How much do you spend on baby expenses?

[megumic]

DH and I are trying to plan financially for baby on the way. (Surprise, surprise ) I'd like to get an idea from new mommas and experienced mommas about how much generally you spend on baby expenses every month. I understand this varies based on whether you BF or formula feed (or a combo) or if you CD or use disposable diapes, childcare expenses, etc.

Not including daycare or babysitters, not including big ticket items, just general expenses you buy regularly, how much do you spend/budget per month for baby stuff. If you don't mind, please indicate where necessary what is included there - formula, diapes, hygiene items, etc, etc.

We are closing on a home in a few weeks and have to buy a second car (we are a one-car family right now) so we want to make sure we leave enough cash on a month-to-month basis for baby expenses.

Any/all input, thoughts, ideas, etc. are greatly appreciated! This is new territory for us and we feel kinda lost! I hear it all just falls into place and works out financially, but we are nutty planners...

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I only have a 1-month-old, so I'm probably no help since right now our biggest expense is diapers and the occasional container of formula (my breast milk supply is low and I'm supplementing). That being said, I have several spreadsheets from my pregnancy days of preparing for the baby. I know you're already pregnant and have bought a lot of this stuff, but thought it might be helpful to share:

Nursery: crib, changing table, dresser, changing pad, curtains, bedding, mattress, glider, misc. = $1,426.09
Bedroom: sofa (for nursing/pumping), storage for diapers, ottoman for changing = $712.99
Registry items: diaper genie, boppy, bottles, pacifiers, sound machine, humidifier, diapers, bouncy seat, etc., = $625

Then there were some of the "big ticket" items:
Breast pump = $275
Carseat + bases = $250
ERGO carrier = $140
Stroller = $525
Monitor = $120
Pack and Play = $100
Swing = $160

A few of these things I did get from showers, but not many. My coworkers bought me a diaper bag (around $120?) so there's that, too.

All in all, it was about $4,500 for the preparation of Katie's arrival. Since she was born a month ago, we've spent about $40 on formula (two containers, though she hasn't used it all) and she's gone through about 250 - 300 diapers. A 240-pack is $43 on amazon.

As with most, our biggest expense is childcare when I go back to work, which is ~$2k per month.

And of course, this doesn't include the push present

 

[Pandora II]

I'm in the UK so prices might be way different.

I breastfed and we co-sleep, I also use disposable diapers (Pampers pull-ups since she was 6 months as wriggly baby and tabs are a bad combo). We also did Baby-Led Weaning so she never had purees or any baby food - she just had whatever we were having. My only investment was bowls with suction rims ($3 each in the supermarket) so they stick to the table and some nice children's spoons and forks.

The early months I got through around 8 diapers a day, now it's about 3-4 a day. I wait for special offers in the supermarket and buy in bulk. It works out at around $40 a month with special offers. Wipes work out at around $8 a month.

I like Burts Bees baby products - a bottle of Shampoo and Wash will easily last 2 months or more and they cost $10 a bottle. I also use their diaper cream - around $8 and it lasts a couple of months too.

I bought a 12 pack of terry diapers on eBay for $6 and have used them as burp clothes - they are way, way better than muslins as they actually absorb.

I would reckon that we probably spent less than $100 a month on the essentials - including clothes.

I am a mega-bargain shopper though and actively look for bargains. I bought a lot of her clothes on eBay as I have expensive tastes but won't pay $100 for an outfit she'll wear 6 times. I bought a David Charles dress last month that retails at £120 GBP for £2.50GBP - it had been worn once to a party and was immaculate. Sadly I had a baby just before all my friends so they all got stacks of stuff from me - most in perfect condition. It's well worth getting hand-me-downs for babies.

The three things I bought new and always would were the matress for the crib, the car-seat and my stroller (Stokke Xplory) as I live in London and it is my major form of transport. I also buy very good quality shoes and also always brand-new and properly fitted.

Hope that has something helpful!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Congrats!

If I were you, I'd look at Craigslist for a lot of the items. People have different comfort levels with buying certain things used, but I've sold a crib mattress that had only been used for about a year and a breast pump that was still under warranty. Even if you're not comfortable buying those kinds of things used, still look at CL b/c you never know. I've sold a still-in-the box, unopened car seat b/c I had bought two and had miscalculated how long my daughter could be in that seat weight-wise and we never used it. So the buyer got a good deal on a seat that was totally new- it even had the shipping label on the box so that she could see that it had come directly to me on whatever date and that I was the one and only owner.

Diapers were our biggest expense- we are members at BJ's, which runs good coupons and lets you use manufacturers' coupons as well. The biggest long-term expenses were breastpump-related items, as I could not directly nurse and exclusively pumped instead- 3 pumps, 2 deep freezers, LOTS of storage bags and bottles, etc.

For our 2nd child, we did get a changing table but we didn't use one for our first- just changed her on the floor. Also, I personally think a baby carrier is indispensible, esp if you have more than one kid (I LOVE my Ergo), but if you have a babywearers' club near you, you should check it out and see the different kinds of carriers before you spend money on one. I know the one in my area that I've gone to has a library where you can bring them home and really wear them around first before you make up your mind. I think babysteals has Ergos on sale periodically. CL too is a good source for them.

 

[Puppmom]

Meg, for me, other than the initial cost, I find that it's the little things that add up.

I exclusively breastfed for 15 months so I didn't have to buy formula but I understand from friends/family that the cost if about $30 per week. We also use cloth diapers so I don't have a *monthly* diaper expense (which I estimate to be about $60) but had up-front cost of about $600.

Right now, for our DS, who is 20 months old we spend:

Food - $75. My kid is SUPER picky and doesn't just eat what we eat for meals so I think this cost would be lower if he did.
Medical care/prescriptions - $100 (not counting insurance premiums). Definitely explore this as much as you can before baby's arrival because there are a lot of hidden med costs nowadays and plans just aren't as black and white as they once were.
Clothing - $50 - I spend about $150 per *season* but get a lot of hand-me-downs so it's hard to tell.
Activities - $100 (swim lessons, trips to the museum etc.)
Supplies - $50 (wipes, tissues, bath stuff, vitamins etc.)

One of the biggest things to impact our wallet is our gas and electric bill. We keep our house warmer during the winter and cooler during the summer now that we have DS. Our monthly expenses have increased by almost a third as a result. This is something I didn't think about before DS. Another big ticket thing was moving him from the carrier carseat to the convertible car seat. He's a big boy so this happened around 6 or 7 mos. We had to buy 3 seats (for me, DH and MIL) and it cost us over $600 and the seats we chose were mid-level in terms of price.

That's all for now...

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Congrats!

If I were you, I'd look at Craigslist for a lot of the items. People have different comfort levels with buying .

Yes, look on CL. My kids were little long before CL was around but we would have saved a lot of money had we had that option. Some items that I thought were "must haves" didn't work out, such as a baby swing. My son didn't like his at all! Also, consignment shops are a great option. I had a peg perego double stroller that I loved and it was in great shape when I sold it to the consignment shop...whoever bought it got a great deal.

 

[Kunzite]

ITA with pupp's list, except we didn't notice an increase in our electric bill just a little increase in water. Other than the big stuff and initial set ups (bottles, pump, pacifiers, sleep sacks, etc), the first few months were cheap, cheap. I would actually go as far as to say that our total household expenses actually decreased per month because we would have spent way more than the below if we'd still been going out and doing things!!

O was exclusively on BM until 7 months and we cloth diaper. So the first seven months our only expenses consisted of the little things. Here is what it averaged out to.

BM freezer bags (because I froze a lot of milk) - $20
Membranes for the pump (because these wear out soooo fast) - $6
Burt's Bees baby wash (which in 16 months we're only on our second bottle because we use very little, no bubble baths, etc) - $1
California Baby diaper cream (again, only on our second bottle!) -$1
Clothes -$50 (same as pupp, about $150 a season)
Laundry detergent -$15
Increased water usage -$2
Random toys/books -$15

Per month first 7 months - $110

Now after those 7 months gets a little tricky because a lot of things aren't really monthly. At this point we had to invest in sippy cups, larger sleep sacks, convertible car seat, baby spoons and forks, food containers to store our homemade purees, name stickers to put on the stuff we sent to daycare, many more books and toys, wet bags for daycare, shoes (O got his first pair of shoes at 12 months, haha!), high chair. I'd say all of that added up to about $500 total. Then the monthly expenses averaged:

Burt's Bees baby wash - $1
California Baby diaper cream -$1
Clothes -$75 (more clothes plus shoes)
Laundry detergent -$15
Increased water usage -$5 (baths in the tub instead of the baby tub)
Food - $75 (this can really fluctuate if he's in a picky spell because we end up making a lot of things he won't eat)
Medical - $50 (our medical was covered for the first year, but we spend a fortune now between office visits and prescriptions)

Per month after 7 months - $222

There was also a topic awhile back that detailed all of the big items plus initial set up items if you're interested: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cost-of-baby-during-first-year-of-life.163658/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cost-of-baby-during-first-year-of-life.163658/[/URL]

 

[Puppmom]

Kunzite, I just realized that one of the reasons that our gas/electric went up is MIL was home with DS for the first year. So, we didn't drop/raise the house temp during the day. That was probably more of the cause than keeping the house a little warmer/cooler (depending on the season) for N.

 

[amc80]

I would actually go as far as to say that our total household expenses actually decreased per month because we would have spent way more than the below if we'd still been going out and doing things!!

We are thinking this will happen to us as well. We eat out a lot, and I doubt we will be doing that nearly as much when the baby comes. Even if we end up ordering in, it's still cheaper than going out to eat.

 

[fieryred33143]

There was a thread like this way back and I think I had calculated $10k-$12k in the first year. I don't remember if that included health insurance. I know it didn't include expenses people would normally have as I was given a lot of big ticket items like her furniture. I also breastfed for 6 months but had monthly medication to give her for the first year.

 

[megumic]

Thanks everyone for all of this great info. We are trying hard to pin down the dollar amount for just regular monthly stuff for baby, as big purchases like car seats and such come from a different "pot" in our budget set up.

Kunzite, thanks for your breakdown and for the link! I will check it out. Also, which Burt's bees wash do you use?



MC and Logan, yes to CL! We have already made a purchase on CL. A nearly new bugaboo frog! We got a steal in my opinion and are excited to use it. My guess is we will end up getting a double bob stroller for number two (god willing) and think this will last until then. Also, logan, what kind of freezer did you get? We want a big freezer, but aren't sure which is the best. The lid open or door open kind, how big, etc. We like to buy things on sale and freeze them and often do, so a freezer is a must for us in our new home.

Pupp, yeah I didn't think about household utilities going up at all. We are also buying a new home and renovating it, so our bills will be in flux for a few months I am guessing.

NEL, thanks your breakdown is helpful as well. I'm hoping to get many of the items you listed from my shower, but that's wishful thinking right? I haven't seen your push present! What did you get?? I just had to get my ering repaired and I told DH to ask our jeweler about some studs

Thanks again everyone for your input. I'm hoping we can make everything work and can afford this bambino and our new home!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Also, logan, what kind of freezer did you get? We want a big freezer, but aren't sure which is the best. The lid open or door open kind, how big, etc. We like to buy things on sale and freeze them and often do, so a freezer is a must for us in our new home.

I'm not sure of the brands- would have to look at home. Got one new from Sears and it's fairly large- lid open. The second one we bought from a friend who had also used it for frozen milk and it's a little smaller, but still the kind with the lid open. Fortunately, we only had one power outage that lasted almost 24 hours and all the milk came out unscathed and still perfectly frozen. We use them now for real frozen food- totally worthwhile investment. I wish I'd taken a pic of all my frozen...at the time, it was a thing of beauty in my eyes...

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Meg, good job on the CL hunting!! I'm a bargain hunter and had planned to get some things off of CL, but my husband vetoed it (blah!). And yes, as much as you can get from showers is good!

Sorry to hear about the ering repair, but studs sound great!! I originally thought I'd want jewelry as well, but ended up deciding to get a custom dining room table made for our dining room. Our current dining table is glass and it's not very toddler friendly!

 

[Kunzite]

It was this one, though according to my Amazon account we only paid $12 with subscribe and save for 2 bottles, not the crazy price listed on there now!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DPUY38/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details

 

[parrot tulips]

NEL - It's too bad your husband vetoed Craigslist purchases. I sold my brand new Bumbleride Indie Twin, never even taken out of the box, on there. It was too late to return or exchange the stroller, and since we were/are uncertain if we'd like to try for a second, selling it made sense.

 

[megumic]

It was this one, though according to my Amazon account we only paid $12 with subscribe and save for 2 bottles, not the crazy price listed on there now!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DPUY38/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details

Ha, you linked to a two pack, that's why it was $21! I actually just added it to my registry. DH and I use Burt's Bees for ourselves, but I'm glad to hear others like their baby items as well. Done and done! Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I have a 3.5 year old and a 14 month old. Both were formula fed and we used disposable diapers.

Formula: $30 for big can x4 a month = $120
I recommend trying a generic formula first and seeing if it works (if you FF). We used generic with our daughter (the baby) for a bit and then switched to Gerber Gentle because of feeding issues/spit up.

Diapers: We buy with coupon and on sale = $45
If there are no good sales and we need diapers then we just buy the store brand. I am not a diaper snob, but my husband is ( ) and he swears that only Pampers or Huggies will do. I say try all different brands and see which ones work the best for your baby.

Wipes: I love the Target (Up & Up) Sensitive in the purple package = $20 for 9 refill packs (1 pack a week approx)
I always buy the biggest package available since we use so many with two kids. Our son is potty trained, but we still use them for wiping hands, faces, feet, spills and all the other "kid" stuff that happens to your house.

Clothing and shoes: The cheaper the better = $100 per kid, per season
We accept hand-me-downs from anyone willing to give. We also only buy cheap clothes as they just get dirty, stained, etc. My son has HUGE feet and we can only find shoes for him at Stride Rite and they are sooo expensive - like $50 a pair so we get him a pair of sneakers and then sandals for summer and boots for winter.

Doc appts: Baby was premature and had a lot of extra appts. in addition to well checks = $50
Under our insurance specialist co-pays were a little higher than those for the regular pedi. We also had a nurse come to our house 3x a week for a month after our daughter came home to make sure she was okay (gaining weight, feeding, sleeping, etc.).

Medical bills from delivery and post-delivery = $120
If you have a high-deductible plan then budget for having costs to pay out of pocket for your delivery and hospital stay. As my daughter was born in January her birth ate up all of our deductible for 2011 in one swoop. We had to make payment arrangements with the hospital for the costs. The upside: we paid nothing out of pocket for DH's vasectomy and my hysterectomy.

 

[Kunzite]

It was this one, though according to my Amazon account we only paid $12 with subscribe and save for 2 bottles, not the crazy price listed on there now!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DPUY38/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details

Ha, you linked to a two pack, that's why it was $21! I actually just added it to my registry. DH and I use Burt's Bees for ourselves, but I'm glad to hear others like their baby items as well. Done and done! Thanks for the recommendation!

I realize now I worded that poorly. We bought a 2-pack for $12, so $6 each. That's how I came up with $1/month since we're still on bottle #2. Hmmm, now I wonder how much they are in an actual store, I buy everything on Amazon! I don't know if you use the BB lotion, but one of them smells just like this wash so every time I use it I smell like O

 

[blairmorgan]

Having baby is really expensive when it comes to baby needs. You may need to get a quick pay day loan to help pay for your brand new
child once you realize how costly things really are. Getting a crib alone could cost a few hundred dollars, even if you get a cheap one. Then you have to get an automobile seat, bassinet and a changing table. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Formula and diapers will deplete your spending budget every single month. Get more information at: "Babies more expensive than you know"

 

[taovandel]

We use target brand formula, wipes and diapers to save on cost and they are all of great quality. Our pediatrician said that the formula is the exact same thing as the expensive brands.

 

[amc80]

We use target brand formula, wipes and diapers to save on cost and they are all of great quality. Our pediatrician said that the formula is the exact same thing as the expensive brands.

We use target formula as well. So much cheaper than similac!

 

[Mrs.W 514]

Our daughter is 4.5 months old now are we really didn't spend that much getting ready for her.
The only things I bought new in terms of big stuff was the breast pump and car seat. Our insurance paid for our breast pump and the car seat was 200.00. I bought everything else on Craigslist and at garage sales. Including nursery furniture, clothes for the first year, toys, cloth diapers and books we spent about 1,500 dollars getting ready.