Saturday, April 25, 2009

Top 7 Baby Costs

I just read an article at babycenter.com about the top 7 costs of having a baby. We have already come up with a plan for each!

1-Formula- We plan to breastfeed for a while, which is better for the baby and mom and free!
2- Diapers- We are going to invest in cloth diapers which will eventually save a lot of money. There are also benefits such as they are way better for the environment, healthier materials, and very cute! Just a little more work with laundry- but isn't there going to be a lot more laundry anyway..?
3- Childcare- Joel is going to work more part-time- evenings and weekends, and stay home during the day when I have to go back to work. In the summers, I will be able to stay home for about 2 months.
4- Gear- We are grateful for anything we get from relatives and baby showers. The rest we would like to look for in thrift shops as long as they are in good condition. We already have a changing table, and a carseat/stroller and crib/bed promised to us!
5- Clothes- If I have a girl, Joel's sister has a lot of cute girl clothes she's saving for us. If it's a boy, his brother has some boy clothes for us! We will probably get some at our baby shower, some hand me downs, and I already bought a few items on sale in neutral colors. We can always use them again if we have another baby even of the opposite gender. Since babies grow so fast, we'd like to stock up on cheaper basics, like plain onsies. They only need to wear the cutesy outfits when we are in public.
6- Food- I already invested in the Baby Fresh So Easy baby food making kit. It looks so easy and fun! Also, healthier for the baby and much cheaper than buying baby food. And I got it for only $21.99 at Wegman's, where online it's around $38 everywhere I look for the kit. I can also purchase extra trays online if I need to.
7- Toys, Books, and DVDs- Well, babies aren't supposed to watch TV until age 2, so we'll be ok for a little while. And I already have The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories on DVD. I have already purchased several board books and kids' books from school. I always check the book orders and buy cute books on sale. Some paperbacks I can get for only $1. I love books and have a bunch of board books I bought a few years ago too. As for toys, I don't want to have tooooo many... and we have friends with children who have offered some toys. Also, baby's birthday, Christmas, etc. will probably bring in enough toys to last until the next event. I will also buy a few things here and there, mostly if it's educational, on sale, or super cute. Oh- and I have some cds already. I have the Wee Sing collection and some preschool ones from when I student taught in preschool.

These top 7 baby costs aren't enough to scare us! We already have our plan ready!

2 comments:

Gene said...

Good for you for planning on breastfeeding. My baby is on her 3rd month now and is fully breastfed. She's never been sick and so much cheaper with formula milk. I still have a half can of lactose-free formula milk unused because she doesn't even want to feed from the bottle. That's the only problem I have with fully breastfed baby. She can't feed without me, she won't even take expressed milk in the bottle so I can't go back to school or work as much as I want to.

Unknown said...

Yay for breastfeeding Moms! It can be stressful at times, but it is a true bonding experience with your baby that you can't experience with anyone else!
I'm excited to hear how cloth diapers go for you. Breast fed baby poops are like nothing else, so I hope you know how to use bleach! Even the most absorbant disposable diapers can't keep them contained!! Have you thought about bio-degradable diapers? Like seventh generation? I know they are more expensive, but they have the environmental factor that you find with cloth diapers.
Love you Leah...you look great!!