how much money does having a baby cost?!?

Question

I understand in the long run having a child is very expensive, especially when they get to school age and need this and that and a car and college, etc. But I want to have a child in the next year or so. My husband is convinced that he's not having one until he's "financially stable" when in essence really isn't possible for most people. B/c he means he wants to have enough saved up for EVERYTHING before we even have one... which unless you're a millionaire i don't believe is possible. So to start off, how much do you really need extra a month? We both make a pretty good amount of money for where we live. A crib, clothes, diapers, medicine, etc would be given to us to start off with by family members and friends... I know most people buy newborn and 1-3 month stuff for showers so I plan on, when I get pregnant, buying one thing of diapers every week that i'm pregnant and probably clothes as well. so with all of that in consideration how much do you think a couple needs to begin?

The Gimp- he does want a baby. He would have one now if he thought we had the money. He wants to spoil his child and give it everything he can. And i know it's a lot overall... i just meant an average per month for neccessary and unexpected things. But thanks for the input.

Answer 1

One thing that you can tell your husband is that if you are waiting until you are "financially ready" you never will be. As your income increases, usually so do your expenses. I can just let you know what my husband and I did. We did exactly what you suggested about the diapers, and currently have over 2,000 diapers waiting for our son (I am due basically any second now). I bought clothes at the end of each season based on what his size should be for next year. Our crib, which converts from a crib, to a toddler bed, to a day bed to a full size bed, cost about $350. I plan on breastfeeding, but we did get some formula just in case, but we didn't actually even pay for that. Similac, Nestlee, and another brand sent me full size free samples after creating a registry at Babies R Us. We bought a travel system instead of buying a car seat and stroller seperate, that was $200. I bought my bobby pillow off ebay, for $17 (included the pillow and 3 slip covers). My breastpump was a really good find, usually $300, I found it on a one-day sale for $150. Remember (especially if this pregnancy is planned) that you will have about 8 months from the time you KNOW you're pregnant to plan/pre-buy. I was overwhelmed at first, but I have been told by experienced mothers that I have WAY more than enough, and I have not had to buy anything since I was 6 1/2 months pregnant. If you space out your purchases you will be fine. I do not work (I am a student) and my husband just has a "regular" job. We are not poor, but we are not rolling in cash either. We have been absolutely fine financially and one thing you can do is if one of your income's covers your bills, you can put the other income into savings to create a cushion for when you are off of work. I hope this helped.

Answer 2

Well it's hard to put a price on a baby. You have the right idea about never having enough money but you also have to think about insurance deductibles. Right now I'm paying $1,000 just for prenatal visits, $2,500 for delivery (hospital) and that's just the price right now, it could change if something goes wrong and they have to do more when i go into labor. $250 for the extra ultrasound when they thought the baby could have Downs. All of this has to be paid two weeks prior to my due date. Of course your cost may be different as well as others but that's what were experiencing. Not to mention we still have tons to buy for the baby like bedding set about $185, car seat $80, stroller $80, dresser $200 or more! Diapers are about $13 a bag, two a week for new borns. That's about $26 a week. If you have to buy formula you need a can for everyday of the month or extras just in case that's about $4 for a can of liquid formula that has to be diluted,$124 a month. That's not including bottles a pack of 3 can be $15! Just for 4oz bottles. Clothes, socks, blankets, a swing or bouncer runs from about $30 and up. You get the idea. As long as you husband has saved money for prenatal visits, hospital stay, and money to get nursery ready you should be OK. It's a good thing because your husband sounds very responsible. It will be better for the relationship if you waited until both of you are prepared.

Answer 3

First of all, plan to breastfeed - this is the single most important thing you can do for your baby's health, and it will drastically cut the costs of having a baby. Formula is very expensive, and the baby will not get the natural immunities from you that will help keep it healthy. The idea about buying a pack of diapers a week is a good one, just remember to buy some larger sizes too so you don't wind up with a 6-month supply of newborn size! You do have to figure in the cost of doctor's visits, well-baby and vaccines and such, and depending on your insurance that can wind up being a big chunk of change. You can look in resale stores for cribs and carseats and other needs, the baby doesn't care if everything is brand new and you can save a bunch of $$ that way.

Answer 4

-Well, if you breastfeed, you don't have to pay the $120+ a month in formula costs. But you may want bottles and a breastpump, which will run you anywhere between $50 and $75 depending on the brands. Lansinoh breast pads for the first few months are about $7 a box and last a few weeks. (They are pretty necessary during the night.)

-Diapers should be bought by the case, if possible, because they are cheaper. I don't think they start putting them in cases until size 3, but I once did see a size 2 case of diapers, so who knows. Newborns go through about 8-12 wet diapers in 24 hours. A pack of 48 diapers will last 4-6 days. After the first 6 weeks or so, they drop down to 5-8 diapers in 24 hours.

-Even if you're planning on getting the important things from the shower, make sure you get a couple packs of 3-6 month size onsies, or put them on your registry. Babies grow fast, and you don't want to be unprepared. Sometimes, it seems as if they grow overnight.

So, for the first 6 months, you could probably get by on what you got at the shower- as long as you asked for bigger-sized clothes and asked for necessities instead of "fancy" items and other things that aren't really needed. You could start buying clothes that are on clearance for the appropriate size and season for your baby. Even thrift places like Goodwill have decent baby cothes for about $2 a piece. (Just wait until they are at least 1 month old before putting used clothing on them just to be safe, unless you know where it came from.) Check eBay. You can find entire lots of name-brand clothing for a certain size/sex for pretty cheap.

Add in about $360 in diapers total. If your'e going to use formula, add on an additional $700+ total. Don't buy any in advance. Talk with the baby's ped. about the specific type of formula. Baby make have allergies to certain types of formula, and you don't want to waste money. Ebay is also a good place to look for formula, as you can buy it in bulk for cheap.

Things will change after 6 months of age, when baby starts solids. It's cheaper and healthier to cook and puree your own babyfood, than to use jarred baby foods. Companies like Gerber use starchy fillers to "bulk up" the volume of the food so it fills up the jar. Less calories and nutrients, and costs so much more than to boil, mash, and freeze sweet potatoes and other produce.

You will be fine. You'll make do because you have to.

Answer 5

I don't know off the top of my head but I think we could figure it out. First if you get most things you need at your shower thats awesome. Also would you breastfeed, if so that saves you a TON of money on formula. A large pack of good diapers in WA cost roughly $25 and that is for over 50 diapers. Also you need to ad in clankets bibs etc... If you breast feed I would say you would need an extra $200 a month to be on the safe side of things. Also another huge cost is medical, and maternity leave. You need to look into what your work will cover for you etc... Good Luck!!!

Answer 6

you can have a baby for as little or as expensive as you want to make it.some families get by on second hand stuff and hand me downs and others want the best of everything.is a child any less loved just because it has doting parents and second hand clothes than the child that has everything except for its parents attention and love?
just bite the bullet and go for it.my hubby worried about how we would afford a baby but we now have three and we have the same income between 5 of us as we did between two of us.money is tighter but we cant base our life on a bank balance can we?i suggest you save the money you are gonna spend on baby items till you need it.there is no point having 2000 nappies as one suggests if you find the brand you bought leaks or isnt a snug fit.i wouldnt buy clothes for every season as suggested either you could start with a small or bigger baby than you expect so they are at the wrong size at the wrong season.again a savings account would cover this and you can buy what you need when you need it.

Answer 7

For starters, there's just having the baby. After insurance (which paid 70% after $250 deductible), just having the baby was about $4000 out of pocket {c-section}.

If you don't have to buy all the baby gear (car seat, stroller, crib, changing table, swing, bouncer, playpen, bathtub, etc.) then you'll probably save at least a thousand dollars there.

Once the baby's actually born there's not a lot of money.
Diapers (Costco mega pack)=$50/month
Formula (Costco generic)=$40/month {name brand is about $105/month}
Clothes are about $33/month ($100 every 3 months when they change size)
Quitting your job and staying home=loss of your salary
OR
Full time daycare=$500/month on the low end up to $1800/month if you have twins
At least one doctor's co-pay per month=whatever your copay is.

Answer 8

It's really expensive and it sounds like he doesn't want a kid. If he really wanted one, he would make sacrifices. Overall though, it costs an average of $250,000.00 to raise a kid from infancy through College........waaaaah!

Answer 9

more than the thing is worth...