My first is 13 months now; we live in central France, and my closest family is a brother (busy with his own family) in the Netherlands. The rest of our familie

My first is 13 months now; we live in central France, and my closest family is a brother (busy with his own family) in the Netherlands. The rest of our families are in the US or Malaysia. Luckily my wife & I both work from home (so we're both always around to help each other), AND we have some very supportive neighbors & friends here, but it's been quite difficult at times. Here's a huge tip: get a large freezer (the type you put in the basement) and fill it with food like curries (to eat w/ rice) or pasta sauces, soups, etc. -- things that can be easily thawed and made into lunch/dinner with minimal effort & shopping required. Another tip: prepare yourself to be a parent. Do not assume that it will come naturally, because while some parts do, most really don't, and in the modern world there is a huge array of choices you have to make that require research and thoughtful consideration -- and once the baby arrives you'll find that difficult. What will actually work with your baby varies on the baby, but you should know a lot about breast-feeding (startling difficult to get started, even with help & preparation), formula (if breast-feeding is impossible -- and it might be for medical reasons -- you should know how formula works), co-sleeping and/or ways to help teach your newborn to sleep alone (not letting them "cry it out", for one), swaddling (amazing but not suited to every baby), ways to carry them & help with gas pains, how to change/clean this tiny fragile thing, etc.. Never mind all of the things you should know about the delivery -- how to avoid getting a default c-section if the labor is slow, etc.. It's worth studying your ass off, really. Human beings have evolved to have remarkably helpless babies that need educated care because we are capable of teaching each other how to handle that care -- normally, you'd have your entire extended family around you to teach you how to do everything. If you don't -- we didn't -- make damned sure you learn how from other sources (and have help available for when you need it!). I love having our daughter here. The whole experience blows my mind sometimes, and she's unreasonably cute -- check this out http://robwhelan.com/photos/galleries/12-month_12/img_1153.jpg http://robwhelan.com/photos/galleries/12-month_12/img_1153.j... -- but it IS difficult and there's a lot of know-how required particularly if you might not want to just go to the baby store and buy all of the stuff the salesperson says you'll need (hint: your baby will be happier without most of it).