So you're having a baby: what financial steps should you take now?

When Nicole Harling's fiance died in a car accident, he left her no insurance policy, no will and an eight-month-old baby. Harling, 28, a Virginia resident, says she felt helpless. "It put me on autopilot, she recalls. "I had to con sider my future and my daughter's future." Her advice to couples planning to have a baby: Get a financial advisor and plan everything out, from death to a will, from buying a home to saving for college.

Harling's case may be extreme, but these days there's more to having a baby than buying diapers, a crib, and nursery room decorations. Some additional things to consider are life insurance and day care costs.

Certified financial planners also advise saving for a woman's pregnancy because unforeseen circumstances may arise. Harling had to spend an extra $1,500 on medical expenses because of complications that arose during her pregnancy. She earns $27,000 a year as a telemarketing manager. "Also, expect to spend at least $500 on maternity clothes, and make sure you save to pay for your maternity leave," she says.

Financial planners can help couples find the money they need to prepare for a new addition to the family. Joseph White, a certified financial planner with American Express Financial Advisors, says baby planning should start ideally before marriage, or at the least, a year before the birth. "It's never too early to plan for a baby," he says. "If someone says they're unable to save money, I show them where they can cut back on lunch, cigarettes, entertainment and shopping."

A plan tailored to your income requires clear-cut financial goals. Al and Francenia Merritt included retirement, investments, their child's education and buying a home as part of their financial goals. On a salary of $30,000, Merritt was saving $250 a month a year before his first child came along.

"We had to pay bills off, we stopped spending on clothes and we didn't take a vacation for a couple of years," he recalls. "We paid cash and limited ourselves to one credit card."

Nine years and two children later, the Merritts, who live in Pittsburgh, are well on their way to achieving their financial goals. They own two McDonald's restaurants at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Some financial steps to having a baby include evaluating spousal health insurance options to avoid duplicating coverage, estimating day care costs and deciding whether to claim the baby as a new tax deduction. Couples would also do well to create a "slush" fund to cover the cost of unpaid maternity leave. A good rule of thumb is to have enough money in the bank to cover three to six months of living expenses.

But the single most important action to take in preparation for a baby is to draw up a will, according to Nahum Daniels, a certified financial planner and principal with Daniels Capital Strategies in New York.

"Father and mother must draft a simple will because if you don't, the child becomes a ward of the court, which means you have no control over the guardianship of the child," he says.

Although planning for a baby can take the thrill out of baby-makes-three, it can make the difference between marital bliss and marital blitz. "Financial stress is a big problem that people have today," says White of American Express. "The marital bliss starts to crack if both people haven't discussed [potential] crises."