Question by : how much does being pregnant and the first year of the baby’s life cost?
how much does a pregnant woman spend, on average, for preparing for the baby? and how much does it cost to take care of the baby for the first year, including: baby toys, baby hygienic things, financial costs?
Best answer:
Answer by Due 7/23/2010 with little Gemma!
I used this at babycenter.com and its WONDERFUL! you can add stuff and take away stuff you already have.
http://www.babycenter.com/babyCostCalculator.htm
Add your own answer in the comments!
I wouldn’t know prices in your country, but take into account a monthly appointment with doctor for check ups, hospital for birth, and that’s it for pregnancy, lol, prenatal vitamins are usually cheap, and unless you have a condition that requires more medication, a regular pregnancy is not too expensive. Oh, take into account maternity clothes unless you know someone who was recently pregnant and could pass along her stuff.
The first year of the baby is pretty much the same, a monthly doctors appointment for check up, and unless you give your baby formula, if you breastfeed that should lower the costs significantly. Clothes, basinet, stroller, highchair, toys, everything was given to us at the babyshower, the only strong cost was the crib, which is one of those big cribs that turns into a bed in a few years.
Diapers are expensive, but I managed to sneak them in the grocery costs and I didn’t feel much of a difference. Plus we got a lot of diapers at the babyshower, in fact, if you throw a shower, the theme could be diapers, and you’ll get that exclusively, the only problem I had was I got too many of stage one, and my son outgrew them quickly and I had many stage one diapers left and not many stage 2 diapers to begin with.
It’s the second year where prices soar, your baby is not recieving as many presents, he now needs shoes for walking rather than the ones they use when they are babies to look cute, and soon the baby will go to school, and that’s where the fun begins.
Preparing for my baby has been free so far, because i do not turn away hand me downs. and the baby showers are getting me a supply of diapers and wipes. But i do not count on this for long. i dont think that the diapers that i have now( 1 pack newborns, 3 packs 1′s , 5 packs 2′s) will get me very far. My car seat was free, as was my crib. and a few more thing that some women spend thousands on. So i guess what i am trying to say is every woman is different on how they want to spend on the pregnancy and babies first year. I am not trying to go cheap on m child, but to me there is no sense in trying to dress her in the cutest clothes and have her the coolest toys while she is so young. I will save my money for later when she can appreciate what i buy her. Either that or spend the rest on diapers and wipes. I plan to breastfeed so there is a little more money in my pocket as well. Plus its good for her to be breast feed, or so ive read. lol. good luck to you. oh yeah and then there is tenncare for all those bills. or what ever pregnancy insurance your state has.