Costs for Baby in the 1st Year

starphish18 · January 2017

I've been trying to get a realistic budget in place for how much I'll be spending on Baby in the first year, but I'm finding a lot of varying estimates online. Obviously, costs will vary a bit according to each baby's specific needs, by state, etc. However, I'm hoping STM+ could help out and share an estimate of what they paid on a monthly basis for "grocery" items like diapers, formula, wipes, etc. and what they paid over the first year for things like medical costs, clothes, etc. This would NOT include childcare costs (although you're welcome to share that as a separate category, as well). This is also assuming furniture and big-ticket items (car seat, stroller, etc) have been taken care of beforehand. Thanks! ETA: Also, any costs you encountered that you were entirely unprepared for?

WombThereItIs · January 2017

My mind I think has protected me by making a lot of my son's first year very hazy so I'm not super good on details but the biggest thing I remember is they go through sizes so fast the first year. For most kids those months on the sizing are silly, don't actually plan for them to correspond to baby's age, they grow very fast the first year and then start to slow down. I bought way too much 0-3 and then 3-6 and was out a lot on clothes expenditures by the time he was in 9-12 month clothes at about 5 months old.

I found every size cost $200-$300 for new onesies, Jammie's etc. I was buying mostly Carters and Gap first hand.

Diapers also are a surprise. The big box of pampers is about $42-45 and I think we used 2 a month of those early on? Newborns burn through those things and if they go to daycare they change hourly so buy a LOT. We may have been buying 3-4 cases a month so $150 or so sounds right, maybe someone else can corroborate?

breastfeeding was pricy up front with the pump and bottles for daycare but then leveled out. I did pay $150 for a home visit fora lactation consultant because the hospital one was terrible. After that I spent maybe $20 a month on those medela microwave sterilizing bags, pump membranes, etc.

the first couple months had the most oh shit incidentals from Prime so that was an extra $300 or so? Things like an extra diaper genie because I didn't want to hike upstairs for changes, more of the one type of swaddles that worked for him etc. after that it's really just splurges on toys and things you want to get them. Early mom paranoia about development and desperate purchases if you have a bad sleeper fuel this lol.

My medical costs were $0 because my husband is military so I'm no help there. They do have check ups at like 2w, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12 months so I guess copay for those at a minimum? Again if you use daycare they will get sick and you will get worried a ew times so throw in some plans for extra visits. Most things we experienced were cured with time and sleepless nights though so it wasn't costly in a material way.

Our daycare is quite inexpensive at about $640 a month and he started part time at 8w and full time at 12w. If you don't know your local daycare costs definitely get calling and looking, it is mostly a guy feel decision and a lot have waitlists.

hp_momma · January 2017

@WombThereItIs Laid it out pretty well. I have to say I agree with her amounts pretty closely. It's hard to go back and remember!

I will add that breastfeeding supplies *are* tax deductible! Something to do with health expenses. We use a tax accountant so I don't know all the exact details, but I recommend looking into that! Also, your childcare costs are tax deductible if your going that route!

One more thing I wanted to clarify was the medical expenses. My husband is also military so we have 0 out of pocket costs, but I wanted to add that ALL of your child's well care visits and immunizations should be covered at 100% for any health insurance plan. So no deductible/copays for those visits.

starphish18 · January 2017

@h&pmomma I will definitely have to check into medical costs on our insurance plan, thanks! I assumed we'd have a $20 copay, like we do for our visits. Also, good to know that breastfeeding supplies are tax deductible. I would have had no clue, although our accountant probably would have informed us of that...she's on top of things.

It kind of seems like diapers are going to be the biggest cost, which makes sense. Fortunately, we're lucky to be in a location where we can buy Huggies at warehouse cost (which is basically 30-60% of normal cost at Target or wherever else), so that will really help, assuming our kid does ok with Huggies.

Thanks for the responses so far. I'm interested to see how others' experiences compare.

BeachMommy2B · January 2017

I think @h&pmomma did a very good job.

I've actually been stocking up on diapers throughout the pregnancy. I have 4 boxes of 1's, 4 boxes of 2s and I'm moving on to get boxes of 3s (my DD was almost 9 pounds so we used NB for a few days and the hospital provided them)... just know you can always exchange them as long as they are unopened so I'm not too concerned if I need to change sizes/brand once baby gets here. But this way we are trying to eliminate expenses in the first 3 months... once i get a few more boxes of diapers I'll switch to buying wipes.

formula was the biggest shocker expense for us when breastfeeding didn't work. We spent probably $40-50 a week during the first year on formula. So close to $200 a month. DD could only use name brand Enfimil. If baby is in daycare you will have to buy a tub for home and basiclly a tub for daycare each week.

bacorrea · January 2017

I agree with what everyone has said so far. Just want to add

Around 6 months or so you may start introducing foods. You may make your own or buy premade pouches/jars. Depending on what you do that will very much effect your grocery budget.

I also believe at the very beginning your grocery budget immediately changes. If you are one who cooks lavish meals all day, you may find you don't have time for that. I know I bought a bunch of hand hand stuff and stuff for smoothies because throughout the day I didn't have a break to make grilled chicken and a salad for lunch. Meal prepping is key to keep your grocery budget in check. If your spouse does much of the cooking, then you may not see a huge change. We also ordered in way more once DD was born. My DH is military though and is never home, so if I was making dinner, nobody was.

Just allow for so fluctuation with your grocery budget and you will be fine.

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot · January 2017

One thing that we noticed was a direct result of lifestyle changes. Before DD, we went out a lot. After her, not so much. So if bar tabs, Uber expenses, or movie tickets are part of your current budget, that will be replaced by baby costs. It wasn't a complete swap, but both DH and I noticed it immediately. I also don't shop for myself near as much as I did pre-kid. Neither of these things are probably part of a responsible budget, but are worth mentioning.

pshaortao · January 2017

I never did budgeting for DD, never been that type of person so Im no help with numbers. I rarely bought things at the full price and take advamtage of steep sales or clearance items. My mom helped a ton by getting used clothes through b/s/t group and she already got started for this LO lol.

As for other stuff, I stocked up everytime there's a big sale. I love Target diaper deals stacked with coupons. For example, last year I paid 250 for 10 boxes of diapers and got 100 back in gift cards plus I had coupons that took several more dollars off etc and a Target red card that takes 5% off. As mentioned in the holiday deal thread, there will be a good sale at Target starting Jan 8th.

As for medical, it helps to understand your insurance and what the pediatrician offers etc. We had to do a copay for each well being visit but they also had a nurse line and they were reachable via email for non emergency stuff so if she had a rash or something I could email a pic and get their feedback. No charges there. When we looked for a new pediatrician after moving, those two things were on my must have list. Breast pump was covered by insurance so Id look into that as well.

The changes in cost of groceries was very gradual for us as we did baby led weaning. We only did one meal a day for a couple months then 2 then 3 then added snacks. If you have a sprouts in the area, they usually have cheaper produce but it helped that she started BLW when produce were coming back into season. It'll be interesting to start in the winter with this one.

Sorry if this whole thing seem rambling, I keep putting my phone down then adding more.

mdlorenz · January 2017

A lot is hazy as PPs have said, but I'd point out that secondhand baby clothing can be nearly-new and a fraction of the cost. No way did I spend more than a few hundred on clothes the first 1-2 years (including snowsuits, accessories).

thistlenweeds · January 2017

@WombThereItIs hey, this idea about having a second diaper pail is genius! I think I'd get two sets of changing stuff - for upstairs and downstairs. Thanks for the tip!

emilyalso · January 2017

We didn't do formula until around 6 mos when my supply tanked, but it is QUITE expensive. I think Enfamil and Similac both offer coupons/vouchers that are very valuable! Make sure you sign up for their programs if you think you'll be using formula.

I know there have been some threads about diapers before, but the big thing is to calculate price/diaper when you're shopping. Sometimes the smaller packs are a better deal than the larger ones when you work out the math - especially if there is a promotion on a certain size.

chickyclg · January 2017

I cloth diapered for a year after the first 6 months but with twins we went through 1 of the huge boxes of diapers a week and a big pack of wipes every 2 weeks. Diapers, wipes, and creams were around $150 a month

I pumped primarily, but we did have to add powdered formula to DDs bottles to raise the calorie content and we got our pediatrician to help us get her formula covered. It was $3 a can until we met our OOP max, they would send us 10 cans per baby. DS needed another formula for his stomach issues so we did the same thing for him. Thankfully the pediatrician was also a twin mom and went the extra mile to help us get that done.

The breast pump was free through the insurance and I was given a ton of pump parts for free so I just steriled those.

We also made our own baby food (to raise the calories) and we saved a ton of money that way. I've heard BLW is a great cost saver, but wasn't an option due to DDs growth issues.

We also were about 50/50 with new/used clothes. Most sleepers we bought used for about $1 each (some more, some less). Regular clothes I would either buy new on sale or at a resell if they were in "like new" condition.

BeachMommy2B · January 2017

I would go farther on what @emilyalso and say to sign him for all the formula samples and coupons even if you aren't sure you're going to need it. You can always give them away

pshaortao · January 2017

BeachMommy2B said:

I would go farther on what @emilyalso and say to sign him for all the formula samples and coupons even if you aren't sure you're going to need it. You can always give them away

I second this. I had gotten some formula, just in case, and I just donated them to whoever needed them a couple months before they expired.

JCWhitey · January 2017

In my experience, the first year is the cheapest. I breastfed and used cloth diapers, so any monthly expenses were on things I wanted to buy, not things we needed, and we could do without them. We had some medical issues, but insurance covered pretty much everything. We also never did baby food, just started feeding bits of our food around 7 months.

It gets more expensive when they get older and start eating more and wanting things.

Squirtgun · January 2017

Everyone has had great points so far! A few money saving tips that I've had-

You can definitely find a lot of high quality baby and toddler clothes at the thrift store! (If you have a "nice area" of your town, go try that thrift store!) I got older daughter's whole winter wardrobe this year (except coat) for 20$!
(Some people like consignment sales, I like them ok but don't have time to do really well with consignment.)

With older daughter, we did have to add formula to her breastmilk bottles to add calories. Our pediatrician had a lot of samples, and he gave us enough that I never had to buy any! He said that the formula companies gave him the sample cans trying to get people to buy their formulas, and he would give a lot to people who asked for it. It wouldn't hurt to ask your pediatrician about that especially if you're trying to figure out which formula works well for your little one.

An unexpected expense that I hope none of you have to deal with was the NICU stay. It probably depends on your specific insurance plan, but it makes sense to be prepared for medical expenses. Along with that- therapy. A lot of therapy that a little one may need will not be covered by major insurance providers. If you end up with a little one who needs any kind of therapy, see if they qualify for your state's early intervention program (ages zero to three). Early intervention is great, and they cover all needed therapy costs!

psherman42wwsa · January 2017

I agree with most of what others are saying. Lifestyle changes will also change your expenses. We used to eat out a couple times a week at expensive places.., that no longer happens . so that's a savings.

Also I somehow got signed up for formula coupons and samples. I received maybe 4 full size formula cans that I later donated. I think if you sign up for a bru registry it must automatically sign you up. I got so many coupons in the mail and still do. I've heard that store brand formula is essentially the same thing as the big name brands, it nutritionally must meet the same standards. I never looked that up though.

Childcare is where I spent most of my money. Like others have said, you will buy things just because you want them for baby not because you need them.

mdlorenz · January 2017

As @lrwardrop mentions, "generic" formula is essentially all the same. Many of the different types of genetics (Kirkland, up&up, WellBeginnings [?Walgreens I think], etc) are manufactured by the same company so pick whichever one saves you the most money.

newmamaro · January 2017

I agree with what everyone has said so far. I didn't really budget for DS, but all that sounds about right. I agree with signing up for formula coupons/samples even if you plan to breastfeed. I only used formula for a couple months when he was 10mo, but that stuff is expensive! Also unexpected medical expenses. We didn't have a NICU stay, but DS had obstructive sleep apnea. He had multiple sleep studies and his CPAP machine expenses which added up real fast. Obviously depends on insurance plans - we have a high deductible insurance. It was just unexpected the first year.

kat81 · January 2017

I'm not sure I can add much to this conversation. For us, all child-related costs completely paled in comparison to childcare, as DH and I work full-time. And of course if we DO go out, we pay a sitter on top of the costs of what we're doing. Otherwise I'd agree with what is here generally, especially if the big ticket things have already been purchased (crib, carseat, etc.) I'd add that clothes can be REALLY easy to come by depending on your situation. Babies grow out of clothes so fast and people are so overzealous about buying for babies that there are inevitably like-new clothes available for dirt cheap used. If you live in a family-oriented neighborhood people will also be handing you free clothes. And if you have those overzealous relatives & friends (we do), you'll be getting a ton of new clothes anyway. The clothes you end up spending money on are shoes and outerwear, especially winter gear. No one ever buys that stuff for you, and those items tend to be the pricier ones. You might get lucky with some hand-me-downs, though.

So DH was reading over my shoulder as I was working on this so I explained the prompt and he had a different take. He said babies (and kids!) are so expensive and there are "tons of hidden costs." He said, "itemize everything you can, and then double it." I'm not sure I'd agree that it's that bad, but I wanted to give you another opinion! Those hidden costs do add up.

As for surprising costs, I think that they tend to be health-related. So if your kid is (and you are) healthy you're unlikely to have that many surprising big costs. Remember that the random ear infection might happen when your doctor's office is closed, so you pay $150 (or whatever amount) to go to urgent care instead of your normal "sick visit" copay. And sure enough it has played out that way for us. Our biggest surprise kid-related cost has been mental health expenses for our son (and only in the past year, obviously, at age 5ish--this is not relevant to a baby.) Even with insurance, health expenses can catch you by surprise.

sls · January 2017

There's tons of info in this thread, so I won't repeat. The only thing to add is that we got a Costco membership, and that helped some because DD used Kirkland diapers and formula. We were so lucky because that doesn't always work.

Regarding diaper brands--you will want to get the kind that contains poopsplosions. Huggies leaked (and it's as awful as it sounds). DD fit Pampers best because she's long and skinny, and I guess they're manufactured that way? Huggies is for the chubby babies? And even though the rumor is that Kirkland is just Huggies relabeled, Kirkland did not leak on her. So you just have to try and see. I'm assuming the twins will fit the same as DD, but I'm prepared to try them all if needed.

I did get Pampers for nighttime, the Baby Dry (I think?) version. I waited until there was a WalMart sale, and then stocked up through size 4. And Costco used to have a yearly sale in March, Huggies one week and Kirkland another. Kirkland did NOT go on sale in 2016, and I'm pretty peeved about that. I hope they bring it back this year.

vrj0522 · January 2017

We spent about $100 in formula per month, $100 in diapers the first 3 months and between 60-80 after that. Food was fairly inexpensive the first year because we did baby led weaning and babies don't eat that much until the year mark. Baby food for us such as purees, pouches, baby snacks, etc were probably about $15-25 per month after 6 months.

I have a similar approach as @pshaortao about using sales and coupons when possible (#s above were without coupons) so for clothing we do a combination of using hand me downs, buying 2nd hand clothes, and shopping at Kohl's where they often have amazing sales for cardholders. My Kohl's bill is usually between $50-75 per month which is not bad considering that's where I get all of my clothes, about 50% for both kids, and where I'll occasionally buy household items or birthday presents for their cousins.

Like pp stated, most surprising costs can be medical expenses for illnesses. DS went in once or twice the first year, DD none except for an u/s she had to have but we didn't have to pay because we'd hit our deductible so it really depends on the child's health, how quick you might be to take them to the doctor if they get sick, etc. Health/hygiene supplies such as cold medication, lotion, butt cream, saline solution, teething tablets, etc probably cost between $70-80 for the year. One thing I would suggest would be adding them to your registry after your baby shower (or before too) so that you can buy those items and use your completion coupon to get a discount on them. Same with diapers.

kns1988 · January 2017

@vrj0522, I just started looking into baby led weaning and I really like the sound of it. Did you ever have any choking issues? My friend swears by baby led weaning, but she's had to do the Heimlich twice on her kid. Just to clarify, I think it's a great idea and I'm not judging it at all - just wondering if moms who did it had any issues.

chickyclg · January 2017

@kns1988 I've actually heard of less kids needing the heimlich that are BLW, but knowing the difference in real choking and the baby's gag reflex is important.

FWIW neither of my kids did BLW and one has choking problems and the other has choked once and needed assistance.

emilyalso · January 2017

I'll make one counterpoint to what several people have said about trading adult costs for baby costs. We don't 'go out' to bars or take in much entertainment - movies, concerts, what-have-you... But we DO eat out a lot. It may even be more than before we had kids, because I find that my time to cook has diminished. I think it comes down to priorities and how you use your time while the baby sleeps.

pshaortao · January 2017

chickyclg said:

@kns1988 I've actually heard of less kids needing the heimlich that are BLW, but knowing the difference in real choking and the baby's gag reflex is important.

FWIW neither of my kids did BLW and one has choking problems and the other has choked once and needed assistance.

This. We read a book beforehand and this helped us prepare what to watch out for and what food to be careful with (grapes, nuts, etc). I will definitely bring up the book when we get closer to 6 months postpartum! We had some moments in the beginning where DD looked like she was choking but she really wasn't. She was very effective at gagging and pushing the food out. I did make sure to ask the pediatrician for advice before we started, on what to do otherwise, since you can't really do the Heimlich on an infant (at least to my understanding.)

She did start to choke on a banana the other day though because she took way too big of a bite and I guess it went back into her throat. Scared the shit out of me, but she managed to gag it out before I got to assist and she finished the rest of her banana with my cautious warning to take smaller bites.

vrj0522 · January 2017

kns1988 said:

@vrj0522, I just started looking into baby led weaning and I really like the sound of it. Did you ever have any choking issues? My friend swears by baby led weaning, but she's had to do the Heimlich twice on her kid. Just to clarify, I think it's a great idea and I'm not judging it at all - just wondering if moms who did it had any issues.

Like @chickyclg said, I do think it depends on the baby. We've never had any choking issues at all. I do remember people often commenting on how well and early DD ate tortilla chips. I have a niece 3 months younger than DD who was started on solids the normal way and I remember handing her a piece of pizza once and everyone sort of freaking out but she ate it without a problem. I think that most people don't realize that babies chew with their gums even when they have front teeth and it's usually not until well into 1 yr that they grow molars, so they have been chewing with their gums all along, not with teeth.

slowmo · January 2017

I would try to sock away some money for hospital bills from the birth. We got separate bills from the hospital, the hospital pediatrician, and the anesthesiologist. I had awesome insurance last time, so it was only around $350 total, but I had friends who paid a few thousand. More if NICU was needed.

One unexpected expense we had was several months of PT for our son, who developed torticollis/plagiocephaly (flat head). It's not like you can really plan for all eventualities, but it's always helpful to have some extra cash just in case.

chickyclg · January 2017

slowmo said:

I would try to sock away some money for hospital bills from the birth. We got separate bills from the hospital, the hospital pediatrician, and the anesthesiologist. I had awesome insurance last time, so it was only around $350 total, but I had friends who paid a few thousand. More if NICU was needed.

One unexpected expense we had was several months of PT for our son, who developed torticollis/plagiocephaly (flat head). It's not like you can really plan for all eventualities, but it's always helpful to have some extra cash just in case.

God, the unexpected expenses. We are still making payments towards the twins NICU bills and my antepartum stay (high deductible/ OOP plan). We also had PT for torticollis/ plagiocephaly but we had met out OOP by then so that and all of the other medical crap was covered.

chickyclg · January 2017

pshaortao said:

chickyclg said:

@kns1988 I've actually heard of less kids needing the heimlich that are BLW, but knowing the difference in real choking and the baby's gag reflex is important.

FWIW neither of my kids did BLW and one has choking problems and the other has choked once and needed assistance.

This. We read a book beforehand and this helped us prepare what to watch out for and what food to be careful with (grapes, nuts, etc). I will definitely bring up the book when we get closer to 6 months postpartum! We had some moments in the beginning where DD looked like she was choking but she really wasn't. She was very effective at gagging and pushing the food out. I did make sure to ask the pediatrician for advice before we started, on what to do otherwise, since you can't really do the Heimlich on an infant (at least to my understanding.)

She did start to choke on a banana the other day though because she took way too big of a bite and I guess it went back into her throat. Scared the shit out of me, but she managed to gag it out before I got to assist and she finished the rest of her banana with my cautious warning to take smaller bites.

@pshaortao I'm not sure if it is actually called the Heimlich on infants, but we were taught to support the baby with your arm and hit their back with the bottom of our hand in a forward motion. DD's epiglottis is still not fully mature so we have unfortunately had to do it more times than I would like to admit, I swear our local EMS/Fire station knows us on a first name basis.

sls · January 2017

We sort of did baby-led weaning. I never joined any support groups, we just gave her appropriately sized portions of food and let her figure it out. She never choked, but she did gag a few times and puke because she shoved stuff into her mouth too fast. Once was on the couch >.> but otherwise, it went on right into her Tommee Tippee pocket bib I swear by.

I tried doing homemade purees alongside giving her pieces of food to try, but it seemed pointless amounts of work, so we stopped that pretty early. It seems so illogical to me to give my child, whom I love, bland tasting junk even I don't want to eat. XD And she just has always gotten her own plate of (appropriately cut) dinner that we're eating. Cuts down on the work. And she usually tried everything at least once if it's in front of her.

SKZW · January 2017

slowmo said:

I would try to sock away some money for hospital bills from the birth. We got separate bills from the hospital, the hospital pediatrician, and the anesthesiologist. I had awesome insurance last time, so it was only around $350 total, but I had friends who paid a few thousand. More if NICU was needed.
[...]

Regarding separate bills:

This is 3 years ago with my son, and we had 90/10 coverage for health insurance (meaning 90 percent was covered but we owed 10 percent): we eventually added up all our separate bills, after all was said and done, and the total ultimate costs for the labor/delivery/recovery stay at the hospital (with nothing out of the ordinary in terms of care needed) were about $30,000, so we owed $3000 which we paid I think at the 3-4 month mark, once the bills rolled in. Definitely save more than you think you'll need!

Also call your insurance ahead of time & request a payment breakdown estimate be emailed/sent to you, or chat with a super-helpful representative if you're lucky. This can help you estimate costs proactively.

Lastly: Regarding bills at the hospital: As soon as the babies are born, they're given their own medical record numbers & their bills begin to accrue immediately. We had to alert our insurance co within 24 hours of the birth in order for them to approve those costs. Otherwise, they reserved the right to refuse payments! That was one call we definitely had to make that first day. We tried to establish the baby as a dependant ahead of time but that was a no-go. Whatevs. Doublecheck with your medical insurance to see if they have similar "notification" requirements. Just a heads-up!

emilyalso · January 2017

As a follow-up to what @SKZW said, we DID call and add our new baby to our insurance as soon as he was born. We didn't have any issues with the hospital bills, but they tried to charge us full price for a few of our Ped visits after we went home. When we called, they said he wasn't 'active' on the dates of those visits (he WAS!).

I think the take home message is, check every bill! Make sure you've done your part, and then make sure everyone else is doing theirs. It would suck to overpay just because of a mistake or oversight.

redheeler · January 2017

kns1988 said:

@vrj0522, I just started looking into baby led weaning and I really like the sound of it. Did you ever have any choking issues? My friend swears by baby led weaning, but she's had to do the Heimlich twice on her kid. Just to clarify, I think it's a great idea and I'm not judging it at all - just wondering if moms who did it had any issues.

We mostly did BLW with DS, he's now 3 and has never once choked on anything, I think it depends on the child and their actual "readiness" for the foods you're giving them.

CarmCeG · January 2017

I find all this info very helpful, ladies. I appreciate it.

Also, I found out that many hospitals in my area offer free Infant CPR classes (as well as other classes) & I will be attending the class!

Please check hospitals in your area as well

ShadeofGreen816 · January 2017

CarmCeG said:

I find all this info very helpful, ladies. I appreciate it.
Also, I found out that many hospitals in my area offer free Infant CPR classes (as well as other classes) & I will be attending the class!
Please check hospitals in your area as well

This. Many places offer free infant and adult CPR classes. I'm biased, as I'm a nurse, but I truly believe everyone should understand the basics to CPR. I have seen patients who were saved by family members who thought quickly and performed CPR. Unfortunately we also have seen more that waited even just 5-10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, didn't have pulse or CPR during this time, and either suffered significant injury or died. It's super simple, but good to be taught by someone qualified!

hp_momma · January 2017

@ShadeofGreen816 YES. Simple understanding of CPR saves lives! But I may be slightly biased as the wife of a medic, daughter of a police officer and sister of a firefighter.

PLEASE take a CPR class!

Yiggle09 · January 2017

I just want to touch on the insurance separate from baby issue. I just had my son Aug 2015 I called while in hospital to set him up and still we got full bills that had not gone through or were denied by insurance because " they didn't have his birthdate". Once they had his birthdate the billing people could rebill insurance. We almost paid 500 for something because of this. Also we received two bills from ob one for him and one for me we had separate account numbers but my payment to his account went to mine and the do do s at the office just added it as a credit to me.. it was like 800 dollars I'd have expected a phone call. Anyway a month later the bill came again I checked our records saw I paid it made a call and they moved my credit to his account smh. My best asset was anthem.com I could tell if a bill never went through insurance or if they'd billed me full price but the insurance had already sent money to them etc. We're 90 10 if I go through yale drs here in ct but I live in new York and am not driving 1.5 hrs to hospital to save a bit since I have a "small" oop max of 3000 for myself so it's 80 20 to deliver where I want.

Want a personalized experience?

Costs for Baby in the 1st Year

Re: Costs for Baby in the 1st Year

Choose Another Board

Search Boards