First, get your Krankenversicherung sorted. Even without jobs, if you're legally resident you should be able to get public insurance through the family insurance scheme or a minimal plan. That covers all prenatal care, the birth itself, and the Hebamme (midwife) who will do follow-up visits after the baby is born.

You need to find a Hebamme now, not later. In Berlin they book up incredibly fast, sometimes before the first trimester ends. They handle postpartum care, breastfeeding advice, and can even do home visits. You can search on hebammensuche.de and start calling.

Also register the pregnancy with your health insurance as soon as you have a formal Mutterschaftspass from the gynecologist. That opens up your paid prenatal classes (Geburtsvorbereitungskurs) and other benefits. If you're near a big hospital like Charite or Vivantes, check if they offer English-language courses, a lot of expat parents rely on those.

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honestly, the registry office (Standesamt) is worth thinking about early if you're not married. In Berlin, if you're not married, the father has to officially acknowledge paternity (Vaterschaftsanerkennung) before the birth, otherwise you don't get parental rights automatically. You can do it at the Jugendamt or Standesamt together, bring your IDs and residence permits, and it's free. Do it while she's still pregnant, it's way easier.

also, look into Elterngeld now even though you don't have jobs yet. The minimum is 300 Euro a month for up to 14 months if you're both eligible, and it's based on income before birth. Since you have no income right now, you'd get that minimum, but you need to apply within the first three months after birth or you might lose some. The Berlin Elterngeldstelle on Friedrichstraße handles it, they have English info on their site.

and one more thing, Mutterschutz starts six weeks before the due date, which means she can't legally work if she finds a job before then. If you're both on public insurance, prenatal checkups are free but make sure the gyn gives you the Mutterpass, that document is your key to everything else.

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yeah you should look into the Berliner Familienportal, its the official city site for parents and has most of the forms in english too. they list all the financial stuff like Kindergeld and the baby grant (Erstausstattung) which is like a one-time payment for baby gear

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yeah the guide's got the main stuff down, one thing i'd add is that the späti culture is legit for saving money but specifically the ones in kreuzberg near kottbusser tor have the cheapest beers, like 0.80 eur for a can of sterni. also if you're doing the sunday museum thing, skip the pergamon queue and go to the hamburger bahnhof instead, it's way less crowded and has cool contemporary art plus the building itself is a converted train station so it's a vibe

for food, i'd say the best budget move is not the döner but the falafel at yafa on sonnenallee, 4 eur for a massive plate and it's open till late. and tbh the reichstag booking is a pain but if you miss it, the rooftop at the kollhoff tower near potsdamer platz is like 4 eur and gives you a solid view without the hassle

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solid write-up, one thing i'd add is that the 7-day ticket is actually 41 eur for AB but you can get a 4-trip ticket for 12 eur if you're only here a couple days and it works out cheaper than single trips. also the museum sunday freebie is great but it gets packed, like at the pergamon you'll be queuing for 30 mins minimum. for a quieter free option, try the brücke museum in grunewald on a weekday afternoon, it's small but has killer expressionist art and no crowds. oh and for a cheap meal, hit up mustafa's gemüse kebab at mehringdamm, that line is long but it's worth the 5 eur for the hype tbh

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honestly the cash tip is huge, a lot of tourists don't realize how many places are still cash only here. something the guide missed is that you can get a really cheap coffee at most bakeries for like 1.50 eur if you stand at the counter instead of sitting down, way cheaper than the hipster cafes. also if you're near a späti grab a beer for like 1 eur, way cheaper than bars obviously

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