute fella. Congrats sir.
Congratulations its so much fun having a new baby around!!
Congrats “J”, Big Congrats to you “Mrs”, Congrats “P” & oh yeah, a big welcome to “N”!
Awesome! Congratulation! It will be so crazy with 2 kids. :)
Congratulations! He is beautiful! I had cholestasis with my pregnancy, too, and it is scary stuff. I am so glad you guys figured it out and got the baby out in time. I had a similar situation where I had to inform my doctor I had cholestasis and he didn’t believe me. Yay for the internet :)
That’s the worse! My wife’s friend was dealing with a different issue for months until they agreed with what she had – what a nightmare. I’m so glad things worked out fine for you during your pregnancy – way to stay on top of things!
Congrats! The naming is classic, I wouldn’t expect anything less.
Congrats man! Great pics!
He’s gorgeous!
I just baked and served up a second son myself (I get to use food names because I am a food blogger, albeit a very small time one)
Glad the wife and kids are doing well.
Congratulations to you all!
Sweet! Nickel looks lovely and glad to hear all is well and everyone is healthy.
Thanks Maria :) And Lil’ Penny is fine from yesterday’s fever too – had an ear infection that we’re now treating – he actually LOVES the medicine too and kept saying “more! more!” haha… silly guy.
(Just finished emailing your husband too – I’m gonna fly out there this weekend and party with him while you’re gone ;))
Ha, ha! Good luck with this one. And tell him that I’m shopping for designer hand bags in Helsinki :). (Some of the children’s medicine tastes great; but the ear infection is a bummer. Also my key-note went well – working on airplanes can be really high quality.)
Ah! So adorable! Congrats to you and the family :)
Congrats!! What a cutie! Glad everyone is doing well.
Lovely little man! I think it’s good you got the photos. My daughter did not for my grandson, planning to do when they got home and, well you know how crazy that is!! Congratulations :-D
Congratulations! Both your boys are adorable!
Congratulations! Baby nickel is adorable!
Congrats on the beautiful baby boy!
Yay! Congrats on your newest little purple wrinkle monster! Penny and Nickel having each other as besties for life? Worth every cent. Wishing health, happiness & many stolen power naps to you and the Mrs. :)
Power naps are key, you’re right!
Hope you’re well down in Sunny (kick-ass) Austin!
Pure awesomeness, congrats to you guys! Handsome little booger. I can remember when my wife and I went from man-to-man to a zone when our 3rd (and final) kid was born, things got really sketchy as we tried to figure out how the hell we were gonna do it. So enjoy the man-to-man before you think about a 3rd! Hah
I’m trying!! I can’t even imagine going to three right now even though I still want to. They wear you out!
What a cutie! Congrats and welcome back!
Congratulations and Nickel is handsome and costly already lol! $130/month more on your health premium just by adding him…wow!
(Just wait for daycare @ $1,000 a month too later, ugh…)
Congratulations!!!! He is so cute! Thank god you said what you did about then being purple monster thingies when they come out. That’s what l always pictured, yours cleaned up nicely. I’m 49!!!! But l don’t take offense. ;o))
Haha, good :)
Happy weekend!
Congratulations, J Money. That is the very best news any of us can get.
And J Penny/J Nickel are like the best nicknames ever. I’m going to have to start thinking of my future kids blog names (Made by Forty? Child Who Is Changing this Blog to Done by Fifty?)
Congrats again!
Hahaha…. totally go with “Child Who Is Changing this Blog to Done by Fifty” ;)
Wow, J. Nickel is beautiful! So glad the family is safe, happy, and healthy. And your wife is in a PhD program?! What a talented, smart group of people you are. Glad to have you back, J!
Thanks! She’s been working at it for 5 years now so cannot WAIT until she’s done and back in the work force! :)
Hello Jmoney,
You got a nice son and his name J penny is awesome.
my regards to your beautiful family.
cheers
uche.
Haha! Oh man! Congrats, dude!
But watch out for trying for a little girl – you’ll probably just end up with three rambunctious little boys!
Yes, that could turn problematic I agree :)
Congratulations!! I’ve been thinking of you guys, so it’s good to see the little Nickle is doing well :) (Love the new names, btw!)
Congrats and best wishes on the new tax deduction! He looks great!
OH yeah!!! Gotta love that!
Congrats on the newest member of your family!
Congratulations, J! I’m so happy for you and your beautiful happy. Glad everyone is doing well, and wishing you all the best!
Awwwwww. SO cute! Congratulations to the entire “Money family”. These boys are in good hands. I wish mom a quick recovery and you both some quality sleep when you can get it ;).
How absolutely cute is he! And I totally get the splurging on the $50 photos. Life is probably so hectic when you got back home,and the “just born” newborn look only lasts a short time, so it’s totally worth the money.
Huge congrats on the new addition! No emotion overwhelmed me as much as those days when my four came into the world. Watch out for that third one…you and the wife will go from playing a man-to-man defense to a zone. That’s when things get interesting!
Four??? Nice! My respect for you just climbed a few notches – that’s impressive :)
Congrats on J. Nickel!!! That’s fantastic. Now you’ll be twice as busy running around! I’m glad everything went well and smoothly for ya.
Congratulations! J Nickel is a handsome young man! I’m so glad that ultimately everything went well and Mrs. Budgets Are Sexy and J Nickel are doing so well. And yes, it doesn’t seem like your heart can get any bigger, but it can. :) Have fun!
Congrats J. on the new diaper master. No seriously congrats man, its a blessing. I owe you a beer or two so that you can get over the sleepless nights. I like the nicknames too very cool.
I will gladly take a beer or two (ten?) anytime from you, good sir :)
Congrats, man! He’s adorable. It seems like my 7 month old was just born and I can’t believe my daughter is already 7 years old! They grow up fast, but you know that!
oooh I didn’t know you had a 7 mo old – congrats man! how awesome!
I have literally one newborn picture of our daughter screaming her lungs out on the scale. I had some complications and wasn’t really thinking pics, but I really wish I had something like that now. Money well spent. Congratulations!
Oh man, at least you have that! I totally forgot about pics/videos during our first until the nurses said “Aren’t you going to take some pics, dad?” Haha… I was just in shock! :)
Congrats on J Nickel! Glad to hear that everyone is doing well. One thing to consider on health insurance is that generally, once you’ve got a “family” plan, the premium doesn’t change significantly as you add more dependents!
That’s what I thought too, but it already went up $140 :( I don’t have the best plan though being self-employed. Hopefully that will change once the Mrs. goes back into the work force and we can pick up a family one.
MANY belated congratulations, it’s so funny to think you’ve got a fam of four now! :) The boys are adorable!
I know, right?? Remember when we met up in person years ago and I was totally kid-free??? Crazy how stuff changes in a short amount of years.
Babies are not my thing, but Congrats!
Sorry I am late to the party, but congratulations J! That is awesome. I remember when my son was born and I never could have imagined how much I would love that little man. There are no words.
Awe so cute and congratulations on being a family of 4! It’s good to have even numbers. :)
J$,
Congrats on the healthy baby boy! You’ve got a growing family over there. Great stuff.
Best wishes.
Congratulations and AWWWWWWW!!! I would have bought photos that cute too!
Don’t worry about not getting the photos the first time around – just take one of these on your comp, make it a little fuzzy with Photoshop, and voila! Babies look pretty similar overall. ;-)
I thought the same thing before I had them – they change every two weeks, it’s crazy!
Congrats! He is adorable! Don’t worry, she’ll want another :-)
Congrats!! What a cutie!!
Congratulations to the whole family! He is indeed very adorable.
OH wow your kids are so cute I can’t even deal with it. Congrats to you and Mrs. BAS!!!
Haha – thanks Tahnya :) Hope you’re well!
Those are some cute kids you got there. Congratulations!
Side note: Where can I get this tank that you speak of for $643 per month?
Send me the money first, and then I’ll tell you :)
Congrats on the kids! And, please be careful putting family stickers on your car/truck/tank :)
http://www.wsfa.com/story/25073889/police-discuss-risks-associated-with-custom-bumper-stickers
Agreed!! If you’ve watched Dexter you know it’s bad to do!
From someone that has been following your blog for years I want to say congratulations!
Thanks man, appreciate it :) We’ve known each other for quite a while now, eh?
Little Nickel is absolutely gorgeous! I saw the beanette checking him out on the computer screen for sure. I think they will be a personal finance match made in heaven. ;)
Now THAT’s what I’m talking about!
Congrats J$! So happy for you and your the Money Fam. Very exciting times. We are looking forward to our little guy joining us some time soon. Just more than a week from our due date. Crazy!
Miel
Hooray!!!! Don’t be surprised if the little guy comes today or in 3 weeks! You never know with them :)
Congrats on the happy news!
I’m way behind on my blog reading because I gave birth about a week before your wife did. But here I am and I just want to say, congratulations!!!
How awesome – congrats, friend! You’re always one upping me in the kids department! ;)