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We saved enough for the unpaid 3 months home to cover my salary. Other than that, there really weren't that many additional expenses. Sure, there were diapers, but most other things were one-off purchases. You need a carseat, a place for baby to sleep if you won't be co-sleeping, a breast-pump (definitely cheaper than formula!). Everything else I got at consignment sales. They have these huge twice-a-year sales here, and you can get everything way cheaper second-hand. But there really weren't that many additional expenses for us. We bought some fluffy things that we just wanted, but none of that was essential. For the 2nd, we are just saving for the unpaid leave again and that's it. I'm going to ask for 4 months this time instead of 3. They [/i]have[/i] to allow 3 months under FMLA, but they have the option to allow more if it's agreeable to all parties involved. We don't really need anything else this time. Babies really aren't as expensive as some people seem to think they have to be. The daycare though - that part is expensive.
Also, you should check how your insurance covers the delivery - if you have a co-pay or if you pay a percent. I only had to pay $100 for the delivery, but some people have to pay $1000's.
Huh? You want to get "pragnut" and you're worrying about how to support yourself and a new person? Silly! You just fill out some papers and BINGO! You get free medical care, free food, and free baby supplies. I mean, isn't that what everyone else is doing?
12 weeks Family Medical Leave Act - however this is unpaid. During the FMLA, I took short term disability, which was 70% of my pay. They both go together. If you choose to go longer than the 12 weeks, your job is not protected and you may need to resort to long term disability.
Hospital Bills - vary depending on if you have a natural or c-section. I had a c-section + 6 days intensive care nursery with equipment. After insurance (80% on most of it) I still had to pay roughly $3,000. This includes co-pays for prenatal visits.
Baby's Doctors Visits - these are usually whatever your co-pay is, but remember that vaccines are not cheap. I think they said the first set of 5 were around $200-300 before insurance. I've yet to see the bill. Just a word of advice, if you know that you'll be having a c-section or any additional EXPENSIVE care, you may want to consider jumping into both your and your spouses insurance and then dropping one after the birth. Only if it is cost effective of course. Most insurances have black out dates, so find out when those are in case you need to do this.
Nursery - Paint, furniture, bedding, ect. came out to about $1200. You can go cheaper on this though, we bought the entire matching set from babies-r-us.
Formula - We're going through a canister of Similac once every 1 1/2 weeks. Figure around $35 per canister. The bigger ones can be found at Sams Club. ADventive is absolutly right about the breatfeeding though - if you can then DO IT. My goal was to do it for a year...but that obviously didn't work too well. Check with your insurance company to see if they cover anything towards renting a hospital breastpump. Otherwise our hospital was $60/month to rent it.
Diapers - Pray that you get a ton at baby showers in different sizes. These are about $40 for a huge box. Figure about 8 changes per day/234 per box. Will last just about a month.
Wipes - again we get these at Sams Club. About $15 for the big box which lasts just about a month also.
However just a heads up if your baby gets a diaper rash - you may find that you're buying a completely different brand of diapers, creams or wipes to see if that's what's causing it.
Clothes - I'm a sucker for baby clothes and shoes. I've learned to limit myself to buying him one outfit per week. This keeps me happy, and him wearing stuff that fits. $8-30 for most outfits. Second hand stores can be as cheap as $2 for an outfit.
Then there are the things most people get at baby showers, such as bottles, towels, washcloths, shampoo's, creams, ect. And if you're really loved, maybe a stroller and high chair!
Daycare - Ours is approx. $1010/month. We opted to pay about $35 per week more than the other daycares in the area, because I HATE DAYCARE...and this was the only one I felt comfortable with.
Am I missing anything? Thank God for the insurance...things could have steamrolled pretty quick. But, just like mentioned above, after the prenatal care and delivery, the expenses slow down quite a bit.
When we had our first children we had saved . . . -$72,000. we had no savings, no assets and $72,000 in student loans. Our first "baby" was two babies. Our cost was approximately nothing for the first five or so years.
Insurance covered the medical.
Great Grandma bought us a subscription to a diaper service becasue she wanted to help the environment.
Our doctor gave us free formula samples.
Friends and relatives gave us clothing, toys and books.
Grandma and Grandpa bough cribs, changing table and a new washing machine.
My boss gave me a bassinet.
We bought a wagon at a garage sale.
The hospital gave us car seats.
Other grandma bought us a stroller.
we did incur some costs for daycare while my wife was working, but we realized that we actually saved money by her staying home, which is what she wanted to do. As the girls got older, they basically ate our leftovers and people kept giving us clothing toys and other supplies for free. We really had very little expense until preschool.
Baby's Doctors Visits - these are usually whatever your co-pay is, but remember that vaccines are not cheap. I think they said the first set of 5 were around $200-300 before insurance. I've yet to see the bill. Just a word of advice, if you know that you'll be having a c-section or any additional EXPENSIVE care, you may want to consider jumping into both your and your spouses insurance and then dropping one after the birth. Only if it is cost effective of course. Most insurances have black out dates, so find out when those are in case you need to do this.
Yah, this is totally dependent on your insurance. My insurance doesn't cost me any more to have my daughter on it if I already have my husband on it. What I mean is, the options are self or family, and family costs the same whether it is (me and DH) or (me and DH and 10 kids). Also, my insurance fully covers all well-child doctor visits until age 18 or something, so I don't pay anything for well-child visits or vaccinations (I do have a co-pay for sick visits though). I guess there are some perks to being a federal employee - the insurance is pretty decent, even if we don't get any paid maternity leave!
My daughter just turned 6 months old. Here are a few expenses that you should prepare for:
$1,000 - per month infant care for when you return to work
$400 - for Peg Perego car seat (and extra base for your husbands car)
$1,000 - for Bugaboo stroller (believe me, its worth it)
$200 - infant swing
$300 - crib
$250 - for extra reclining stroller for baby to use at infant care
$500 - $700 monthly baby expenses (formula, diapers, food, onesies, etc.)
Some things you can save on or dont need to buy:
$200 - changing table - just get the changing pad and use it on desk, dresser or table.
$150 - Bassinett - Bugaboo comes with bassinett that can be used for at least 8 months
$600 - $900 - toys, onesies, pacifiers, clothes, diaper genie, pacifier holder, bottles, breast pump, co-sleeper, mobiles, bottle warmers, crib bedding, video monitor, grooming kit, baby bath, baby boxing gloves (those gloves so that they dont scratch their eyes), night lights, blankets, etc. - these are all things you score at your baby shower.
in short, you will need $5000 for the first year in formula and diapers alone.
ARE YOU SERIOUS???????
It didn't cost me anywhere NEAR that much. Babies need to be kept warm, dry and fed. Anything past that is by the desire of the parents. And here's a novel idea.... COTTON DIAPERS and save the environment. That's what I kept my daughter in, and at that time, I was so broke I washed them in the bathtub. Yeah, the bathtub. She had a few outfits, some undershirts, and few blankets. AND SHE WAS A HAPPY LITTLE BABY.
Thrift stores and yard/garage sales are wonderful. When she got a little bigger, we'd go 'yardsaling' and find all kinds of wonderful things for a dollar or less. Babies grow out of things so fast they don't wear ANYTHING out, so you can get some pretty nice things if you look around.
Some people are fools and spend a great deal on babies, and then continue as the child grows. Babies and children don't need probably 80% of what parents buy for them.
Ped visits and immunizations will cost, but babies needs are minimal.
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