ARE BABIES EXPENSIVE OR NOT!?

[Duemarch2021]

First time mum to be here!! Can people please give me their opinions on whether a baby is expensive? I keep hearing from some friends "Oh babies are sooo expensive, you just wait and you'll see!" And then from others "Oh babies hardly cost anything don't worry" .. I've not spent much on baby so far and am 21 weeks, me and DP just can't figure out why they would cost so much? Nappies at £1 a packet and breastfeeding (hopefully) im just very confused.... one friend told me there's no way we will be able to survive on one income when the baby is born partner works full time and bills come to £500 odd a month im sure we'll manage??? X

[Lazypuppy]

Babies aren't expensive, remember when looking at nappies you'll need arpund 10 a day in the early days potentially so one packet for 70 odd is for 1 week! It gets less eventually.

Clothes wise can be done cheaply and they don't really need any toys till 3 months.

Either moses basket/next to me to start with then you'll need a cot. Just spread out the purchases.

Of and pushchair/car seat etc is normally expensive

[doadeer]

Nappies cost a bomb. Plus wipes and cream and you got through loads.

Other things I bought
Pram
Car seat
Cot
High chair
Clothes - my son grew so fast, constantly getting new stuff
Sleepyhead for naps
Breast pump and bottles
Nipple creams
Breastfeeding bras
Toys
Books
Blankets and Muslins

You can get these cheap or second hand but there are quite a few items to get.

The big hit is childcare. Its £80 a day round me.

[Horehound]

Depends what you think is expensive.
But what I can tell you is the older they get, the more they cost :)

[SqidgeBum]

In fairness @Honeyandapple Aldi nappies are 79p for a pack of 24 newborn size 1, and I found them brilliant with my DD. She is nearly
2 and I still only use Aldi. Pampers, morrisons, asda, she leaked out them all except Aldi. But, 24 wont get you very far with those newborn poo explosions.

[AIMD]

@ChanklyBore

Babies don’t need stuff, so in that way they aren’t expensive.

Babies do need 24/7 care, and in that way they are very expensive, as you need to pay someone to do this or sacrifice an income.

Babies also turn into children, teenagers and adults, which have varying levels of expense, but none are cheap.

I agree with this. Baby items (clothes/cot etc) can all be purchased cheaply or second hand.

Drop in wages due to giving up a job/going part-time or paying for childcare was a significant financial burden for us though. Also my children are only 4 and 6 now but I am already seeing how much more costly their clothes and shoes are becoming as they’re getting bigger.

[LethargicLumpOfLockdownLard]

Not at all. Wait until they hit their teens!

[MushMonster]

Plenty of replies already, so yeah babies do not need that much, pram/ car seat/ cot/ baby monitor and maybe steriliser and bottles, I think are the main ones.
Then a few clothes and toys. But they need your time, so if you live on two incomes, not working is a bug hit. Statuary maternity pay is very low. And the childcare is really expensive.
They are not that expensive when they grow up either. If you can do with one income and so avoid childcare.
But if you think in the long term, many peoples chooses to keep their career going for when they get to school, so they do not have to start again from scratch at work.

[ILoveYoga]

I always say my DC are the most expensive “free” thing I have.

[Perfect28]

As pp posters have said, it's more the childcare/loss of income at this point. Eventually they cost less in care but more in clothes/entertainment. Congrats, I'm 21 weeks too 👶🙂

[JoJoSM2]

Maternity pay is peanuts so the loss of income is a lot.When you go back to work, childcare is pricey, 1-2k a month for a nursery place.

In terms of feeding, clothing and entertaining a baby, it needn’t be costly at all.

[Monkeymilkshake]

I agree, after initial costs (that can be speard out over 9 months while you still work) babies dont need much. They also dont care if it's brand new or second hand.
Cloth nappies are also much cheaper than disposable nappies.
For breastfeeding - i dont really agree that it's free. You should get a pump for when your breast become too full (either at the begining or when weaning). Blocked milk ducks are very painful. You should also get some nursing bras and tops (i didnt really get any tops just used shirts and old jumpers... but some people prefer tops). And you'll need to eat lots of food to make milk. I'm not saying it's not cheaper than formula, just that it's not free!

Toddlers, kids and teenagers are expensive!!!

[Carouselfish]

Only come on to say nappies are indeed £1 a packet at the moment in Morrisons...And yes, it's children not babies that up the cost. shoes, food, Christmas, classes, trips, growing out of everything, toys, storage, all of it.

[TheUpholder]

Babies aren’t expensive, but loss of salary on maternity leave can be. As is childcare (or loss of earnings for one for you to stay at home). Until DD got her 30 hours free at 3 our bill was around £700 a month for 4 days per week, and that was after taking off our entitlement to tax-free childcare. They grow out of shoes and clothes annoyingly quick. I am nowhere near teenage years yet but I can see that is going to be very expensive. I’ve also spent a lot on wine

You’ll make it work, but there are other considerations other than the initial outlay for baby equipment and for nappies (I’ve never seen them £1 a packet, but I found Aldi nappies were much better than pampers and were a good price).

[OpEd]

Babies themselves are quite cheap but you need to take into account the fact you can't (usually) take them to work with you.

[00100001]

They get more expensive as they get older.

Also, consider icidental costs, like you might use the car more than before, so you're spending on petrol more. Water bottles, toys, shoes, blankets, bedding, highchairs, cutlery and crockery, playgroups, coffees put meeting people, heating on more than before, electricity use increase when on mat leave, increased washing loads etc

It can add up.

[00100001]

To be fair, new born napoies are 89p for a pack of 24.... It that will last 2 days!

[IdblowJonSnow]

It's not necessarily the stuff itself that's expensive, although it can be, it's the loss of income until they go to school or paying for childcare.

[dusselty]

Babies don't need things. I realised now that I overestimated on things that I thought I might have needed but didn't need. I used to buy those expensive Pampers nappies when really, there are cheaper supermarket nappies out there. I breastfed and didn't need formula. I didn't need to buy the nursery as DS never slept in it once, I should have just had a travel cot. With toys, my DS never played with any until he was 18 months, so what a waste. Babies don't need so many outfits, they need more onesies and vests and they are cheap in supermarket when the little one has a growth spurt. I never used pouches so I saved on that or juices, he has only had water or real juice. So no, babies aren't expensive unless you make it. Of course I'm not sure what teenage years will be like with the latest gadgets, JD Sports shopping spree and going out with friends, so I think teenage years will be more expensive.

[Learningtofeminist]

As others have said: babies aren’t expensive. Childcare (or loss of income) is expensive. Plenty of people spend a fortune on their babies but that’s a choice they make; there’s really no need to.

Join local Facebook groups for parents and you’ll be astonished what people give away for nothing. Go to ebay for the rest. Cloth nappies are a big investment up front (less if you get them second hand too) but a huge saving overall. And you can build up your cloth stash bit by bit mixing with disposables if that makes it easier (build up enough of a stash to last you 3 days and you probably won’t be doing any more laundry; cloth leaks less than disposable so you won’t be washing so many clothes). Breastfeeding is much cheaper than formula if you’re able to do it, and a £10 handheld blender saves you a fortune in baby food 😁

[Thefaceofboe]

Of course babies are expensive

[2Kidsinatrenchcoat]

The cheapest (Aldi/Lidl) newborn nappies might be around £1 a pack but they get more expensive with each size, and my last baby got through a full pack of nappies every 2-3 days for his first few weeks

[ZolaGrey]

Crack on and get back to us in 12 months.

[Ginfilledcats]

It's as expensive as you want to make it. Brand new bugaboo pram set could be £1300. Second hand lie flat buggy from fb market place could be £20. Same for everything.

Nappy thing was hilarious though, even if it's £1 for a pack of 20, until recently my 4m was averaging 10 nappies a day give it take!

[Greenhairbrush]

Nappies are actually less than £1 a pack.
79p for 24 in Aldi and they were the best we used for dd. Stocked up again for baby 2 due next month.

[Duemarch2021]

Thanks guys.. and yeah £500 odd includes our mortgage, household bills car tax, tv licence, council tax etc.. only thing is doesn't include is food/ petrol and personal outgoings for hobbies etc.. we live in North wales in a flat .. quite cheap here and yeah ive bought 4 packs of nappies so far from asda, tesco, aldi all for £1 each .. you get 25 in each pack which i assume will last about 3 days? So lets say around £10 a month? Maybe it depends which brand you buy and where abouts you live?

Were hoping not to put her in childcare for a while so hoping we can live off around £1300 a month