Most people I talk to say that babies are expensive, but just how expensive?

Question

If any one could give me some numbers that would be great. And what you think was the hardest time with your baby

Answer 1

The cost varies. I've posted a site from Babycenter that calculates the cost of raising a child base on your income and location. It gives you estimated annual amounts from birth to 18 (college is to 22) for transportation, housing, etc. The figures are averages drawn from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2000 Annual Report, "Expenditures on Children by Families." The college figures are averages drawn from the report, "Trends in College Pricing: 2001."

Costs will vary so don't think that the number your provided is the exact amount. Through the child's life, some parents might exceed or go under that cost.

My baby is 1 year and so far, my trying time with her is not being able to get away from her when I need a break because, my husband refuses to help with anything. I spend 24 hours, 7 days a week with her and I do everything; feeding, bathing, diapers, entertainment, etc. Since the day she was born I have done everything and still continue to do so while he tries to maintain life prior baby. My only free time is when she's napping or in bed for the night. He doesn't allow me extra time when he's home and refuses to babysit her if I want to go out.

Answer 2

It is hard to give you a number. It depends if you will be a stay at home parent or will go back to work and will have to pay for daycare. You can choose to buy lots of expensive cloths or a few cheep ones. You can buy Pampers or the Walmart brand diapers which work the same way. You can breastfeed(costs nothing & is better) or you can formula feed (very expensive) You have many decisions to make when having a baby.

I don't think you should look at it as they are very expensive, there are always choices that you can make to not spend money on other things and you will find it may not be such a financial burden as people say. You life style changes allot with a baby not just the expence part, but it is well worth it.

Answer 3

Yes, babies mandate that the budget is a bit tighter, but different people spend money on different things... and the money that they spend is spent in different ways.

For us? Diapers run about $30 every 2-3 weeks (we buy by the case from a warehouse club), wipes are about $15 every 3-4 weeks. Formula was about $30 every 1-2 weeks (our biggest expense). Jarred baby food was about about $10 a week, less if we could find it on sale at a grocery store. She eats our foods now. The only "just for her" food expenses are her milk (she drinks whole milk we drink 2%), her yogurt (Blue's Clues banana and vanilla), and her Cheerios.

Clothes? Mostly, we shop thrift stores for her clothes. We go once every one or two months. The clothes we buy there are good quality, long lasting and better than most of the things we find in retail stores. Our daughter is 14 months old. So far, we've spent, maybe, $200 on clothes for her and this amount includes a $70 winter suit we bought her new which will also be used for her little brother or sister, so I guess that price that counts towards her can be cut in half.

Toys... she doesn't have or need much. My mother-in-law seems to buy her a toy everytime she goes to the mall and we rotate her things so that she has a "new" batch to play with every once in a while. We buy her a few select toys that will last a long time, that she gets tons of enjoyment from and that don't cost much. We've probably spent somewhere around $150 on books, toys, and stuffed toys since before she was born (and, again, everything can be cut in half since it's all going to be used by our next child as well).

Medical expenses? The pregnancy and birth cost a grand total of $5! (I love our insurance plan, sometimes!) Co-pays for office visits and medicines in the first year cost less than $150 plus an ER visit which was $35. It wouldn't have been so much, but our daughter had RSV when she was 6 weeks old and the insurance didn't pay for part of the medication she needed at home.

Our hardest time? I'm not sure if you mean financially or otherwise. Our hardest time with her was when she was sick last year. She was only 6 weeks old and started having trouble breathing. There was an ER visit (the doctors misdiagnosed her), a doctor visit (in which we were told that there was nothing that could be done for her since she was so little) and, finally, an afterhours doctor visit with a different doctor who sent us right to the hospital for treatment (you know, that treatment that the other doctor said didn't exist). We weren't sure what was going to happen, but everything turned out fine (thank God).

People have different priorities. People have different ideas about what is important to spend their money on. I've heard of people spending thousands of dollars on a baby's room, while we have a second hand (but very safe) crib, a second hand dresser and a second hand book shelf. The only things we really spend money on for her room were paint (three gallons) and her crib mattress. What may be important for someone else, just isn't for us. We know that so long as we have the basics, everything else is a bonus!

Yes, babies can be expensive, but they don't have to be.

Answer 4

There are ways to cut the costs, if you really think you are ready for a baby.

Babies are completely dependent on their caregivers. They grow, which means more clothes. They need diapers, bottles, formulas, car seat, etc.

Many things your child will need can be bought used, or even donated. Hopefully a baby shower will help out. (I gave a baby shower a few months ago, and we asked for only diapers and wipes. Every person brought a pack or two of diapers and wipes! Diapers are, by far, the biggest initial expense.)

Are you ready? I mean really ready? In a place in your life, ready to accept the hard work a baby will bring?

A baby is a sweet, innocent, blank slate, that will follow in your footsteps, soaking up all the good and bad traits you have.

I have had 6 sons, blessings each and every one, and a husband who is a big help. Labor of love.

Initial costs (not including the possible medical): $65 weekly for the first 6 wks or so, and these costs will gradually increase.

One big mistake I see many parents make are the expensive clothes bought for baby. Again, used and donated from friends work well.

Hardest time? When my first son moved away to college....he was 20 at the time, but still my baby....smiling. He now has a career, a wonderful wife, and 2 sons of his own.

Answer 5

It's really hard to give a number, it vaires by situation. My son didn't cost much at all as a newborn as his medical costs were covered completely and he was on Walmart formula, generic everything...you get the idea. My daughter on the other hand has many medical bills that we have had to take care of, she is allergic to soy and milk and we have to shell out over $100 a week on her formula at this point, she is also sensitive to LUVS diapers so we have to buy Pampers...she is just all around a more expensive baby (but worth every penny!). Daycare is another expense to take into account, it can run up to $200 a week for a newborn...I do in-home daycare so I save that expense for us.
The hardest time with my son wasn't until he was about 2 1/2...he went through the terribles two's. My daughter was severely colicky for 2 solid months until we figured out her allergies and changed her diet...so that was VERY challenging. It's all worth the time and money, I promise.

Answer 6

Well let's see. There are diapers every week and they can run 10 to 15 bucks.. and if you are going to formula feed then the cans are can run about 9 dollars and you will use about 6 cans a week. Then they grow very quickly so you will need to buy clothes at least once or twice a month for a couple of months. The clothes are not cheap say 12 to 20 dollars an outfit and packs of onsies cost about 10 bucks. And then the Dr visits also and those can run from the amount of your copay to full price.. depending on your insurance. Baby toys can run 5 to 10 bucks. Then if you need to get all the necessities like stroller, car seat, crib, swing, and accessories for all of that like sheets and covers. Baby furniture.. diaper bags, clothes, shoes, bottles.
I know I have spent over 2000.00 dollars just preparing for my son's arrival and still can get some more that I am missing. So just monthly it can range from 200 to 400. And that doesn't help pay for your sanity..lol. Good luck.

Answer 7

Getting everything together before the baby is born is an expensive bit.
Maybe another £60 a week (around $100)
If you breast feed its lots cheaper.
The hardest time for me was when my son was first born and waking up early hours of the morning. It was so tiring especially as my body was tired from giving birth.
It only lasted 8 weeks though. Now he is 5 months old and sleeps 5pm-8pm!

Answer 8

Approximately, $10 a week for diapers. Breast feeding saves about $2000 over the course of the first year but you have to breast feed the whole year. Babies outgrow their clothes completely about every two to three months.You also have to have extra clothes because they tend to spit up on themselves. Also factor in wipes, baby food when they hit six months, and let's not forget pediatrician visits. Even with insurance, we still owed the ob $600 and the hospital $800.

The hardest time for me is when they get mobile and you have to be extra careful where you put things. I have lost whole cartons of eggs because I didn't realize she was tall enough to reach the table. My oldest once opened the refridgerator and began to see what she could dump.
But they're so much fun I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Answer 9

babies don't have to be expensive, if u use cloth diapers u save 15-30 bucks a week and it only requires 2 extra loads of laundry a week, breastfeed and theres another $20 a week u don't have to waste on formula, and if ur going to be a sahm well then no daycare costs...clothes and that stuff can be picked up second hand for cheep, and u can choose how much u want to spend for toys lets face it babies instinctively prefer your Tupperware over those expensive toys u spent so much time picking out lol. if u need to keep it cheep its not hard... my first child was expensive only because i didn't know better and thought i needed a buncha junk that was truly useless changing table, wipe warmer, million outfits and toys, formula, Pampers, sadly i thought Gerber was responsible for every meal my child ate and that was really expensive...my next children i took a different approach cloth diapers, cheep onsies, breastfeeding, and they didn't eat until they are basically ready to eat whatever dinner i make (only works for breastfed babes) my babe has literally cost me $175 for his total diapering experience (plus i can use em for the next child YeahXD), the cost to feed my self and i would have to do that no matter what , and a couple packs of onsies and sleepers (grandmas and relatives will still buy really cute baby clothes for you), ... i love walking through the baby isle at stores knowing i don't have to buy anything

Answer 10

I would say about $100 a week extra. More as they get older. My hardest time with my baby was probably when she thought it was fun to play in the toilet. She would sneak in there and just dip her toys in there and play. Bath time would have to occur several times a day with that going on.