<prompt> Human: Three positive tests and an upcoming docs appointment to know for sure.Im active duty military so delivery costs will be zero and I may be eligible for WIC. Im not worried about that. Its the little things I dont know about our things I dont even know to think about that are worrying me. I was the youngest in my parents brood by 15 years so Ive never even had to take care of kids before.To be honest, Im still a bit in shock. Not because I dont want to have kids I do but because it was a complete surprise and I never contemplated what to do when the time came. I dont even know where to start. Do I start to buy diapers now so I wont have to worry about it so much later? Do I throw out my convertible and get a minivan? Do I start putting away money for college now when I havent even finished it myself?Im not sure where to begin.  <response>: First off, congratulations! Youre going to be a father!From a financial perspective, the best thing you can do right now is just start saving as much as you can until you can develop a more detailed plan. Children are expensive, particularly when they are young. College savings and all that can wait, you need to think more about the short-medium term right now. Similar to how you manage your own personal finances, fulfill short term goals i.e. emergency fund, paying down credit cards, etc. first then move to medium and longer term.One thing that can really help is leveraging your personal network for hand-me-downs. Baby stuff is expensive and chances are, you know someone who doesnt need their stuff anymore and will be happy to see it put to good use.Very generic advice, I know. Once you get your head wrapped around everything, if you post some more details on your financial situation then rpf can help more.Also, check out rParenting; truly one of the best subs out there. 