To ask if a newborn baby is expensive

[brownpaperbag1]

I’m pregnant with DC1 and due to give birth next year. I was wondering how much it costs to buy everything you need for a newborn - is it a lot? How much should I be aiming to save to ensure I can afford everything the baby will need?

I’m not talking about childcare here - just all the basic stuff, food, clothes, nappies, pram and any other essentials.

TIA

Whether you bat a decent pram or not is also dependent on who is looking after your baby. I look after my DGS one day a week as does his other grandma. Neither of us could manage with a sling! We take him out every day so a decentnpram is a must. Also, we can't change him on the floor, our knees aren't up to it 🤣🤣

To control your spending it’s better to tot up what you need immediately and what you need later. From birth you’ll need:

1. Pram with a carrycot attachment that allows for overnight sleeping. You don’t then need to buy a crib or cot or pushchair for 4-6 months. These are often dirt cheap - start from £40 new for a basic brand but can you can pick up second hand for a lot less.

1. 4 vests, 7 ‘all in one’ babygros, 1 cellular blanket, 7 muslin cloths, 1 or 2 cardigans. Only buy a hat, coat and mittens if baby will be born in winter. While gro bags are useful they aren’t essential. Multiple low tog Cellular blankets that layer are just as good. You can often get a new season appropriate newborn set for £20 (Primark, ASDA, etc).

1. 1 special outfits for the baby and 1 for you that are new as a way to make yourself feel special. You don’t have to spend loads but if you’re on your own and on a limited budget it’s really easy to get down if you only buy second hand.

1. Nappies (newborn size). Cotton wool. Nappy Changer. Again you can buy all this cheaply. Approx £10.

1. Only buy a carseat if you will use a car or taxi to get home from the carseat. You should buy this new and can get them from £40 so don’t be pressured to buy a certain brand. They are ALL safe. If you will use a bus then your pram should be sufficient.

1. If you will breastfeed then I suggest not buying any extras / creams until you need them. But do buy 1 bottle (with teat) - can get for 1 pound from the pound shop or even for free if you join certain baby clubs, and do get some formula in case your milk takes a few days to come. Your mw will recommend ways to feed your baby so you can breastfeed too.

1. If you plan to formula feed then buy a set with a steriliser / bottles / teats and formula. You can usually get the set new for 10-20 but many second hand shops will sell them for cheaper or you can get them from friends / family. Formula is fairly expensive - approx 7-8£ for a tin.

I personally don’t think a baby bath or top and tail tub is essential as you can just disinfect the sink and use that. Also toys aren’t really beneficial in my opinion until after the 1-2 month mark.

If you know anyone who has completed their family then they will happily give you stuff.

I got given stuff and also passed stuff on to various people including people in my office. So I got given a Moses basket with new mattress and a baby bath plus various other expensive items e.g. electric breast pump, baby carriers. On the other hand I passed on my travel system which I brought on sale as my DD had grown out of the car seat by 8 months.

People will also give you vouchers and you can use them for things like new mattresses and car seats.

In regards to clothes it is better to get given stuff to find out what you do and don't like. I only bothered with cardigans once my DD was over 8 months and socks are a nightmare as she just takes them off.

Don't stock up on nappies or wipes. I had lots of size one nappies but they were too big for my DD when she was born. Also once your child gets to size 2 nappies you will find various brands fit better and this can change as your baby grows.

A note on prams.. We had a pram because my husband wouldn't use a sling and for other people to take her out.

If I was by myself, I doubt I would have ever used a pram.

We don't drive so travelling by train etc was just far too much effort with a pram! In fact, I found most things too much hassle with a pram and she hated it for months which added to the general faff.

Look into different slings though. Some are better than others.

do get some formula in case your milk takes a few days to come

Just to point out that most people’s milk takes a few days to come. This doesn’t mean you need to supplement with formula. For the first few days the baby will be getting tiny amounts of colostrum... this is normal. Milk normally comes in at around 3 days.

Personally I thought having a newborn was going to be much more expensive than it actually was! Obviously the initial purchases for nursery, pushchair etc are costly (but like others said you can find good deals and don't need to buy things that cost excessive £££) but our daughter is now 3 months old and we are managing just fine

Nearly new sales are great, as are Facebook local groups and selling groups, and Freegle/Freecycle etc.
Everyone's experience is different - I spent almost nothing on nappies as got given two sacks of reuseables, and cut squares from old flannelette pyjamas etc to use as wipes at home. Given mountains of baby clothes (teenager next door had had a baby three years earlier and we got all the outgrown stuff) including snowsuit, coats,boots,bought some at NCT sales and charity shops. Grobags and sheets ditto. Given a moses basket, bought new mattress for it, used pillowcases as sheets. Given car seats. Cot-bed, playmat/gym, musical mobile all off Ebay.
Did get a new buggy and liner for it (used until child 2 was 2), a simple bouncer, and spent money on kit to help breastfeeding--also loads of breast pads and extra bedding for me, as there was so much leakage, eventually just tying flannelette sheets rohnd my breasts at night. At least the bedding is still useful.

I actually saved money over the first year as didn't have to commute on the train and we didn't go to restaurants but either I could buy bargain food or just cook or use ready meals, so all much cheaper, even with a reasonable budget for coffees with other mums to keep me sane.

That's good advice from Teddy but I don't recommend a bottle if you plan to breastfeed. Really your milk will come when you need it, unless there is an unusual problem. The first few days you have colostrum only, and it's there to concentrate on passing immunities to the baby.

@SoyDora - a lot of women’s colostrum also takes 2-3 days (even more likely if you have PCOS or low breast tissue or an autoimmune condition). The midwife at any decent hospital will help with feeding strategies to support breastfeeding as a lot of women get scared by this.

Re not needing a pram - I did have one as well, but I lived in a 1st floor flat and got London transport a lot with DS1, the sling was more convenient most of the time!

If you breastfeed, don't spend money on nursing bras and vests (unless you need the extra support) just use seamless bras and normal vest tops and yank them down - its tricky unclipping stuff one handed holding a newborn.

My other money saving tip is to make sure anything expensive you buy (snow suits, winter coats) is unisex so you can use them for younger siblings.

Cloth nappies can be very expensive. Not sure how anyone got everything they needed for £50! - a single shaped or pocket nappy can be around £12-15 from the popular types like little lamb, tots bots, bumgenius etc, you might need around 20 of them allowing for drying time, unless washing daily. Do the maths carefully, with washing costs etc, compared to cheap supermarket disposable nappies it is NOT necessarily cheaper unless you will use for more than 1 child. Im trying it with my second and finding it surprisingly expensive. Obviously reduces plastic waste though.

Breastfeeding is cheap. You can get washable breast pads, a couple of feeding camisoles under normal tops. The bras are expensive though but overall still much cheaper than formula.

Clothes can be got 2nd hand or in supermarkets cheaply.

You need a cot (can get cheaply in Ikea etc) - and a new mattress. You don't need a separate crib or Moses basket, baby can go in a cot from day 1. Or if you buy a pram with carrycot, some are safe to use for sleeping in at night.

You don't need to spend on a cotbed - an old school (slightly smaller) cot is cheaper than a cotbed and a toddler can go straight from a cot to a single bed later on. Cotbed sized bedding for toddlers is often also a rip off, far more choice in single bedding.

Don't scrimp on a car seat, this might be one of the more expensive things you need, at least £100 & could be up to £300.

Pram - I wish I had got one second hand. I bought a brand new expensive travel system and definitely haven't used it enough to justify the cost. I recommend a sling eg close caboo type thing, used far more than pram.

We just had a basic sound only baby monitor.

True re milk coming in. A newborns tummy is tiny and only needs colostrum for a few days until mature milk arrives. You don't need to supplement with formula until it comes in, if you did the human race would have died out a long time ago.

I recommend going to the baby box co website and doing their free course - you get a baby box as a reward. Its been so useful- great place for baby to sleep, especially during the first few months (we used it downstairs so I didn't have to take DD upstairs for naps, but could also be used in place of moses basket) and now she's outgrown it,it gets used for clothes and toys. You also get a few free samples and vouchers as well which is always useful!

I agree that lots can be bought second hand or cheap but i disagree with the poster who has said all car seats are safe. The minimum standards are quite shockingly low and there are some awful seats on the market. Ideally you want one from a manufacturer that does additional testing. Joie does some reasonably priced ones that have been subject to additional crash testing.

Also, don't go mad buying clothes for the first 3 months - we found we were overwhelmed with people buying outfits for her when she was born, and there were so many she didn't have a chance to wear.

We went second hand for everything except the pram (which DM kindly bought for us) and the car seat. I got a cot for £10, bundles of clothes from ebay, changing bag for £2 in charity shop. They're in it for a such a short time that everything is practically new.

I've got a 3 and 1 year old. In hindsight I would have:

• saved up to buy reusable everything- nappies, breast pads, wipes. It's a large upfront cost but then cheap there on.

• basic wardrobe of sleepsuits, vests, a few joggers/leggings and a few tops/jumpers. Now both are older I buy new stuff in the next sale for coming ages/sizes and then bundles on Facebook for scruffs.

• gotten all toys/furniture off local free sites and second hand. Seriously it's all plastic or wood so wipes clean.

• I would have chosen a different pram. We got the icandy all terrain, somewhere in the region of £1000. Absolute pig to push and all about the logo, with a resale value of £150 if I'm lucky. It's wank. We then got a combo of out n about 360 (£350) and babyzen yo-yo (£350), both of which I have used constantly, day in day out and is fabulous. If I was to sell both today I'd probably get about £200 and £250 respectively so much less depreciation.

We spent a total of £1000 buying everything but it totally doesn't have to be that much!

We bought a nice cot that converts into a toddler bed so that was a fair chunk of the money. You could always just buy a bedside crib (which we also bought) and not even worry about a cot at all until baby is a bit older so that the cost is a bit more spread out. Also obviously buying a cheaper cot saves money!

Don't go mad buying clothes. All newborns really need are vests and sleep suits and you'll probably get loads of clothes given to you as gifts anyway.

Reusable wipes have been a real money saver for us. Wish we'd started sooner (we still use throw away wipes for poo / outside the house). We used cotton wool and warm water for all newborn nappy changes though just because we figured it would feel nicer for the baby than a cold wipe.

Good luck!

Hmm. No. Not really. I'd say they get pricey from about 3.

I hardly bought anything, new or second hand for my youngest. I'd figured by that point that newborns dong actually need much. Didn't even get him a Moses basket as the others spent about a grand total of a week in theirs.
Teenagers are ££££££££££££££££ though.

Don't* not dong! Haven't seen one of them in a while (sorry)

It's the cheapest age of any human. People say they've spent 000s, but that's their choice to buy a £1000+ pram, new everything, hundreds of little outfits, etc. And that's fine if you have the money and enjoy spending it that way. If you don't, it's completely fine.

Some examples - I wouldn't be without a pram, got a great condition icandy off Facebook marketplace for £100. There was plenty of others on there even cheaper, some are given away free. Second hand ergo sling (used once but the person didn't like it) for £20. Change table second hand, £20. Clothes - got so many as gifts, also got a garage bag full off ebay for £5.

I ff, which some say is expensive but I don't agree. It's £10 per tin, a tin lasts 1-2 weeks, 5 days for an older baby. Try feeding any other human for £10 for 1-2 weeks!

Depends on how picky you are I guess. If you want a fancy pram, you’re going to pay more even for a second hand model. If you don’t mind a more bog standard pram then you’ll pay less.

Same goes for clothing, I’d personally buy mostly second hand because they’re only in the clothes for a month or two. I’ve never bothered with fussy outfits, babygrows and leggings and tshirts are fine.

I use reusable nappies which I bought bit by bit throughout the pregnancy.

Breastfeeding is free unless you wish to express then you need a breast pump (most come with a bottle or two). Formula is more expensive, I’ve never used it personally but saw the prices in the supermarket and nearly fell over!

You can get most baby products cheaply if you do your research and don’t mind second hand stuff. They don’t have to cost the Earth, that happens when they start school!

how long is a piece of string

I got a Moses basket from a charity shop for £2. Clothes were mainly hand me downs. I bought a baby carrier for £80 (we only had a tiny flat and no place for a pram), didn't need a car seat because we didn't have car.

the only regular expense were nappies but we bought supermarket own brands so not very expensive.

I know others who spent thousand on new borns (pram, nursery, clothes, bottles and all equipment that goes with it).

by far and large the biggest expense was the loss of my income. Not the cost of some nappies itself.

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Living in inner London esp, kids are expensive full stop. If u wanna give your kids a decent life ie.. holidays abroad, nice clothes, experiences, decent bday parties, it all costs. A flight anywhere for a couple is expensive yet alone a fam of 4. We decided against kids for that reason. If we had kids I’d want them to have a good life and sadly with our income it’s not possible and wud be unfair on the kids.
So to answer the op yes a baby is expensive.