My friend is having a baby in November..how much do u think it cost per week for a baby?

Question

Ok so my friend is due to have a baby in Nov..she is young and made a mistake but ready to take responsibility and cannot wait for this baby. Her boyfriend and herself are trying to figure out the weekly cost of having a baby. Any ideas? Diapers, food, etc?

Answer 1

Ok everyone has mentioned diapers, wipes, formula and clothes but no one has mentioned the other stuff you don’t think of! The things that I wasn’t counting on costing so much money when we 1st had our baby boy was the cost of maternity pads and breast pads. These worked out to be REALLY expensive for me! I was going through a pack of pads a day (they were around $7.00 a pack) and a pack of breast pads every 2 days ($5 or $6)

I bled a lot for 6 weeks and I had a lot of milk when it 1st come in and it took me a while before baby and I were having regular feeds so my milk was everywhere and I needed the breast pads.

Also you have to take into account the cost of medicine if you or your baby get sick, and things like nipple creams and nipple shields, bottles, teats, toys, new clothes for the mother etc etc etc. but yeah the main thing I wanted to point out was to tell your friend to price pads and breast pads cause no one told me I’d need so many of them or that they cost so much :)

Answer 2

I would say $40 to $60 per week. This all depends on the brand of diapers (please stay away from the cheapers, they can be total nightmares!) and if she will be breast feeding or not. Breast feeding saves A LOT of money because formula is expensive!!!! Babies can go through 10-12 cans a month if not more and those things cost about $7-$10 per can!!!! When it comes time for baby food...that is usually not as expensive and it helps a lot to make your own baby food!!!! She also needs to watch herself when she goes into any store with a baby department. When I had my first at 18...I couldn't help but buy her new stuff at least once a week. I actually still do that, she is 2 and has more friggin toys and stuffed things than she knows what to do with and her wardrobe...she has more clothes than me and my husband put together!!!

Answer 3

Well Diapers will run around $30, formula around $30, wipes, $5. So that part is not bad. The big expense is that the baby will need new clothes almost every 2 months. Tell them to go to Target or Walmart. Really cute clothes and pretty cheap. So I would figure in about another $20 each week for clothes.
Then there is bottles, stroller, crip etc.

So the weekly cost for a child will run around $85-$100. But that does not include day care. If your friend is going to stay home then they dont have to worry about it, but daycare is usually around $800 a month.

You also need to understand that these costs will change after the first 8 months. The child after that will be eating baby food instead of so much formula.

Answer 4

Well if she breast feeds there will be no food cost for them. As long as they have the clothes they need for the baby to keep her warm and dry in the cold months etc. i would say mostly all there is left is the cost of diapers and if the baby gets sick. Being young, i am assuming teenagers, they will or could likely get insurance coverage for their baby at the very least. Married mom's that don't make enough money can even get help with insurance coverage from most states. Just about anyone can get healthy kids (state insurance for kinds until they turn 18). It goes from being free to an amount you pay each month depending on your income level. It's reasonable though, no where near what you would pay at work.
My son's father pretty much ditched him a few yrs back, doesn't pay support or anything and he is covered 100% by healthy kids insurance. They pay for any medication he needs, eye doc, regular doc visits etc etc. At least i know my son is covered, that's what counts.
Right now at walmart you can buy a pack of 56 diapers for less then $6 if you go by the average for a breast fed baby it's about 56 diapers a week. They say a breast fed baby eats on average every 3 hours and needs to be changed every 3 hours. If you break this down it means 8 diapers a day (8 times 3 is 24). Then 8 times 7 is 56 so there you have it.
If they still need furniture for the baby and clothes etc. they can try the local CAP (community action program) or yards sales or even a yahoo group called freecycle.org. You put things on there that you need and people respond if they have it and it's free. You also give things way you no longer need or want instead of throwing them away. From what i have been told local police stations sometimes have programs for carseats if they need one of those.
There is also a program called WIC that will provide formula if she chooses not to breast feed. Then baby cereal etc when the baby gets older. If she chooses to go back to work and wants to breast feed still she can likely get a breast pump to borrow from WIC as well.
So, i would say if they breast feed and have insurance for the baby it would be about $6 a week for diapers.
Of course when the baby gets older there are even more expenses and if they are both working and no family live near by to babysit there will be the cost of child care. No idea on the cost of that now. My husband and i run the family business and have our own filming business on the side so have no need for child care. When we do my parents live an hour away and are more then willing.
I hope this helps. I am impressed that your friend's boyfriend is sticking by her and not baling on her. I hope they make it!!

Answer 5

Well, I would assume if they are on a budget they will use store brand formula and diapers-- they can save a bundle!!

Diapers are about $13 for a 100 pack of store brand, and you use 8-10 per day (10 for sure when baby is small). A store brand can of formula is about $14, and lasts a week (longer when baby is first born.). Wipes, about 1 $2 container per week.

So in diapers, formula and wipes, that's about $10 + $14 + 2 = $26.

Basically you'll average $100 a month in bare neccessities. Of course, if the mom breast feeds, you'll cut that in half.

They'll need bottles, clothes, blankets, and a crib as well. Since you are her friend-- throw her a baby shower! She can get lots of stuff, and encourage people to give gift cards or diapers since they are on a budget.

Day care is what is really expensive, if she plans to work.

Answer 6

The best figure i have heard is that it costs almost 10,000 dollars a year to have a baby, that works out to be close to 200 dollars a week. However, i know that it can be done for cheaper. Breastfeeding is free and better for the baby and that cuts cost quick. I would say if you have baby supplies like a car seat and a crib then diapers, food and such cost approximately 50 dollars a week if you average it out over the first year, more in the begining because they go through diapers faster and the smaller sizes are more expensive, and the 50 dollars estimate is on top of normal costs, i am assuming they have a safe place to live with electricity and such.

Answer 7

The weekly cost of a baby is all the money you have each week. Doesnt matter how much you make, whatever you have left goes to the kids... its just part of being a parent and wanting the best for your kids.

Thats why people say its false to think SOMEDAY you'll be able to afford kids.

I breast feed, so theres no cost for formula, But that can run about 20 bucks a week or better, more if baby needs soy formula. I spend about 10 dollars a week on diapers, we use gerber foods and I spend about 20 dollars a week for those. a package of refill wipes lasts for nearly a month, and thats around 6 bucks, but little babies use waaaaay more, so do formula babies as they poop more than breastfed babies.

Then theres clothes and toys, bottles sippies, little things, safety items little things you pick up each week. Probably about 100 bucks. or so. depends.

Answer 8

It depends on what age of baby you have and how smart you are with your money. For example, we buy generic diapers and wipes and we always buy clothes at end of season sales to get up to 75% off. Anyways, here is the breakdown for us: Diapers: Approximately $5 per week (1/4 of a $20 box) Wipes: $12 per month (we go through a box a month or so) so $3 per week. Formula: $15-$20 per week (depending on if its on sale or not) Other food: We actually feed our daughter what we eat, but her cereal probably costs around $2 per week. Clothes: Our budget is around $100 per season. Daycare: $150 per week Of course, there are other one time expenses like a crib, car seat, stroller, toys, etc. We paid around $3000-$4000 before we even had our daughter.

Answer 9

First off, if she has low income tell her to check into the WIC program (women infants and children). They help out with food for her and the unborn baby. She can also get food stamps if she has little income too. For diapers, she will be going through at least a pack a week (pack of 100) that cost about 15 to 20 dollars.

Answer 10

i would say about $60 per week depending on what type of diapers they use. That is not including all of the clothes which a baby goes through very fast, stroller, car seat and so forth. They should go to a store and find everything that they would consider having and go from there.