One of the things I didn’t look forward to was all the paperwork and admin involved in having a baby!
Planning, scheduling and budgeting helped us keep on track with this. Here is a list of some of the items that needed to be organized;
1. ACTIVATING MATERNITY BENEFITS
Covered in My First Trimester Must-haves post, one of the reasons we chose our OB/GYN was to get full cover from my Discovery Health medical aid plan. We chose a doctor from their network who has a payment arrangement them. I also had to activate my maternity benefits through the ‘My Pregnancy Programme’. Consultations were covered and we are quite happy with the programme.
2. ANTENATAL CLASS
I will write another post about the benefits of antenatal classes later but I would definitely recommend this to first-time expectant parents. We attended these lessons when we were 28 weeks pregnant for 6 weeks (weekly meetings) but we reserved our spot at about 18weeks pregnant with Thula Baby Centre It’s a good idea to book this early on and claim from medical aid if part of your plan.
These classes linked us to other courses like First Aid, CPR and Couples preparation for parenting and also to other products that came in handy like the NurtureOne cushion.
3. UIF
This was surprisingly easier than I thought. I contacted and worked with the Department of Labour directly and everyone I spoke to within the department was very helpful. I downloaded the relevant forms and gave my workplace, bank and doctor the ones they needed to complete. When I started my maternity leave, I submitted these to the DoL.
On the submission day, I joined a short queue of 2 fellow pregnant women. With everything filled out and ready, this submission trip took less than 20 minutes.
The downside about doing it yourself is that you have to return to the DoL monthly to claim your next payment. This became very inconvenient with the baby but not impossible. If I was to re-do, I would have used a service like UIF-Hero for the convenience, just for extra time with Baby Nur.
4. HOSPITAL PRE-REGISTRATION
We received this form from our doctor to fill in our insurance details and birth plan for the hospital. This was done about 2 months before the birth and we handed in the form to the hospital.
5. SHOPPING LIST
My husband and I worked with a shared Google Sheets spreadsheet for our wedding which worked well for us. We did the same for Baby shopping which allowed us to focus on the main items while we were pregnant and to also generate a Baby Shower list for items leftover. Over the next few months as baby grew, we bought the outstanding items. Great way to plan and budget (for next baby too).
6. BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Luckily the hospital we were in has a service that allows you to apply for your baby’s birth certificate in the hospital and collect it from the hospital a couple of days later. Yay!
My friend said her visit to Home Affairs took less than 30 minutes in the early morning with the baby (registering within 30 days of their birth) so this option also seems convenient. If Home Affairs is busy, she recommends going with a partner who can stand in the queue and call you when closer to the front to avoid having baby in a confined public space for too long.
7. SCHOOL APPLICATIONS
The private school applications need to be done early. These have been an average of R400 for the application fee and most of the applications can be done online. It’s good to visit/research the schools while pregnant so that it’s a matter of applying as soon as possible after birth.
Daycare applications need to be done early too (I’d assume while pregnant). In place of this application, we chose to have a nanny at home, a good contract signed by both parties and registering our nanny with UIF was also necessary.
8. VACCINATIONS
Baby’s vaccination schedule may seem daunting at first but calendar reminders will help you schedule these. I have fallen in love with my phone calendar and shared reminders with my husband. We set reminders to remember to set up appointments and then reminders for suitable appointment dates!
I hope this helps, don’t forget to tell me what’s on your admin list!
xoxo
SBJ
