Babies on the Brain
asbettger
member
Firstyear cost
asbettger
member
My husband and I are thinking about starting to "try" in the next few months. We don't have any close friends who have recently had kids and we are wondering what we can expect as far as first year costs. I've looked at a bunch of stuff online, but would like to have thoughts from recent new parents. Thanks!!
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Re: Firstyear cost
Others have mentioned most costs.
One thing was that surprising to us was how we had to adjust our home budget. Prior to having baby, we went out and about more, not necessarily spending money but just being on the go. We also ate a lot of dinners at our parents' house! With baby, we were home more. We ate more meals at home, and in paritcular once baby started having whole foods, we cooked more. Prior to baby it might have been a sandwich or cereal for supper, once baby was eating we made sure to have a full meal for dinner. Also, our energy bills increased. Before baby it didn't matter to us if the house was chilly in the winter or warm during the summer, but with baby we always try to keep a moderate temperature. Home more often = more toilet paper, more trash bags, etc. For me, that was a really big surprise!
We are planning for baby, but still probably years away from actually ttc. Some thing we have added to our list that I don't think many people count on:
1. The cost to add your baby to your health insurance. We have excellent insurance that is paid in full by our employer, but opting for a family plan means paying extra each paycheck. For us this is a $500 a month expense, but it covers a lot of children. Sort of a waste since we would only have one right away!
2. When you reduce your monthly disposable income you reduce the amount that is available for you to pay down existing debts and stash money in savings. This is a serious consideration if you are counting on paying minimums since it increases your interest paid. For example, we pay an extra $200 a month on our mortgage which makes our 30 year loan into a 14 year loan. If we couldn't do that, we are effectively more than doubling the money we waste on interest.
3. How will you deal with alternating work schedules? As cooks I am assuming you often work late into the evenings and the weekends are where you make the most money. This is also when childcare is at an absolute premium. If you are counting on alternating shifts where you work when he is home, etc. then think about how that will work logistically. One of you will be getting home from work and needing rest just when the baby will be waking up and ready to play. Also, seeing each other less can really create a strain on your partnership. I have seen this first hand with friends and it is a major reason we are waiting longer.
Sounds like you are getting all of your ducks in a row. Best of luck TTC!!
besides the usual expenses that are already mentioned, something important to calculate is doctors office copays. you'll be surprised on how much you spend on that. my son had issues with gaining weight and we had weight checks every other day until he was six weeks old. that was expensive. then he got a reflux diagnosis and we had not only the monthly expense of the medication but lots of sick visits to adjust his meds that they needed to weigh him for.
another thing is toys. we didn't really get a ton from showers outside of teethers and bath toys and had to go out and buy lots of that kind of stuff.
Best answer!!!
My hospital bill came back at 2500 for the whole L&D process (including an epidural), $25 copay per prenatal visit (about 13 is a guesstimate plus random bloodwork and whatnot), her doctors appts are at about 300 now, all of her room items (probably $700 total), clothes (I spent maybe $100, a lot came from the baby shower), diapering (I wrote in detail about this, it might help check this out), traveling (carseat was 150, stroller was 100), and other items (like a swing, bouncy chair, bobby...blah blah blah probably totaled 300). So what am I at, I don't even know.
Without diapering, I totaled about 4500. But, we did get 1000 back on our taxes with the child tax credit, so that was nice.