Diapers Q&A - What are your baby expenses? I need to know what to expect?

What are your baby expenses? I need to know what to expect?

I am planning on being a stay at home mom to be with our first child. I am trying to make a list of monthly expenses I should expect to spend on our baby. My list so far: Clothes: $0 (Have plenty from baby shower and used clothes from friends for first year) Medical insurance premium for baby: $70 1 monthly doctor visit co-pay and prescription co-pay: $35 (all vaccinations included) Random OTC medicines: $10 Food/Formula: $0 (Breastfeeding) Wipes: $5 (Only buying wipes for diaper bag, wash clothes used at home for wipes) Diapers: $7 (Cloth diapering, $7 for dryer only, water free with HOA fees) Shampoo/Lotion: $10 Laundry Detergent: $10 Daycare: $0 (Stay at home mom) Increase in utilities (Only heating for baths): $10 Toys/Pacifiers: $25 Total expenses so far: $182 What else am I missing? What are your baby expenses? I already have all the baby gear, bedding, etc. from my baby shower and our baby's grandparents. So I don't need to buy any of that! :)

Public Comments

You got most of the first part right : But there is always the unexpected parts.... The Random OTC's dont apply as you NEVER know what your kid could get where prescriptions are not needed. I would bump that up just a bit. Food/Formula: I would have a backup plan...sometimes there are problems associated with baby and feeding, like you breast may not produce enough milk, baby may not latch on, or the baby has allergies where breast milk can not be given. My little one had jaundice and his little liver wouldnt "turn on" because of the high doses of hormones in my milk, I had to stop breastfeeding for awhile so formula was needed. Great idea to save $$ on diapers and wipes! Dont forget diaper rash creams. But with all that you are doing, you sound like a $3 tube wont put you over the top! You got it all planned out! Great job! Just remember, babys outgrown clothes like you wouldnt believe. Children's resale stores are wonderful!
Don't forget about having to upgrade on carseats about every 6 months til the child is old enough to sit in a booster seat. Other than that.......girl you got it covered. You were pretty detailed. :-)
allow a little extra for unexpected things you might have to buy. You can never have too much clothes, you tend to go through a lot especially when they are newborns. I would still allow some for formula just in case you cannot breastfeed, my milk dried up after 6 weeks, so i had nothing here because i was planning on breastfeeding exclusively. You will need nappy liners and pilchers with cloth nappies, because otherwise they will soak through straight away. You have worked it out really well, but remember things will happen that you might need to pay money for, babies can be expensive little things. Congratulations and good luck, enjoy every minute of it!
That's about it as far as monthly expenses go. Of course there are the "gear" expenses of car seats, stroller(s), crib, bouncer, swing. When you start baby food that will be a bit too, I make my own and its fairly inexpensive (a third or less of what it would cost for store-bought). And there may be times when you get a sitter so you and hubby can have a night out. And you may want to invest in a breast pump and a few bottles so someone else can feed the baby from time to time. I would say that if you build about $50 in miscellaneous expenses each month you'll be well within your budget.
Wow, have you accounted for swings, slings, crib, bassinets, Pack & Plays, etc. somehow? Each family gets different things, but they are an expense that adds up... you already have most of the costs I can think of... if you're buying new, $25/month might not be enough for toys, even though that may sound like a lot. Unless you count that for the first few months, you won't need to buy any toys, so that money should carry over somewhat... what about a breastpump? By the way, kudos for breastfeeding, I'm so glad you're giving your baby the best. Lactation consultants are angels, they can help you keep breastfeeding through practically anything, you don't need to "plan" on having money for formula, that's made for babies who CANNOT (extremely rare) breastfeed. But a pump would be nice, even if you plan on being there the vast majority of the time... do you already have a diaper bag? a baby bathtub? (although some people only use the sink or tub...)... an infant carseat and also a convertible/toddler carseat? Good luck~
clothes: buy from thrift stores medical insurance $ a heck of a lot more than $70 doctor visits (does this include insurance?) usually around $70 per visit Random otc med : $20 food/ (might be breastfeeding but. ur still gonna need supplies) Wipes $10 Diapers $30 Shampoo ($15) Laundry (cloth diapers??? more than $7!!!!!!!! try $50 at least) daycare (ur still gonna want daycare) $20 month babysitter Increase in utilities ($50) think about the lights on in the middle of the night too Toys ( new mom? lol $50 month) Total expenses .........infinite. Babies cost a fortune, upkeep. sanity, supplies. its going to cost a lot more than you think Good luck!
Babies are expensive. You are going to need a lot of money. Good luck!
I don't buy in to the "babies are going to cost you a fortune". It sounds like you're planning it right. I bought a lot of clothes from a resale store, so I save there. Doesn't mean I don't buy new, but not as much. You don't have to upgrade your car seat every six months either. Get an infant carrier and a converitble. The convertible I bought will hold my son until he's 100 pounds. He won't need it probably by 100 pounds as he'll be old/big enough to just use the seat belt. There are even some convertibles that have infant inserts so you only ever have to buy one seat. There will always be unexpected costs of course. I was unable to breastfeed, due to him being a preemie and me having no milk. So I ended up having to formula feed. So just be prepared "in case". It's totally doable to keep your costs down if you buy on sale, or in bulk (Costco is a great place for wipes and diapers and formula). i can tell you right now after 17 months of having my son, we haven't gotten in debt or had our money run away. We're still within the same budget and we've made no lifestyle changes. We just buy smart and we have insurance.