Realistically, how much do you spend per month on a new baby?

sooty&sweep

Hi

Frankly once you've got past the set up costs, childcare / drop in income type costs a new born is relatively cheap as they only really need food & nappies, clean clothes, few toys etc and they're not that choosy ! I'd say the 1st 5 years are relatively inexpensive

Its when they get older it gets more expensive. When they start attending clubs and have specific things they'd like for christmas, etc etc. My two do judo on a saturday morning thats £7.20 for them both. They both do cubs / beavers again about £6 for both. etc etc etc. As they get older you also can do more with them eg go to the cinema out for something to eat etc etc.

Saying all that I love them both and enjoy doing things with them and don't begrudge a penny !!

Jen

wendz86

I agree it is when they are older they get more expensive as when i go back to work will be costing me a lot with childcare.

She doesn't cost a lot at the moment. I bf so no cost there, nappies maybe £6 a week prob even cheaper now (always try and get them on offer) wipes again on offer so probably a pound a week.I have had a lot of clothes as presents so haven't had to buy much and she is getting loads of the next size up for christmas presents. I also spend about £10 a week for different baby groups/activities.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

They're portrayed as expensive because the surveys are done by child trust fund companies, baby clothing companies, mortgage providers, savings account providers, dental insurance providers or magazines that make their profits from advertisers who pay handsomely to have features telling parents how they must have this or that.


Of course, if you want the posh buggy, the changing unit, fancy bag, car seat, nursery decorations that will never be noticed, baby gym classes, baby yoga classes, baby sign and massage classes, the posh maternity clothes and every latest must have displayed by the latest D lister up the duff, then it will cost thousands.

Your choice.

pinkclouds

Realistically, per month, next to nothing - mostly just nappies and possibly formula if you don't breastfeed.

The last month of your pregnancy... an absolute fortune! It's the last few weeks of panic buying and falling prey to all the endless lists of so-called essential products. After the baby arrives, you look at all the tat stacked wall-to-wall in your house, realise you are never going to use a fraction of it and decide you are too tired to care and won't be leaving the exact spot you've just collapsed in until the baby is old enough to fend for themselves. lol

Yum

hey. Im a new mummy and I really worried about money and how we would survive but we are doing fine

I spend £10 per week on formula and a big box of nappies from cosco is about £18 per month, a 6 pack of wipes is £5 and last over 1 month. Clothes i buy in sale or 2nd hand (planning ahead saves loads) but I only buy good makes like Next for outfits but vests & sleepsuits are really cheap in supermarkets or primark. I would say about £40-50 per month we spend at the moment. Obviously our food bill will go up when my little one starts food at 6 months but Im planning on doing it all myself and only using jars when out and about as jars are sooo expensive.

Ive changed my lifestyle so much since finding out I was pregnant. Its hard living on a low income, our income has more than halved as I earned more than my other half. But I wouldnt change it for the world

happytails

Ok babies really don't need much. Really

Mummy milk - free, no bottles, teats, sterliser, formula (currently about £8 a tub, tub may last a week)
Cloth nappies - initial starter cost of approx £200-£300 (say £300 a year, per month would be £25 but that's only 1 year, remember children may not be dry til age 3 but since you already have the nappies (one size) you wouldn't fork out except small washing cost, for the other 2 years. Disposables are a lot more expensive!
If you co sleep (safely may I add) you won't need a cot/Moses basket.
Clothing, you can get really cheap in asda, telco or charity shops/eBay or hand me downs off friends. Gifts for new baby. You need a bit more clothing winter time, coats, hat, Mitts etc

Only initial outlay is car seat (£40 upwards), pram again various cost. Sling, if you want an easy life, baby cuddles whilst you do some housework/shopping etc. Highchair from say 6 months and any thing Ike swings and toys you can get cheap second hand.

If you do baby led weaning rather than jars of puree, they just eat exactly what you eat, as you would eat it (toast soldiers, peas, whole roast potaotes, chopped veg etc. No spoon fed things etc until child masters using spoon itself (preloaded is fine) so again negligible cost there.

Hth

Mum of 2 nearly 3 and nearly 1:D
Um, that's it really.

Student_Mrs

Thanks for the responses guys. It sounds like even if the LO wouldn't take to breastfeeding that formula isn't too bad and it certainly seems more do-able! I was one of those expensive children being a dancer, though not until I was £14 so I can see how that could soon add up but sounds fairly low maintenance until school which is good.

Also foolishly didn't think about cooking food myself - will have 9 months to get better and am sure there are lots of other friendly people on frugal/old style money saving. will keep looking at this as I know there are others who are interested and it's great to see some positivity from those already managing!

RichGold

I like how you ask what the cost of a new baby is.

Its almost as if the underlying question is "Could I reduce the cost by getting a second hand baby?"

an9i77

A big MSE tip is to either a)buy stuff on ebay and sell it on when baby has outgrown (eg moses/clothes/carriers) or if you must have new, suss out which brands/items keep their value on ebay and buy those, eg baby bjorn, as you will effectively just pay around half the retail price. Having just been through the process, I'd say there is a massive temptation to buy loads of carp that you won't really need, but baby won't really need most of these. Out of the stuff we bought, we got the most use out of our baby bjorn sitter (really good bouncy chair) which was indispensible, and our moses basket which was huge and lasted until baby 5 months (so get the biggest one you can find if you are getting a moses, babies r us are good). Wasted a lot of money on clothes, as I like new, but you can get a lot of good stuff on ebay. John Lewis baby clothes are good quality and even second hand tend to last a while. Or just get babygrows and a couple of outfits for best. Sorry if that doesn't really answer the question! Babies are as expensive as you let them be. Like anything else, you will want lots of stuff for them but how much of that you actually need is questionable.

skintchick

I haven't done the voting because I'm not sure if you want to include the start-up costs of things like a pram, muslins, etc., all the stuff you buy beforehand.

But I breastfed and never expressed, so feeding was free for six months, then we did baby-led weaning so she just ate what we did so that wasn;t any extra really, I did buy more root veg cos she loved roasted veg when she first weaned, but she really ate what we did. I continued to breastfeed her so no costs on milks of any kinds. she does have cows' milk now but we do still breastfeed as well.

Nappies cost, but not that much. I had washables but didn;t get on with them and never got to grips with elimination Communication (no nappies at all) so we just bought sposies and I did used to wash baby wipes if they'd only been used for wee, and then reuse them with some water on.

you don;t need loads of stuff but it is possible to spend loads if you want to!

If you clarify which costs you want to know about I could maybe post more, but I don;t want to be on the wrong track and boring you!