A quick Google search will tell you that your first child will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 to $16,000 a year. Apparently the cost of a second child goes down to 80% of what the first one costs.
Holy guacamole! I’m pretty certain that we have not spent that much on all four of our kids combined!
Thankfully I never bought into any of those norms or averages. When we decided to have our first, we had a roof over our heads (ironically we lived in a basement then, too) and food on the table. We had jobs and health insurance. A baby doesn’t need a whole lot more than that, and when he or she does, it comes gradually.
Because the numbers have always sounded so ridiculous to me, I decided it would be fun to start a little expense case study when our daughter was born last April. I’ve been keeping track of everything we have spent on her so I can give you the lowdown. She’s six months old now, so I thought I’d give a mid-year report on what we’ve spent so far.
Here’s the premise:
For those of you who aren’t regulars around here, I’ll set the scene for you so you know where we’re coming from. Here are some factors that play into the costs associated with our littlest one:
- Subsequent baby (of same gender)– Baby N is the fourth kiddo in our home. She has a 7-year-old sister, 6-year-old brother, and 4-year-old brother.
- Cloth diapered— We started cloth diapering her at about 6 weeks. We cloth diapered our last son for his last year of diapers.
- Exclusively breastfeed— I have never purchased formula. I’ve always had a plentiful milk supply.
- Stay-at-home mom— I have not worked outside the home since my first was born, so we have never paid for any childcare. My in-laws watch the kids for us for a once-a-month date night.
Disclaimer
This is post a case study of our family. My intent isn’t to brag or win a frugal mom award. My purpose is to show that with some forethought, frugality, creativity, and thrift, you can spend much, much less than any of the popular estimates about the cost of a baby.
Every family’s circumstances, needs, choices, and preferences are unique. I don’t expect that everything that works for us will work for everyone else. If you are looking for ways to save, maybe you can get some ideas based on what we use/don’t use or bought/didn’t buy.
If your family does things completely different, that’s totally cool too! We can still be friends. 🙂
What we’re using that we already had
For us, the cost of subsequent babies was much less than 80% of the cost of the first (as claimed by Internet baby experts). Here are the things that gave us a head-start on baby number two (and three and four):
Pack-n-Play— While we have a crib that our other kids used (in fact, we have two), it takes up more room than we like, so the babe sleeps in a pack-n-play in our bedroom. It works wonderfully!
Car Seat— We had an infant car seat that we were using, but we got a newer model (actually a travel system combo) in exchange for an honest review of the product on the company’s site. Had that opportunity not come along we would have kept the car seat we had. Instead, we passed it along for a friend to use.
Stroller— We’re covered here. We have a very well-loved double jogging stroller that I bought at a yard sale years ago, a Sit-n-Stand that we actually bought brand spankin’ new when our second was born, and now the stroller that goes with the travel system.
Exersaucer— When my sisters and I each got married and started having kids, we all lived in the same state (now we’re in three different states). At one point there was a new baby every six months like clockwork! My parents bought an Exersaucer that we passed around between us. We ended up with it when there was a lull in baby-having (after four cousins in two years) and ours was the last one.
Bumbo— We had sold the Bumbo we used with our other kids, but I found one about a year ago for a couple of dollars on half price day at the thrift store, so I picked it up. We really only used it a couple of times.
Booster chair— Instead of a high chair, we have used a booster seat with all of our kids. We bought them second hand and have kept one of them around. It comes in handy when we have friends over who have a baby.
Cloth Diapers— I didn’t use cloth diapers with my two oldest, just my son (who is now 4) and my baby (you can read about why we switched). I could have done fine on the stash that I had (you can see pictures of my cloth diaper stash on the post about how I got my diapers free or cheap), but as you’ll read below, I wanted to add some girly diapers into the mix.
Clothes— I saved the clothes that I liked most from when my oldest was a baby (she’s 7 now). I did decide that seven years was long enough, and I’m purging (both boy and girl clothes) as I go.
Swaddleme— We didn’t discover Swaddlemes until our older son was born (he’s 6 now), but we love them! I got two for his baby shower and I have picked up a couple more when I have run across them at thrift stores because I know that I love them.
Breast pump— I have a manual pump (that I bought and love) and an electric pump (that insurance paid for years ago). I don’t use either regularly because I’m home with my baby. I do have an emergency supply of breastmilk in the deep freeze from our hospital stay and from a day trip I took.
Blankets, bedding, burp cloths— These accumulate pretty quickly. Each one has a story and I love them all! They are pretty sentimental (well the quilts are, not so much the burp cloths), so we tend to keep them around.
Disposable diapers— Despite my resistance (we didn’t need anything), a good friend insisted on throwing a shower for me. Because we were waiting to find out the gender of our baby, most people either brought diapers/wipes or freezer meals (these were wonderful!). The diapers mostly carried us through the first six weeks (until we switched to cloth). We also received a big box of size 2 diapers, which I used occasionally (and donated the rest when our little girl outgrew them) and a big box of size 3 diapers, which I’m using at night now.
What we’ve spent:
Before birth
$14— wipes
$6— newborn diapers (generic)
$5— baby bath tub (purchased used)– We’ve only used the bath tub a couple of times this time around. We used our baby tub faithfully with our first two, but with the last two, it’s been easier to just to take the baby into the shower with one of us. We’re getting rid of the tub. Next time we’ll go tub-less.
1st month:
$4— pacifiers– Our kids only kind of take pacifiers and only for the first couple of weeks. We actually had plenty of them at home, but this was an emergency purchase when my daughter went back into the hospital.
$23— Nystatin– She and I got thrush at the end of her first week. Ugh. Miserable. Painful. I cringe just thinking about how painful that is!
$15— acidophilus– Something else to fight that terrible thrush with.
$9— baby girl clothes from the thrift store
2nd month
$10— ErgoBaby Carrier (purchased with Zulily credit)– We already had a Baby Bjorn carrier, but it hurt my back because our babies come out big and get heavy fast. I always wanted an Ergo, but couldn’t justify the cost until I saw this one on Zulily for $60 and need to use $50 of credit anyway.
$12— diapers
$19— cloth diapers (girly ones from ebay)
3rd month
$35— more girly cloth diapers
$4— teether— She still loves this teether!
$5— hair bows– I relied on these to hold her hair out of her eyes until I had the guts to finally cut it. Yes, it’s crazy to cut a 3-month-old’s hair, but she’s needed it pretty much since day 1!
4th month
$6— teething medicine– At six months old now she has five teeth in (and two more coming).
5th month
$4— baby girl clothes from the thrift store– Our closest thrift store has a stuff-a-bag fro $4 sale on Fridays.
6th month
$0— antibiotics for ear infection (covered by insurance)
TOTAL- $171
Oh, and there’s birth
I didn’t include the cost of the actual delivery because from what I can tell the standard “how much does a baby cost” figures don’t account for that. For the record, we spend $2,234 out of pocket.
I keep things pretty simple by delivering within an hour of arriving at the hospital (for my past three deliveries– not intentional, my babies just come fast) and not having an epidural (I’m not crazy, just terrified by the thought of a giant needle in my spine).
That’s just hospital costs– it doesn’t include paying the OB. I paid that over time during pregnancy, so by the time of delivery the doctor was paid in full.
In another six months I’ll be able to tell you how the first year shapes up. So far things aren’t looking much different though.
How About You?
- What do you think about the cost estimates for babies?
- Did your kids cost that much?
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I think that number takes in account if your kids are sick and activities. My son had to have expensive testing as a child. Now we have monthly medications to pay for. 2 specialist appointments a year. My daughter was in band and swimming. We rented her multiple instruments (over $2500..in total payments). Then you add in competition costs…fundraisers..uniforms..training camps. I swear I have paid out so much money during high school years. Every week something needed to be paid for. Extremely stressful. You get ahead then you an email “following items need to be purchased”. So happy she graduates next month.
I didn’t track expenses with my first 5 children, but I had to rebuy a lot with #6. New pack and play, new carseat, and all new cloth diapers and clothes. Apparently five kiddos is about the limit for a lot of those things! From my second trimester through her being 5 months old, I spent $1100. I’m now expecting #7 and I won’t have to spend much since I just purchased so much for #6 a year ago.
Congrats on #7 Sarah! 🙂
I have 3 children, a boy and 2 girls, and we spent very little, if you don’t include day care when I worked full time. I had to buy clothes for my son after the 1st year (baby shower took care of 1st year nicely), and we bought cloth diapers and bottles for him. I probably spent $1500 for his first 5 years between cloth diapers, clothes, formula, and medications. We paid only $100 for the birth (6 days in hospital!) thanks to my husband’s amazing insurance. I tried to nurse but have no supply, so we did formula. That was probably our biggest expense.
With my girls, a friend has been handing down her daughter’s clothes the past 5 years, and I have spent almost nothing on clothes, maybe $200. Cloth diapers didn’t work with my girls, thanks to chronic yeast issues (though I know many girls in cloth who don’t have that issue), but I work Target/Amazon deals for super cheap diapers and wipes. I spend maybe $200/year on diapers and wipes, plus $40 to 50/month during the 1st year for formula. We reused all of the baby equipment from our son, so no new expenses.
Way to go Jen! I used to work the diaper deals with my first two (before we moved to the boonies and I decided to switch to cloth since I couldn’t run around to score all the deals). Way to keep the costs down! And hooray for great insurance! 🙂
Your totals are great! I agree that the more children you have the less you spend on each subsequent one. We found we had to buy beds as the kids all moved up from the bassinet/playpen to the crib to a real bed (my first 3 children were born within 3 years). Other than that it has mostly been clothing costs for us- we had three boys followed by a girl. I love cloth diapers and wish I had kept track of how much we have saved by using them over the years.
Also, ouch on the hospital bill! I am very greatful for universal healthcare where I live. I’ve had to pay a portion of medications I take during & after pregnancies but the actual pre-natal care, delivery, hospital stay and post-natal care cost me nothing directly out of pocket.
Yes! It’s so nice to not have a monthly diaper expense to worry about. And that’s amazing to not have to pay anything out of pocket for your babies!
Do you use cloth wipes? Also, do you already have no tears shampoo for your older kids or do you use something different?
Sometimes I use cloth wipes, but I haven’t lately. I should though. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂 For my older kids I use adult shampoo, but I have enough baby wash and shampoo stocked that I shouldn’t need to buy any.
I balked at the estimates as well (there was one in Australia recently that said a million dollars to raise up to 18 years old!! – keeping in mind we don’t have to pay for hospitals, dental or doctors under 15 years of age)
I’m in a very similar boat as you! I’ve paid for a car seat (brand new but a cheaper model because I don’t drive so it doesn’t get used heaps), I paid for a cot that in retrospect I’m not sure I would have bothered (we co-sleep 80% of the time for ease – however the cot converts into a toddler bed so it won’t go astray 😉 ) and I have been SUPER lucky with getting so many hand me downs and other items lent to me.
I have been given toys, clothes, some cloth nappies (about half my stash – the rest was bought during a closing down sale), high chair etc
and I have borrowed my sisters babywearing wraps and thus haven’t had to buy a pram! However she is soon due to have her next so I will soon be buying my own, and passing around many of the items I’ve been given/borrowed back to her. It feels really good to know the clothes which otherwise get so little wear, will actually get some baby wearing time whilst also helping to reduce waste.
That’s awesome that you’ve save so much by borrowing, sharing, and receiving hand-me-downs! Way to go! 🙂
We generally have been in the same situation as you, but I did disposables with all of my kids in the baby stage. For our first two, we lived in a 3rd floor walkup that had coin laundry, so the cost and pain of doing cloth diapers was not worth it. With my 3rd, he just didn’t do well with cloth diapers – he got rashes, so we did disposables. Now with my 4th, I can do cloth most of the time during the day, but I still have to use disposables at night for leaks (plus the diapers smell like ammonia being on her overnight) and currently we are doing more disposables because we’ve been battling a rash.
I’ve also struggled with milk supply with most of my kids, so I’ve had to purchase some to supplement.
Honestly, I think kids are the cheapest when they are babies. It’s only when they start playing sports and needing braces that things start to get more expensive!
I can’t imagine doing cloth diapers with coin laundry either! I’m sure you’re right– braces and extra curricular activities will be when it gets expensive!
1st, you’re amazing for doing all four natural! I attempted to make it through my 3rd delivery natural but alas, I felt that baby coming out and started begging for an epidural. Lol and 2nd, I LOVE this post and that you’ve been keeping track of everything! I can’t wait to see what your numbers are after a year.
Thanks Jessi! I’m interested to see the numbers too! 🙂
I don’t have babies but I *do* currently have thrush (in my mouth) right now. Ugh it is the WORST!
Yikes! I didn’t know adults could get it in their mouths! I hope it goes away quickly!!
We only have 1, but I think we have spent way less than normal. We were gifted the big things: crib (which I slept in more than he did), changing table, pack n’play, swing, etc. Everything else we bought used. We did get a lot of disposable diapers that we used up until we started cloth. We had a super small stash; 12 diapers for the first 5 months. Then I bought some more to supplement when we actually had the $$. I also breastfed (even with working full time). My husband is a stay at home dad, so we have no childcare expenses. One of our biggest expenses was clothes. Everyone says, don’t ask for clothes on your registry and if you know the sex of the baby you’ll still get inundated with clothes. So we didn’t do either of those and got very little (a few outfits). We had been buying clothes on clearance and from garage sales for years so we had some, but most of them were for 12 months. Additionally, my son had really bad reflux so we went through many outfits a day! I hate buying from thrift stores under pressure! It was so hard to find the sizes we needed, and we needed them right then. Our biggest savior was Once Upon A Child (used kids clothes store). Now, I stock up clothes a year or so in advance (garage sales with the fill a bag for $5!). We also were gifted a large bag of hand-me-downs from one of my co-works grandsons. Now I feel set for the future kids to come.
Okay I am dying here trying to picture YOU in the crib!! 🙂
I work outside the home, so the costs are greater. I’ve paid for child care for all 3 kids, diapers (because most day cares will not do cloth diapers), and formula (I pumped, but my milk supply was low). However, we always went very minimal on clothing and extras. We’ve never had a swing, exersaucer, etc. My youngest slept in a pack n’ play until he was 18 months old. Another bonus of a 3rd or 4th kid? They don’t add any cost to your insurance. Woohoo!
Child care is the big one that probably goes into the estimates. I had forgotten that you work outside the home. I’m amazed that you fit blogging into your schedule! 🙂
When my oldest was born 15 years ago I read something that said it would cost around $200,000 to raise him to adulthood. Unless there are some majorly large unexpected expenses in the next 2 years 10 months we’re no where near there. When we had #2 8.5 years later, and a few years later #3, it’s been less expensive because I realized we didn’t need all the stuff that I thought I’d need with #1. With the younger two it also helped that I was able to exclusively breastfeed and was home with them full time so I didn’t have the daycare cost that I had with #1.
That’s true– there are things that you *think* you need with #1 and you realize you don’t by the time you have #2!