Yes, having a baby comes with some costs. Maybe the experience will cost you sleep. Maybe it\u2019ll cost you the motorcycle. Maybe it\u2019ll cost you the ability to pronounce the word \u2018gif\u2019 correctly. But one thing is for sure: having a baby costs money. How much money? Well, that\u2019s what we\u2019re here to talk about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some people, the thought of having a baby is so financially daunting that they push it off until they\u2019re \u2018ready\u2019. Others jump right in to having kids without even considering the financial aspect. No matter where you are on that spectrum, there are some things to consider. If you and your partner have had questions like, \u201cHow do I start a baby budget?\u201d or \u201cHow much does it cost to raise a child?\u201d, you\u2019ve come to the right place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s talk money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we start to dive into a \u2018Baby Budget\u2019, two main categories emerge. Things we need to buy once<\/em><\/strong> and things we need to buy monthly<\/em><\/strong>. Luckily, we can (and should) take care of a lot of the \u2018one time purchases\u2019 before our baby gets here. Things like strollers, car seats, clothes, diap\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WAIT!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you start scrolling amazon for strollers with flames on the side and a neon light kit\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have a plan for the BIGGEST EXPENSE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a Michigan Medicine study<\/a>,\u00a0average out-of-pocket spending for the delivery and newborn hospitalizations was $3,068. And for 1 in 6 families, out-of-pocket spending exceeded $5,000.\u00a0 These numbers are after<\/em> health insurance pays their portion. Yikes. We’ll tell you from personal experience hospital costs can vary wildly\u2014on of Fathercraft’s founders, Paul, changed jobs between kid 1 and kid 2 and was dismayed to learn that hospital costs for kid 2 were $3,000 higher out of pocket. This has not influenced his favorite kid choice, he swears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are \u2018planning\u2019 to have a child soon, or are currently expecting, medical expenses need to be a priority in financial discussions. There will also be trips to the OBGYN where multiple tests and ultrasounds will be thrown into the mix. If you don\u2019t know your co-pay amount, it\u2019s time to learn!<\/p>\n\n\n\n While we\u2019re talking about things to consider B.C., we also need to think about where your child will be spending their time once\/if you need to get back to work. Will one parent stay home? Can you afford this? What daycares are in your area? When searching for daycare facilities in my area, I found prices ranging from $500 all the way up to $1,300 for one child. We will circle back to daycare later on when discussing monthly costs to budget for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, back to those strollers\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s talk about those \u2018one time\u2019 expenses that we can buy before<\/em> the baby comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are so many stroller options out there. Fortunately, Fathercraft has you covered with stroller reviews and top picks, here<\/a>. Some have the ability to snap a carrier into, which is great for newborns. Having a stroller that\u2019s compatible with your carrier is a huge headache saver and make things easier if one parent is with the child alone. Here is one I would recommend, the Graco FastAction Fold<\/a> (Amazon) .<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re really watching your budget, this stroller<\/a> (Amazon) doesn\u2019t have the ability to attach a carrier, but is much cheaper and has excellent reviews, all for about $120.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to strollers, try to envision the types of circumstances you will be pushing your child around. For my family, this included going on walks, pushing around stores, around the zoo, etc. I\u2019m not a runner, and we don\u2019t plan on taking our stroller offroading. When\/where will you use your stroller? The answer to this question will help you find the right one\u2014full-sized, compact, jogging, … the list goes on. We’ve also got a whole playlist of our stroller reviews over on YouTube<\/a>. (Pssst if you head over there, consider subscribing. We’d appreciate it and it’s an awesome channel, if we do say so.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n A bassinet is a great option for those who want to have their baby sleep in their room. They are smaller than cribs, and more portable. Some are robotic. What? Yeah, seriously. Check out our review of the Snoo smart bassinet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cribs these days can range from just a simple crib all the way up to Optimus Prime level transformer. The convertible cribs are a great choice because you can transform the crib as your child grows. Most cribs are \u201c4 in 1\u201d which means they can go from crib to toddler bed, day bed and then full size bed with headboard. Check this one out from Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever you choose, make sure it’s safe! Much more on crib and bassinet safety over here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a difference between a car seat and a carrier. A car seat would look like this option from Graco<\/a> (Amazon). <\/p>\n\n\n\n This stays in your car – which means you carry your baby in your arms out to the car, strap them in, drive, unstrap them and carry them in your arms to your destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A carrier (you might hear this called a pumpkin seat) looks like this option from Graco<\/a> (Amazon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This comes with a \u2018base\u2019 that stays in your car. You strap your baby into the carrier, carry them out to the car, click the carrier into the base and go. If you line up your stroller purchase with your carrier purchase, you can click the carrier into the stroller as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, price range? Each of these items retails for around $160. That buys you *one* car seat or *one* carrier\/base. If you want something in each car, you\u2019d need either a car seat in each car ($300 now) or if you go the carrier option, you can buy a second base which costs about $80.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personally, we started with the carrier and a base in each car. This was ideal for about the first year. After a year or so, we switched to the car seat. Carrier options are also great because it means you can get your baby into the seat in the comfort of your home, then just click them into the base in the car, so you don’t have to become a contortionist in your back seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a couple of things to consider about monitors. Nowadays, wifi monitors allow you to use your phone\/tablet as the screen. This is a great concept because now you don\u2019t have to worry about losing your monitor. Here’s our review of our top pick for wifi monitors, the Nanit Pro<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The alternative is the camera+monitor option. These are cheaper, ranging from $70-$200. Here is an example<\/a> of a good quality cheap option (Amazon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, should you buy the $400 monitor or the $70 monitor? It really depends on what kind of person you are, what kind of parent you find yourself becoming, the needs of your child, etc. Everyone finds something different that works for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In my experience, being able to see your child clearly and hear the noises they make is key. If you want to be able to count their eyelashes from your iphone 37pro, great. If you want to simply be able to tell if they are laying down or standing up, great. Make the choice that you feel most comfortable with, and don’t stress too much\u2014remember, kids survived for millennia before the advent of baby monitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, if you really want to nerd out, much, much more, including our picks for best baby monitor in a number of categories, over here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buying clothes before the baby comes seems incredibly simple – but there are a few things to consider: <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you tell people that you are expecting a baby, be ready to receive all types of advice and gifts. When we told our family, my mom and mother in law came home from every shopping trip with clothes, diapers and wipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My wife\u2026I mean, WE wanted to use all natural products (or all natural when we could). This mainly pertained to wipes, soaps, cream and lotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is definitely a weird line between letting people know that you have diaper\/wipe preferences, and coming across as telling people what type of gift they should buy you before they even ask how they can help\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that said, if you want all natural wipes, you don\u2019t want to continue receiving the \u2018wrong\u2019 kind of wipes over and over again. So, this is something to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like with buying clothes, you need to keep an inventory of what you have in stock. Your baby will only be in certain sizes for so long – you don\u2019t want to have 20 boxes of newborn diapers and suddenly your baby could be playing left tackle straight out of the womb. Newborn diapers generally go up to a 9lb limit, which the average baby outgrows by the end of the first month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your newborn will go through between 8-12 (or more) diapers per day. So that giant box of 140 diapers you just bought will last you about 2 weeks. As far as wipes go, I personally have found that we used 1 wipe for number 1, 2-3 wipes for number 2 (there are obvious exceptions to the latter; i.e. the word \u201cblowout\u201d). Using these numbers, you\u2019ll go through a pack of wipes (60-70 count pack) about every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you buy a couple of large boxes of Pampers for example, you\u2019d be looking at about $150. If you’re looking to go the natural route (like *cough* my wife or Fathercraft co-founder Paul), check out our review of Abby & Finn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are all types of baby bathtubs out there. Sure, you could try to bathe your child in the sink or the big tub, but a wet newborn is slippery<\/em>. There really is no reason to not buy a baby bathtub considering they range from $25-$50. Plus they have fun names like The Summer Splish ‘n Splash<\/a> … awwww (Amazon) . You can also stock up on soap \u2014 this is a place we definitely recommend one with natural ingredients, like Honest Company Soap<\/a> (Amazon). If you want to go ahead and stock up on lotions and diaper rash cream, here are a few recommendations \u2014 Honest Company Lotion<\/a> (Amazon) and Honest Diaper Rash Cream<\/a> (Amazon). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether or not you plan on breastfeeding\/formula feeding your child, having bottles is a good idea. Our top recommendation is Doctor Brown’s<\/a> (Amazon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you hate doing dishes and want to be able to go a whole week without having to wash any bottles, then pay $200 and buy a bunch of bottles. But then you better buy a sanitizer too, because, gross. Realistically, you can spend $20, buy a 4-pack and make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find much more on what we found to be true baby essentials in our list<\/a> of the same name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve made the one-time purchases. You took a picture of your dog sleeping in the crib. You discovered what feedback on the baby monitor sounds like. You made a dad joke about the stroller having 4-wheel drive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now let\u2019s talk about those expenses that will occur monthly, or at least more than a one-time purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help us figure out what we need to include in our monthly budget, lets walk through a day in the life of a newborn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They sleep. They eat. They poop. Repeat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This cycle continues for the first month or so. Their wake-windows increase as time goes on, but this pretty much sums up their existence for the first couple months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what do we need?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Child care prices are high enough that many parents have one person leave the workforce just because their entire paycheck was going to child care. If that isn\u2019t a possibility for you, do your research on babysitters, day cares, etc. that are available in your area. If you are super lucky, maybe even a family member or two can take turns watching the little one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve already talked about diapers, but it\u2019s important to consider what brand of diapers you\u2019ll be buying and how much you already have stocked up. As with anything, there are really cheap diapers out there and really expensive (relatively) diapers. When can you tell the difference between a cheap diaper and expensive diaper? Usually, on a day to day experience the cheapest diaper and most expensive diaper will function exactly the same. It\u2019s on those more rare occasions that you can tell the difference. Such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, lets shoot for the average. You need 10 diapers a day. Let\u2019s say an average of $.20 per diaper, multiply all of that by 30 days and there\u2019s $60 a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But wait, there\u2019s more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve found the diaper brand you like, check to see if there is a rewards program. Pampers<\/a> and Huggies<\/a> offer the ability to scan your diapers in order to receive money back. It takes 30 seconds to scan in, and you can save some cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like we\u2019ve already said, you\u2019re going to use between 1-4 wipes per diaper change. It really makes a lot of sense to buy in bulk when you can, because it will be years before your child outgrows wipes. Plus, wipes (at least good ones, read the label) are safe on faces for snot, good for cleaning up spills, blowing your nose (yeah, sounds gross, get used to gross) Buying in bulk saves you money in the long run. You can also get rewards from Pampers wipes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Buying in bulk can net you around $.025 per wipe. We can plan on roughly<\/em><\/strong> 20 wipes per day. Multiply by 30 days and there\u2019s $15 a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Budgeting for feeding a newborn is basically broken down into breastfeeding vs formula. If breastfeeding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n That may be the AAP’s recommendation, but we recognize that’s just not possible for every family. So, formula feeding:<\/p>\n\n\n\nStroller – $120-$500+<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bassinet\/Crib – $150-$1,600+<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Car Seat – $160-$300+<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Monitor – $70-$400+<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Clothing $100<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Diapers & Wipes Stockpile – $150+<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Baby Bath Time – $50+<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bottles – $20-$40<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After Child (or, A.D.)<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Monthly Baby Budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Child Care – $500-1,500<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Diapers ~$60\/mo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wipes ~$15\/mo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Food ~ $150<\/h2>\n\n\n\n