I hesitated at the thought of writing this, just because I'm a shy person and sometimes there are ladies on here who aren't always nice...but I figure if I can help at least one person feel a little better, it's worth it! I've been struggling with anxiety, stress, and depression recently, and I've had some amazing people in my life who have helped talk me through a lot of it. My husband and I were not planning on trying to conceive anytime soon, and to be honest I had some health issues that I was sure would make it difficult for me to conceive once we were ready. Obviously that's not the case, as we're expecting our little girl in November. We couldn't be happier, but we also weren't ready. We've been working on slowly building up our careers and our savings so that we could provide the absolute best possible life for any future children. But life doesn't always work that way, and shortly after we found out I was pregnant, we were hit with some unexpected expenses AND our financial situation changed drastically. We're doing everything in our power to improve our situation, but we live paycheck to paycheck and often have to forgo certain bill payments in order to pay for groceries or gas to commute to work. We've always been proud of standing on our own feet, but we finally put our pride aside and realized that sometimes we need a little help, and we ended up applying for food stamps to help stretch our budget. I posted a little bit about this anonymously a while back, and was bombarded with questions about why we couldn't use public transportation, why I couldn't work, etc. The thing about forums like these is that there are thousands of women from all walks of life, all of whom have different resources and opportunities. In my case, we live in a poor, rural, remote community- there aren't options for us here. Although it does upset me sometimes that I can't give my little girl an upscale nursery or a closet full of new clothes, I know she will be absolutely adored and well cared for. My mother raised me on less resources than my husband and I have, and I never grew up feeling like I was missing out on anything. We've embraced the fact that we will be more of a minimalist family, and even though I still fight off anxiety about our situation, I know we will come out of it stronger.