How much does raising a baby cost?

[Yumnut]

I know there is no set figure but I would like to try and get an idea of how much our baby due in August might cost us per month. We are house hunting at the moment and don’t want to over commit to too high a mortgage and be pushed to afford essentials.

I’d like to try breast feeding but I’d be interested to know how much people pay per month for formula, nappies, wipes, clothes, baby classes, food once baby is 6 months old and any other associated costs that I haven’t considered.

Thanks!

How long is a piece of string. You don’t need to buy baby food. Shoes are expensive! Baby classes can be cheap ones at the local church for £2 or free at the library or £8/9 a class for expensive ones.

The biggest costs are lack of income on maternity leave and childcare costs. For us it’s having children with allergies and minor medical issues means buying vegan milk and things to deal with medical issues and hospital parking. When they get older and they want to eat expensive berries rather than just apples and banana suddenly your shopping becomes much more expensive.

Heating costs. Been at home in winter and with a baby means your heating will be on a lot more.

Things can cost a lost or not very much - it honestly depends on budget. You can buy a new pram for £800/£1000 or you can buy a good second hand one for £150-£200.

Same for cribs - new or second hand.

Same for clothes etc. etc etc.

Agree with PP the biggest amount goes on childcare - I have 2 children. One at the child minder 3 days a week, and one at pre-school (which is free as she is older than 3 and we get 30 hours funded) with child minder in the afternoon. For these 3 days each week it costs about £700 a month, but I earn just a bit more than that so it means I bring home a few hundred £ a month.

All these things are up and down, I could definitely cut back on some things and spend more on others.

Thank you, we have saved childcare fees separately and are fortunate that we don’t need to consider these in our usual monthly outgoings.

We are also very lucky to be being given a lot of hand me downs including a pram but will be buying our own car seat, cot mattress etc

It’s more the monthly essentials such as formula and nappies that I have no clue about!

I know my sister spends a fortune on her monthly grocery bill as her DD eats a lot and prefers berries etc which are very expensive at the minute!

Hard to say!
Might be an idea to sort your house/mortgage out first, we were very fortunate to get a cheap house in an expensive area that needed a lot of attention, DP is has his own trade business and I work part time with DD1 about to go off on MAT with DC2.
You can go brand new and expensive with baby things or buy 2nd hand, if your willing to put the work in there are fab bargains to be had!
Nappies I buy Aldi, they are cheap and good quality, down to personal preference!
I also breastfed and plan to do it again, yes its cheaper but also in my opinion the preferred option! However don't battle through breastfeeding if you struggle, a friend didn't enjoy feeding so exclusively pumped and fed breast milk via bottle and it's been fab for her!
I would of thought the biggest financial burden was childcare fees! How ever funded hours are becoming more accessible from a younger age so hoping that's not as expensive for as long this time!

As pp's it can be very expensive, or very cheap, depending on your lifestyle, or priorities.

I spent very little on "kit", or clothes, all passed down, bought by others , or bought second hand. I wasn't into baby classes, or NCT's, so I went to local low key groups, which cost very little, I met some nice people, and then we just met socially at each other's houses, or went for walks. I went back to work at 6 months, so then the main cost was of course nursery fees.

I formula fed, so another expense, but less nappies!

Food, zero expense, as babies always had what we had, so just ultra small helpings, pureed or mashed from previous nights dinner.

Baby-hood didn't cost much really, lots of second hand things and you don't need a lot of the nonsense that is pedalled/people will buy you things.

Teenagers cost an absolute bloody fortune.

I don't know, I never really added all that up, but tbh we didn't really feel the pinch until I went back to work and we now fork out childcare fees that are higher than our mortgage every month. Counting down the months until the funded hours kick in later this year.

It’s hard to say because you can make it as cheap or expensive as you like. For example if you buy special baby food then you’ll be spending more than if baby eats a small portion of your evening meal. For example if you’re eating shepherd’s pie for dinner then baby can eat a small portion of that.

We found it added about 20% to our shopping /utilities bill

Clothes, toys and furniture vary so much as you can get second hand or go to harrods.

The expensive bit was childcare plus bigger mortgage.

It costs whatever you choose to spend aside from the essentials

I spent very little when my children were babies, people are very generous with hand me downs, breastfeeding is free, toys etc can all be bought cheaply second hand

Id say people do it the other way round, have the baby then spend according to their budget.

Don't buy pampers. Always get supermarket own brand nappies!
They really don't cost a lot once you've got all the big bits, like cot and pram.
Shop for clothes on Vinted

Another cost woman that can be overlooked is the initial postpartum cost.
The pads, incontinence wear, the extras to help support healing (such as peri bottles and so much more if you need it ) the pads for boobs, again all down to your circumstance and preference, if you need a breast pump and milk bags, nursing friendly tops, but those initial days can cost too, maybe 100-200, maybe more?

Id say between 70-90 a month for nappies wipes formula

Formula is quite expensive at the minute but I think some supermarkets are now working on this

I always used Aldi nappies and wipes but branded like pampers and considerably more

Are considerably more*

As an idea of spending, my DD is 10 months old and she has goes through a tub of formula every 10ish days so say 3 tubs a month at 10.50 a pop. Nappies probably 4 packs a month, they're £3 for 48 in size 4. Wipes we get a box of 12 packs which is around £7 I think (I've not bought any for a while so not sure) which last ages. Clothes is completely subjective, baby classes cost me £6.50 for one and the other is included in her gym membership which is £33.50 a month. Food was costing quite a bit, we used Ella's kitchen pouches but divided them up into portions so one pouch would do multiple meals. The 7+ month ones are usually on a deal, 5 for £7 or something so X that by 3 too.

10.50 x 3 = £31.50 on formula
3 x 4 = £12 on nappies
Say about £3.50 for wipes
6.50 x 4 = £26 for baby classes
£33.50 for gym membership
7 x 3 = £21 for food
Plus a ballpark of about £20 on clothes

Totals £152.50

Agreed! Especially as they head off to uni!

Nobody can really give you a price on this, as it varies and depends on how frugal you want to be!

I personally will be buying the cheapest baby formula (Aldi) as its all the same anyway. Same with nappies, supermarket own brands are perfectly fine. Obviously if you breastfeed then u don't need to spend on formula, but don't bank on that as it doesn't work for everyone. Then there's wipes, extra heating in the winter months etc.

I've got lots of things second hand, as you don't need to buy everything new, it's a waste of money.

Will you get child benefit? That would cover some of the costs.

Find cheap/free groups. I preferred the flexibility of church run £2 stay and plays over the commitment of the £6+ structured groups. We did swimming which was around £3.50 a session. There was a great cafe near me that had a play area so I would meet friends buy a coffee/cake and toddlers could play. It all depends what is available near you as to how much it will cost in toddler groups.

My food bill was higher when mine were babies/toddlers to the now teenagers. They used to snack endlessly and I was very conscious of sugar/salt levels. So couldn't buy cheap crisps/biscuits/yogurts that I buy now as treats. Also I had less time to spend time cooking from scratch (clingy velcro baby!) so bought cheats/prepared food.

If you are planning more than one child reusable nappies can work out cheaper. You can use reusable wipes too.

Breastfeeding cost me nothing apart from the bras. When I had mine there wasn't much in the way of nursing clothes. I used the double top method. So would wear a vest top then a looser tshirt/jumper on top, lift up top one and pull down vest. Easy access feeding and can stay covered up.

You can raise a baby on next to nothing or you can go all out. If I was to give a figure I would say £150 a month, this would cover £30 for nappies, wipes toiletries. £40 socialising/groups. £50 for formula/food (obviously can be saved if breastfeeding) £20 to save towards future/larger costs. If you get child benefit that is £80ish a month for one child I think.

The first year not a huge amount - or a massive amount if you spend a fortune on clothes etc. I used tesco nappies, and for my 3rd child I used cloth. Got £50 towards them for local authority (she’s nearly 16 now so not recently). I didn’t spend a lot on baby food as cooked my own. I used cloth wipes too and made up a little solution every morning when on Mat leave and washed those with the nappies. I recommend second hand as much as you can as they go through things so fast. It’s when they get older they become more expensive

The first year was very cheap in terms of food, nappies, clothes and so on. They can eat what you eat, supermarket brand nappies, clothes are often free or cheap bundles.

The main expenses are for young children are another bedroom (particularly if you were able to houseshare previously) childcare, additional heating (if you normally keep the thermostat low), things like that.

This is so true!

I found babies can cost very little if you need to stick within a budget (excluding childcare costs).
Primary school years saw a slight increase, but once they start secondary school and hit the teenage years it does indeed cost a fortune!

We have all our baby stuff away on local Facebook groups so you can get most for free.

Just never ever ever let them near smiggle

Ever

If you really put your mind to it, you don't have to spend hardly anything. Of course, for many people paying for convenience is worth it, or they just like new and better quality things, which is fine. But in terms of weekly costs there's normally a way to spend next to nothing if you really want to. We had rabbits before our baby came along and they cost way more for some reason. Toddlers can eat what you eat. You can get second hand reusable nappies and wipes. Even a mild bar of soup is fine to wash them with instead of bottles of baby wash.

I agree with giving babies small portions of pureed or mashed regular food rather than expensive baby food, but remember babies can't tolerate salt, so cook without salt and adults can add it at the table.

Day to day on mat leave I found a lot of the costs were for me. Going to cafes to meet friends, travelling into central London to go to a specific museum when DS would have been happy locally. I don’t regret this as I am only having one and wanted to enjoy the first year with him.

I did take him to baby shows, byob pub quizzes and all that jazz but honestly a lot of it was for me to get out and socialise.

With feeding I had planned to breastfeed but due to issues postpartum I was put on pills that weren’t safe for the baby. We then had to buy formula but at 8 weeks found he had a milk allergy. Oddly if you have to use prescription milk this is on prescription for free so no costs there.

My son was generally an easy baby but some friends had real breastfeeding/sleeping/purple crying issues so spent money on breastfeeding/sleep consultants and osteopathy.