How much does a baby cost per month?

Question

new born, from birth to 7-8 months of age.

Does insurance cover hospital bills?

Answer 1

SOME insurance policies have maternity coverage, but not all, so you really need to pose that question to your insurance agent.

After birth, babies can be as little or as much as you want. You really only need something for the baby to eat, clothes for the baby to wear, somewhere for the baby to sleep, diapers, and a carseat.

But on average I would say you can expect to invest about $1000 upfront on baby gear (crib, playpen, carseat, changing table, bouncer, swing, tummy time mat, etc).

Monthly costs are about:
$40-50 for diapers
$5 for wipes
$20-$120 for formula (generic to namebrand)
$40-$50 for clothes
$20-$35 for doctor visit co-pays
If someone doesn't stay home and you put kid into daycare costs can run from about $400-$1000 per month.

Answer 2

I believe most insurance companies cover prenatal and delivery costs. However, you have to check w/ your insurance plan for the specifics.

Breastfeed. It's free other than the purchase of a couple of nursing bras and maybe some lanolin for sore nipples. Bottles, pacifiers, and pumps are not necessities either. Humans survived for eons w/o them and many moms today still don't use them.

Cloth diapering. Disposables cost a small fortune and are very crappy for the environment (though there are environmentally friendly disposables...but they're probaby more expensive) not to mention health. Cloth diapers generally have a start up cost that can seem more expensive than disosables, but it is mostly a one time expense. Recurring expenses are for washing and replacing covers and Snappis as baby grows. Try Mothering.com's diapering forum for more info.

Cosleep. You needn't buy a crib or bassinet if you cosleep w/ your baby. SAFE cosleeping is SAFER than crib sleeping for baby and is FREE.

Don't buy a changing table. Use a bed, a counter, a couch, a chair, the floor, etc. Or borrow a changing table from someone else.

A stroller is great, but not a necessity either. A baby sling or asian style baby allows you to carry baby and keep hands free. Costs much less than a stroller.

If you will be in a car w/ baby, you'll HAVE to get a carseat, of course. It should be new and safe.

High chairs are not strictly necessary either as you can feed baby on your lap.

Clothes. If you buy larger sizes, baby can wear the same clothes for much longer. Buy unisex, plain clothing and you can use it for more than one baby even if genders are different. Babies don't car about fashion.

Health care. These costs can vary. If you breastfeed, you baby is likely to be much healthier and the health care costs are likely to be much lower, not just in infancy but over the lifetime.

I'm always shocked w/ some of the numbers ppl come up w/ b/c our babies have cost us very little.

Answer 3

More than you will ever imagine! If you wait until you can afford a baby, you will never have one. You will also be shocked at how you seem to scrounge up the money and borrow things and start looking for deals way ahead of time. I just bought a highchair at Target for $3.50!
If you don't have insurance, look into Healthy Start . And many hospitals will charge the birth and delivery on a sliding scale.

Answer 4

Would you breast-feed or bottle feed with Formula? Breast milk is free. Formula is 25$ a can at about a can a week, maybe and diapers are 22$/box of 100 or so every two weeks, so that's 150$ so far, not counting bottles, clothing, diaper wipes, butt cream, doctor appointments and around 4-6 months you have to start feeding solids, which is more money and juice. Babies are expensive and cost varies from baby to baby. I would guess at an average of about 300-500$ a month at least. check out www.babycenter.com for more info.

Answer 5

It really depends, but it can be expensive. Especially if the baby has health problems, or needs a special kind of formula, or has allergies, etc. And in addition to regular baby expenses, you'll be doing a lot more laundry, so that's an added cost. All in all, you probably shouldn't have a baby until you're financially secure.

Answer 6

There are a lot of expenses. Diapers, formula, bottles, binkies, clothes, crib, shoes, hats, winterwear, summerwear, toys, etc etc etc. Not to mention hospital bills. I dont know how much this adds up to per month but its a lot. But the joy a baby brings outweighs the cost by far.

Answer 7

the prices range... i have a 7 week old baby and so far we went through 502 diapers lol, 19 large cans of formula, about 3 boxes of whipes.... so it depends on the baby how often he or she uses the bathroom and how much they eat. my son is eatting 4 oz. every 3 hours. and then dont forget all the medicines you need on hand. Mylicon drops work wonders... :)
and yes medical insurance should cover the hospital bill!!!

Answer 8

Before baby is born:
bed- $100+
car seat - $30-$80
bottles- $20-$50

After baby is here:
diapers 2 packs a week $10 each
wipes $2-$5
formula $12-$15
baby food $5-$7
clothes
medical bills
daycare
lots of extras toys, playpen, swing, walker, bouncy seat, and more.

Answer 9

Insurance usually covers the delivery and doctor bills - if you were pregnant while you were insured. If you got pregnant before you had the insurance; they will not cover anything.

Answer 10

Formula is a choosen expense. diapers /crib/clothes/carseat/stroller/baby swing/bassinet/Dr. & hospital bills (If not insured) It can all add up to quite a bit.