Budgeting in advance for Mat Leave

[cathie95]

Hi guys,

I have just found out I'm pregnant and I'm trying to update my budget and monthly spend.

I'm due June next year and want to ensure I am financially prepared as much as I can be.

Would anyone be willing to share how much they spend on the below with a newborn through to 9 months?

1. nappies and wipes
2. formula
3. baby classes

I am going to buy most things second hand apart from a car seat and crib mattress so that we can keep our costings down.

A few other questions I have (for a first time mum who has no idea!!)

1. is it true I need to look into nursery's and book a place for the baby whilst I'm still pregnant?

2. Have many of you gone back to work full time after mat leave?

3. Has anyone been on sertraline whilst pregnant? I am currently and have booked an appointment to see my GP to talk about this and am worried I will be pushed to come off it.

Sorry for all the questions, my head is spinning and I'm trying to write down as much as I can to help me digest it all!

Thank you in advance
Cathie xx

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I found child benefit covered nappies/wipes and formula until he was about 10 months and he was eating basically whatever I cooked. I used to by the months worth with it when it got paid into my bank.

baby classes I can't help with as I had a covid baby. I had saved though £1000 for swimming/classes etc for when on Mat leave.

I went back to work full time. I personally wanted part time but my job was unable to be down part time after covid. Currently looking at applying for a term time job though.

we bought a lot brand new but I personally would buy everything (apart steriliser/bottles/mattress/car seat) second hand next time. X

1. nappies and wipes
2. formula

Really hard to answer, as nappies and formula are bought with the shopping. And it depends what brand you want. We’ve bought three big boxes of water wipes from Amazon in the space of nine months. We get through a formula box every week. But also, she eats a LOT of Ella’s Kitchen baby food, and has done since 5 months old. She gets through four pouches a day. It’s not cheap. There are cheaper ways to feed babies of course, but I wanted convenience, 100% organic and lots of variety.

I didn’t do baby classes, but you can look at your local ones and get an idea. You might find some are free.

I am going to buy most things second hand apart from a car seat and crib mattress so that we can keep our costings down. Great, but don’t buy too much, even if it is second hand and cheap. I bought big bundles on Facebook, but most of it was useless and all I really should have done was buy a few packs of good quality baby grows and vests from M&S. Would have spent a lot less and had no junk.

Is it true I need to look into nursery's and book a place for the baby whilst I'm still pregnant? YES.

Have many of you gone back to work full time after mat leave? I will be going back full time in a few weeks, baby will be 11 months old. In some ways, I wish I’d gone back sooner. I’m planning on taking 7 months with baby 2.

Has anyone been on sertraline whilst pregnant? nope.

Congratulations and good luck!

Congrats! We estimated in advance with this to help with budgeting https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/blog/life-events/what-is-the-average-cost-to-have-a-baby

Nursery place - yes - but you don't need to stick with it. It's common where I am to reserve at a nursery and also keep your options open. We reserved at a nursery when I was still pregnant for a £50 deposit. We are with a childminder who I love and so lost the deposit, but having the nursery as back up meant we didn't have huge stress, so I'm glad we did it.

Nappies/formula/food. Is quite flexible. After the first newborn months we used own brand nappies, wipes and pouches and find them great and cheap.

Full/part time - up to you if you can afford it. Of my friends most went back full time. Often nursery is not much more expensive for a week than for 4 days and so it can cost a lot to go down to 4 days if you are earning enough to cover the childcare fees. Whereas some may not earn enough to cover the childcare, in which case may drop to very part time. Lots of things to factor in to this decision! Earnings/childcare/pension/career progression

Baby classes - how long is a piece of string! I spent more than I thought on baby classes / going to coffee shops while on mat leave. Coffee shops with friends was a life saver - gets you out of the house and someone else doing the cooking and washing up. Near me baby classes are often around £10-£12 a class, paid monthly often so you pay even if you can't go. Swimming classes in a leisure centre are similar but in a "swim club" type class is double that.
But depending on where you live there is often available for a lot less. Local children's centre classes might be free or £1, and meeting friends at your/their house rather than a coffee shop.

Congratulations.

There are plenty of websites to help you with this, but there a BBC podcast (sliced bread I think) that compared reusable nappies with disposables and you save a fortune even when washing costs are factored in. Worth a listen, there are some in between options too.

Is baby's dad part of your life? What will he be contributing? In theory it should be half your lost wages or half a full time nursery place.

Due to staffing ratios it's much harder to get nursery places for babies than older children. If you want to put your baby in nursery sooner rather than later get your name down for a place.

If you are going it alone it's important to be able to continue in your career, that is protecting both you and baby.

Formula varied as baby got bigger it cost more. Nappies got cheaper as we weren't changing nappies 15 x per day more like 6-8? on average.
I reckon if you budget £30-40 per week you more than cover it plus sundries like sudocreme and wetwipes)

baby classes - your local borough will do TOTALLY free classes.baby massage, music classes etc. Churches do play groups for nominal amounts (£1 or £2) don't waste money on this unless you want to do it for you. I spent the money on going to get my own massages...!

Nurseries - I did register pre birth it was a waste of time. In my area they offered out places first come first served in September as all the babies move up rooms then so the wait list was a waste of time as I needed a Jan place.. I also thought I would 100% want a nursery BUT the nurseries were such a mess around and I had to pull out of one last minute (due to safe guarding issues) I went with a childminder which has been amazing. I had totally written them off and now would prob only use childminders especially due to care ratio.

I got the 0-12m seat 2nd hand with the pram (we bought a full travel system. It was pristine) and checked the safety stickers were intact. They barely get used. We spent £££ on the next one 15m - 4 or something???

I went back full time. It was fine. I did 4 day weeks for the first month.

I believe you can stay on sertraline but your GP will advise you.

Advice you didn't ask for.
I reduced my pension contributions to bare minimum once pregnant and saved the difference for the 8 month lead up this helped fund mat leave.
Find / get on your local what's app buying and selling groups... people are dying to get rid of their baby stuff. Try and find people locally whose baby is exactly a year older and take all their stuff in bulk.

You’ll need a packet of nappies a week on average so budget for the cost, if you start putting £12 away each week for that now it’ll see you through a long way into your maternity

formula is more expensive, a tin will last 6/6 days & is average £12

so putting £15 away each week from now would go a long way into your maternity leave

baby classes, be picky and use stay and plays which are more social and friend making. £10 a week would cover a class. Look at the library for rhyme time and online for different less expensive stuff. The £10 could cover coffee and snack after something with other mums etc

Baby clothes

concentrate on 3months + clothing, as newborn stuff majority will be gifted

1. About £30 a week for all should work.
2. I breast fed so didn't use formula, and then home made ds' food so no baby pouches etc.
3. I didn't do baby classes except NCT
4. Yes
5. I returned to work after my year, and was made redundant first morning. They'd given my job/team to the sales director's wife! Then spent a year fighting a discrimination case. Make sure you have family legal insurance BEFORE you tell work you are expecting. My £20 premium saved my £60,000 in legal fees. Once that was finished I took another full time role.
6. I didn't take anti-depressants. I found outdoor exercise worked better for me.

I started my pregnancy on 50mg sertraline and then increased steadily to 150mg by the time my baby was born. Very nice that outdoor exercise was enough for a PP but for some people need meds and that's just fine ❤️