Planning-Having a baby on a budget

[ellone]

It's funny, everyone always says not to get the tiny clothes but you really just never know. We had very few things in 0-3mo, and nothing in newborn size, and our DD ended up being small. She was 6lbs 15oz at birth and came home at around 6lbs 10oz. The coming home outfit we'd brought to the hospital was 0-3mo size and it was ridiculously huge on her. Same with all the 0-3 sleepers. Our best friend went out & bought a few sleepers & onesies in newborn size just so the kid didn't have to look like a clown in giant clothes. She only wore the newborn things for a few weeks but I was glad we had them.

My coming home outfit was also too big for my baby...we ended up leaving her in the shirt the hospital puts the babies in. We ended up using the newborn size for at least a month.

And don't stock up too much on clothes...you never know if a certain brand will fit your baby properly. My daughter is 99% height, but only around 50% weight so a *lot* of brands look weird on her. Sleeves are short, but the stomach area has *way* too much extra cloth.

 

[jodifla]

This board has turned me into an avid planner. While I am NOT currently expecting, we are starting to have conversations about it. I now plan for everything and decided I would like to plan for a baby as best as I can possibly can. For the moms out there what are something things you did in preparation? For example would it be a good idea to keep my eyes open for a unisex crib? Or is that crazy? Thanks for any insight.

The items like a crib and clothes and such really don't add up to much in the grand scheme of thing.

What does add up financially is either child care or one person quitting a job to care for a child. Those are the big, big numbers you should look at. Child care for just one infant is about like adding another mortgage payment oftentimes, and of course going on one income can be quite dicey in this economy.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

What is a unisex crib?

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[princessbride6205]

My biggest tip is to know your expenses and plan for more. One month before I had DD, our health plan at work changed and my out of pocket for the delivery doubled! We still marvel that our natural childbirth with no complications cost more than my husband's 9-day hospital stay for his skull fracture!
Know what your employer offers for maternity leave. We had no paid maternity leave, but you may have partial pay.
I had no idea how much daycare cost when we conceived (not smart of me). Look at centers, homes, etc. to figure out your options and prices.

There are definitely things you won't need - I recommend getting the Baby Bargains book once you conceive (they update and publish every year or two, so I wouldn't get it ahead of time). So much is unnecessary!

I have to recommend the Miracle Blanket (foolproof swaddling for infants) and the Ultimate Crib Sheet (this snaps on top of any crib sheet and is sheet material on top and waterproof underneath) - makes middle of the night sheet changes a breeze. It is awesome.

I also must recommend making your own baby food. It really is easy - steam or microwave pretty much any veggie or fruit, then puree. Things like bananas and avocados are great first foods and you can just mash with a fork. DH and I both work full time, so I promise you making your own food is not very time-consuming.

For clothing, I have not had great luck with thrift shops or similar. Pricing is nearly the same as the Target sale rack. For infant stuff, I tried to get Carter's sale (quality and softness are great for the price). As DD got older I started shopping almost exclusively at Target. You can get clearance leggings and tops for less than $3 a piece. I've sometimes found for $1. The past few winters, nice toddler sweat shirts and pants go on sale $3.50 each piece.

Good luck!

 

[Minnesota!]

If I had to start all over again...knowing what I know now...these would be the ONLY things I would get for the babies:

Supply of cloth diapers
formula/bottles
lots of wipes
boppy
swing/bouncy seat (my older loved the bouncy, my younger the swing).
a ton of sleepers
lots of receiving blankets
car seat
stroller that reclines
socks

And that's about it..

Never used the crib, the bassinet, the walker, the 1000's of toys, all the "cute" outfits that really aren't that comfy to the babe, and I wish I had used cloth...we used disposable for both kids but I wanted cloth. Just had a really rough beginning with both of them and never got in the swing of it. I couldn't breastfeed either one. The Lactation consultants were stumped, even. I tried!! I really did.

Good luck - hope your ride on the conception train is a short one!

 

[malibuconlee]

OH YEAH! Many people don't realize that maternity leave is usually covered by your short term disability policy! Make sure you have one in place and how long you need to have it in place to cover you!

I've known several people who didn't realize this is where your pay during maternity leave comes from and at least one that didn't check to see when she needed to have it in place. She tried to sign up after she was pregnant. NOPE, didn't work that way!

 

[crisi]

OH YEAH! Many people don't realize that maternity leave is usually covered by your short term disability policy! Make sure you have one in place and how long you need to have it in place to cover you!

I've known several people who didn't realize this is where your pay during maternity leave comes from and at least one that didn't check to see when she needed to have it in place. She tried to sign up after she was pregnant. NOPE, didn't work that way!

And short term disability leave is often not 100% of your income. I got maternity leave - for about 40% of my pay. And while that was certainly better than a kick in the pants, if my budget had been based on getting my full salary, I'd have been SOL.

 

[cseca]

... Then you have higher food costs (DW is the cook but so far has been fighting fatigue and morning sickness so we haven't cooked in weeks, meaning we have to spend more on eating out for lunch and dinner, and it is hard to plan ahead since she doesn't know from one hour to the next what she might be able to eat). ...

I know exactly what you mean.... what a good DH you are. It's amazing what hormones could do to women during pregnancy. One hour pizza might sound ok and the next hour it could make us run for our lives to the bathroom... ugh... Plus feeling like a limp noodle all day. Gah!

Congrats on your pregnancy! And tell DW to hang in there... it'll get better...

 

[mjkacmom]

Don't forget it will cost money to actually carry and deliver the baby. We have good insurance and are currently 8 week s pregnant but already know that just the OB visits and delivery will cost us $1,000 out of pocket after all insurance is paid out. Our OB takes payments broken down over the 9 months so we pay them roughly $150 per month as we go in for regular visits, but go ahead and start setting aside an actual pregnancy fund. Then you have higher food costs (DW is the cook but so far has been fighting fatigue and morning sickness so we haven't cooked in weeks, meaning we have to spend more on eating out for lunch and dinner, and it is hard to plan ahead since she doesn't know from one hour to the next what she might be able to eat). Then you'll need extra maternity clothing as you get bigger.

So all the tips about baby stuff once the baby is here are great, but don't foget the extra costs for the actual pregnancy.

Well, that depends on insurance - I payed $20 max for my babies.

 

[disprincessatheart]

Babies can wet sheets like no ones business. Plan on having at least 8 or 10 fitted sheets. Also remember you will also need sheets for the pack and play.

Plan on changing a lot of sheets.

while this can be true, all babies are different. I only have 4 sheets for our baby's crib and at almost 11 months old he's never gone thru them all in one week. He usually has 1 or 2 wet mornings a week and he sleeps 11 hours a night. We also only have 2 pnp sheets and that's been plenty

The thing we have way too much of is blankets. Most of them never even make it out of his dresser

 

[disprincessatheart]

Forgot to mention our other big money wasters
pacifiers - ds never cared
travel system stroller - as a pp mentioned it doesn't fit in my trunk at all and we wound up buying a different stroller at 8 months

Best thing we ever bought was a frame stroller for the carseat - light, compact, can be used at a restaurant instead of their slings or an upside down highchair

 

[chrissyb2411]

I didn't read all of the responses, but heres my thought.

Don't buy anything. Especially if you have a large family and lots of friends. The amount of stuff you get at a baby shower is insane. Put money away somewhere, so that when its all said and done, you can buy something you want or need for the baby that you didn't get.

Think now about things like cars etc. I ended up trading in a car only a year into my loan, because I never planned on baby 2, and there just wasn't enough room. So if you are getting a new car anytime soon, make it family and budget friendly.

And lastly, if you want to plan on staying home with your kids (which was very important to me) practice living on one salery. Budget every month on just DH's (or your if he would be staying home) salery. And see if you can make it work. Either use the other sallery to pay down debt, or save.

Good luck, and by the way, kids are EXPENSIVE

 

[aprilgail2]

Don't forget it will cost money to actually carry and deliver the baby. We have good insurance and are currently 8 week s pregnant but already know that just the OB visits and delivery will cost us $1,000 out of pocket after all insurance is paid out. Our OB takes payments broken down over the 9 months so we pay them roughly $150 per month as we go in for regular visits, but go ahead and start setting aside an actual pregnancy fund
So all the tips about baby stuff once the baby is here are great, but don't foget the extra costs for the actual pregnancy.

Wow- I wouldn't really consider that "good" insurance.....my entire prregnancy from start to birth cost me one 20.00 co payment....that is it....everything else including Dr. visits, hospital, c-section, NICU, etc was for that one 20.00 copayment!

 

[britfish]

You could start buying a pack of diapers everytime you go to the store. $10 or $20 extra here and there won't seem like much now and you will get a nice supply of diapers when your little one arrives. Just don't buy too many packs of the little size in case the baby grows fast or is born on the bigger size! It also was fun to have lots of different kinds to try out and find which kind worked best for us.

 

[ah1126]

Something that I just thought of.... A few weeks before I was due, I stocked up on household items. I make sure I had plenty of toilet paper, paper plates, laundry detergent, shampoo, soap and other everyday items. This was so nice! My baby is 8 months old and I haven't had to buy laundry detergent yet! We also tried to have some easy food items on hand.

 

[Keira1387]

Something that I just thought of.... A few weeks before I was due, I stocked up on household items. I make sure I had plenty of toilet paper, paper plates, laundry detergent, shampoo, soap and other everyday items. This was so nice! My baby is 8 months old and I haven't had to buy laundry detergent yet! We also tried to have some easy food items on hand.

Love it! Great idea.

 

[raven0855]

Ok, so I skimmed through most of the posts and it looks like I am on the losing team.

We had infertility issues and had to do IUIs and then IVF. I still would buy things when I saw a good deal. I would put the things in a closet and it never really bothered me. I think it all has to do with your mind set. We knew that things might not happen easily but how can you pass up a good deal. I would just say, well if we cant use it it can always be a gift!

With that being said. Before we even were pregnant I had purchased.....

A $350 Medela Breast pump for $80 on clearance at Target. ( I think they screwed up)

Lots and lots of clothes if it was $1.00 for the most part I bought it. Boy or girl.

Crib bedding that was 75% off.

Toys that were 75-90%off.

Then when did get pregnant the shopping really began...LOL

Pack and Play 50% off

Boxes and boxes of diapers 70% off with amazon codes. We are set until size 4.

Baby lotion and bath wash 75% off

My family thinks I am nuts but truth is we now have EVERYTHING we need for this LO and dont have to worry about running out to get anything. And again, if we have stuff we dont need/use we have baby shower gifts that we dont need to buy.

You will get lots of things at your shower as well, but like I said I am a sale shopper and couldnt pass up the sales.

The one thing we dont have a lot of is newborn clothes, everyone told us not to get them so we didnt. Our LO weighes 6 lbs 14 oz and his NB stuff is a bit big. So right now he only has a few outfits. We may go get a few more this weekend though!

Good luck with everything!!

 

[Poohbear5]

Our family does showers for the mom-to-be about 2 months before the due date. I know other families that wait until closer or do the shower after baby is born.

Prepare by paying down any debts and putting aside money to purchase things you don't get for baby shower,not to mention diapers, formula,dr visits, etc.

Once you are a mom, you are suddenly in a club where you can manage to find a way to stretch the budget in ways that you never before imagined! Your best resource is other moms! I did not even know what a clearance rack was when my first baby was born, now I can sniff out the clearance rack a mile away!

Best of luck to you!