How much does a newborn cost?
newinhouston
member
We are in the process of creating our next year budget (DH's idea of fun for the holidays), but we are clueless about the costs of a newborn.
Our first baby is due in March, and we have already come with estimates for (a) L&D expenses, (b) diapers.
I am planning to nurse, so we won't need a separate line for formula (fingers crossed).
Any thoughts/ estimates on the costs of
(a) Pediatricians and prescriptions (for a hopefully healthy baby)
(b) Babysitting. I am particularly interested in learning the going rate for babysitters in Houston.
(c) Clothes
(d) Toys and learning materials (books, CDs, DVDs)
(e) any expense we are not considering?
I really appreciate any input as this is our first baby, our families live abroad, and none of our close friend have kids.
Happy holidays!
Re: How much does a newborn cost?
(a) Pediatricians and prescriptions (for a hopefully healthy baby) We budget $40/month...some months it's more some it's less so we average it
(b) Babysitting. I am particularly interested in learning the going rate for babysitters in Houston. $10-15/hr depending on where you live and the age of your sitter (HS vs college vs adult nanny)
(c) Clothes - We budget about $50/month, my mom buys all of the good stuff (Janie & Jack, etc....I'm too cheap!)
(d) Toys and learning materials (books, CDs, DVDs) $25-50/month, she gets a LOT of stuff from other people
(e) any expense we are not considering? Bottles, a breast pump (purchase or rental), wipes, sippy cups, towels and other miscellaneous gear you'll add on as you realize you would like more of something or you need something because he/she is starting solids or developing. Also keep in mind that you'll have to buy a convertible car seat at some point if you don't already have one (about $200).
We budget every month, too.
a) Our co-pay is $20 per visit, so I budget at least one visit per month just in case. On months we don't go to the doctor, we just add that $20 into our debt snowball. Also, DD is on a prescription that is $50--it lasts for quite awhile, but we budget for it just in case.
b) We are fortunate and don't have to pay for babysitters--however, my friend pays high school kids $10-15 per hour and college kids $15-20 per hour. Not sure if that is on the low or high end, but maybe it will give you a point of reference.
c)We were fortunate enough to receive enough clothes to last DD through her first year (and maybe beyond) so I don't budget for clothes seperately.
d)Same in regards to toys, she received so many as gifts, we haven't budgeted for these seperately either.
e) That being said, we budget $100 for "Baby." So, when I wanted to buy her a new Christmas dress or I needed things like more bibs or burp cloths(mine is a spitter-upper), then I have a budget for it. We rarely spend the entire $100, but it's nice to have that cushion. As far as toys, our DD hated the swing (all 4 we tried), hated the bouncer, but loved this vibrating/rocking chair at my mom's house. So, that month we used our budgeted amount to buy it from Walmart. That's really the only "toy" I can remember buying so far. While we were very blessed with baby gifts, some things we've purchased ourselves were gas drops, gripe water, bows, shoes, Woombie, hands free pumping bra, sling, breast milk storage bags, sterilizing microwave bags, car charger for breast pump (I've used it many times already), pacifier clips, diaper genie refills. I'm sure there's other things, but these jump out at me as purchases within the past 4 months.
One other thing to consider is photography. Whether you go professional (which can be pricey) or printing your own pics (like at walgreens or shutterfly), you'll need to budget something for it.
Good luck and HTH!!!
How deep into contingencies do you want to get?
Don't forget any insurance out of pocket expenses. Those can be hefty. Are there chances you'll change insurance years between the birth and newborn stage?
e) cost of insurance for adding a dependent
c) & d) This can be a really small or really big # depending on your parenting philosophy, willingness to buy used, and impulse shopping tendencies. By parenting philosophy I mean some people buy all organic/wood toys, others buy every learning gadget and gizmo, others want minimal/simple toys.... so just the way you want to parent may increase your costs.