What is the minimum weekly budget for a baby?

[DonnaLlyn]

By the time I give birth, I will not be a student any longer, but I will have even less income because I will be without student loans.

I have a part time job, and my partner works, but we really are going to be dirt poor.

I'm trying to budget right now, so I need some help figuring out how much this baby is going to cost. How much do you thnk is the minimum that I ill spend weekly on the baby? Please don't count one-off purchases like cots and prams - that will be taken care of by my mother in law.

I am going to do everything as cheaply as possible, including cloth nappies, and breast feeding at least until 6 months old.

Do you mean clothes, food once past 6 months etc? Or do you mean extra heating costs etc?

Tbh babies cost very little unless you have extra expenses for special milk or hospital visits etc.

I would also take people up on their offers when they ask what you need for baby so that you dont end up with lots of gifts you dont need. Also- ask around family and friends for clothes to borrow that you can give back to them. Borrow as much as you can really and try charity shops/ boot sales/NCT sales for anything you cant borrow.

I mean general food and supplies, from birth onwards, just so I can budget myself as much as possible.

I'm surprised to hear you say that they don't cost so much. I made a post on the pregnancy forum earlier and got a huge backlash for asking about prices of the ultrasound scan photos. I thought £10 was a bit steep for a bit of paper and made the mistake of saying so, and everyone kept saying that the cost of the baby when it came along would make me feel differently, and I bgan to panic that I wouldn't be able to take care of my baby with my low income.

Watching with interest as our income has taken a battering due to my sickness during pregnancy and the drop in wages to mat allowance!

If BF works well for you and using cloth nappies it should be easy to keep costs down we are formula feeding and figuring roughly £10 per week on a tub of powder and possibly £10-£15 per week on nappies!
I could be wrong as this will be my first baby,it may go through more or less nappies than anticipated same with powder.

For cloth nappies cheaply, look at unbranded pocket nappies (from ebay) with microfibre inserts (cleaning cloths from the pound shop or the supermarket). You will also need liners which is either an ongoing cost (paper type which you may go through a roll every two weeks at first, or cut up a thin fleece blanket for fleece ones). That's probably the easiest cheap nappy type. You will probably want a bucket (these days nobody soaks them, just puts them in a dry bucket), Boots do them. You can get at least 2 or 3 of these types of nappies for the cost of a standard packet of Pampers.
But for a smaller newborn look at prefolds (flat nappies) plus wraps (modern waterproof outers).

There are slightly easier ways to do cloth nappies but this is probably the easiest cheap way.

You'll use a bit extra washing powder but you can buy small packets from the £1 shop when you are skint, or when on offer in the supermarket. You'll also spend more on heating/washing.

It is pretty easy to get large bundles of not very exciting newborn clothes on Facebook groups/nearly new sales/ebay for not very much as everyone is given stuff (you probably will be too) and doesn't really want plain white secondhand stuff.

People will also give you small toys and they don't really want many of those at a young age anyway.

Things we haven't really ever used: those play arches (we strung up a bit of elastic over the Moses basket and dangled some toys from it), blankets for the pram (we did get a zip up foot muff and that would be a good one to ask for), indeed a pram (we got a Maclaren umbrella stroller, lent from a friend).

If you think you'd like to try and use a sling, go to a sling library and try a few, and then again ask for one as a present.

I'd say our main recurring purchases with DD and previously with DS are washing powder, formula, the next size of teats/bottles/pacifiers, disposable nappies for out and about though we don't use many, baby bath (but you can get Simple in the £1 shop and bigger bottles of cheaper scented stuff too), paper liners for our washables.

When we started on solids for DS we didn't buy baby specific snacks to start with but rice cakes are cheap and good for that age for out and about. We never used a blender, just mashed things with the potato masher when we needed to. You can get some of the baby specific snacks in £1 shops/Home Bargains when you get to the stage where you need something to carry around to ward off tantrums.

Most baby groups do cost something these days sadly but usually at Children's Centres and the like it's just £1.

(We get a tub of formula every Sat, and go through slightly less than one per week i.e. it's fuller every Sat than the one before).

I'd say easily that on disposables, though you can order in bulk from e.g. Amazon to get them more cheaply. A cheap pocket nappy from ebay is about £2-3 and you'll need about 20 or so not to run out - the pockets dry quite quickly but some inserts don't (bamboo inserts are more expensive and dry more slowly but are more absorbent, for example), so you may need more inserts.

We don't spend that much on nappy cream, and we also use washable wipes (better for messy nappies too, no leakage through onto your fingers. You can probably just get cotton flannels for these and keep them in an old wipes tub).

ok so formula is £10 a week
nappies asda do boxes 2 for £20 usually lasts about a month or a little less
i also bulk buy wipes so 12 in a box £10 way over a month

clothes as the pp said you can get bundles on ebay, primark also have cheap vests baby grows socks bibs fluffy blankets a muslins so have a look there
mine stayed in newborn for roughly a month/month and a half then 0-3 until just under 4months but all babes grow at different curves.

weaning obviously you will need things to wean but £ shop is great for this stuff bowls plates spoons zippy cups even some baby food
its easiest and cheapest to wean baby using home made food which is cheap

for things like teething gels and nappy creams pound land are great they also have little baby toys like rattles and other things in there

oh and if you want to buy baby toys like bouncer ect wait for the asda baby event or look on argos in the clearance section they have some great bargains
but my children have loved nothing more then things that were for them like an old remote control some sauce pans tupperware my keys obviously when they are older

also if you do formula feed then alway have enough milk with you or you will end up wasting money on those little ready made milks

In my opinions babies in general don't cost a lot ( or don't have to)

However main costs are in earnings ( maternity leave is loss of thousands and thousands in many cases), and then childcare when return. We now have one child in school and one nursery and still spend £1600 a month on childcare ( was £2600 with both in full time!)

So compared to above everything else is tiny. What I would say is get anyone who wants to buy to buy 1 year plus sizes. Once you get to 1 year people stop buying gifts so much.

For any aunts/ granny's/ friends etc who want to buy something at birthdays/ Xmas ask for vouchers for kids shoe shops! Shoes once walking ( around year old), add up as many only fit 6 months at time and can be expensive. Also ask them to buy coats/ etc that are practical

Babies can cost nearly nothing. I exclusively breastfed before 6 months, you don't actually need anything to breastfeed, you can just use normal bras and you don't need a breastfeeding pillow you can just work out how to breastfeed without pillows, people have done it for 1000s of years without pillows! If you don't plan to be away from your baby there is no need for a pump/bottles/steriliser.

We did start off with cloth nappies but we found out our local lidle does a pack of around 50 nappies for 2 pounds (when you spend over 30 pounds) we only change our child once or twice a day (as soon as he does a poo or if his nappy is bulging) modern disposables are amazing at containing wee, he never feels wet and has never had nappy rash, he only pood every 6-7 days pre 6 months, some breastfed babies poo only once a week, some poo multiple times a day) the lidle nappies actually work out cheaper than washing cloth nappies.

Clothes are cheap if you go to jumble sales and look at Facebook selling pages, avoid outfits as they are less comfy and you need a top/trousers/socks/vest, pre 6 months babies can just have a vest+babygrow.

I didn't find our heating costs went up, we did do more washing as ds was a puky baby.

You can give babies anything to play with and they'll be happy, plastic boxes, a spatular, an old plastic drinks bottle with rice in, don't worry you baby doesn't "need" a babygym, bumbo, jumperoo, playmat, bouncy chair we didn't have any of those things and ds hit all his milestones early.

The thing I would advise buying/asking for as a gift is a nice stretchy sling, I actually asked for it as a Christmas present for me and it was amazing, ds would just sleep in the sling, we didn't have a Moses basket and although my mum have us a fancy travel system ds was much happier in the sling, if you have the option I'd advise getting a pram that isn't suitable from birth and also a sling.

10 pounds is lots for scan pics, but they aren't a necessity so you don't have to buy them if you can't afford it.

After 6 months food costs a little bit, but milk stays a primary source of nutrition for a few months at least, if you choose to do baby led weaning it's just a case of cooking a few extra mouthfuls of food when you make your own dinner.

Ds is now nearly 2 and the big costs so far have been shoes and weather suitable clothing, these are unavoidable but you could ask for shoes, boots or a rain outfit for your baby's first birthday, toddlers are just happy to have a present to open they don't really care what's in it!

Our weekly food/sundries bill went up by about £20 initially (nappies, wipes, extra food as I was bf). Once DS was weaned and potty trained, we managed to cut that back to £10. So we now spend £50 per week on three of us, where it was £60 for the first year. That includes nappies, wipes, household cleaning products etc. That extra spend is mostly covered by child benefit.

I budget between £100-200 per year for everything else (clothes, toys, xmas/b-day etc).

Clothes & toys - charity shops, gifts, hand me downs. You have to buy the initial vests/sleepsuits but can get most of the rest cheaply. I'd start collecting stuff now. Moses basket - we got our first one for less than £30 from Asda and used pillow cases as sheets. Our cot was a hand me down and we paid about £80 for a decent mattress for it. You can go straight into the cot if you want and save the initial ££ for the Moses basket. Buggy suitable from birth: £50 umbrella fold that lies back (that was new, second hand would be half that price). Car seat: £30 that will last until your child is 18 months old.

Babies aren't that expensive! His child benefit covered the weekly expenses and I was bottle feeding and disposable nappy using. Odd extras like dummies, new bottles, bibs etc are not expensive in supermarkets.
Babies get expensive once you go back to work and have to pay childcare. That's the killer! Or equally the loss of earnings due to one parent not working, if that's how you choose to do it.

I'm so grateful for this thread! I graduated in July and fell pregnant shortly after so we're still trying to get income straight.
Also friends have highly recommended the boots own brand disposable nappies for most effective/cheapness and I haven't heard any complaints of leaking/rashes/sores.

Facebook groups and charity shops are also great. There's a few charity shops by me that sell baby clothes at 10p an item.

People spend stupid amounts of babies (such an easy target market ) - most of what they buy is totally non-essential. So many people won't buy/use second hand stuff for their precious baby - I work in a charity shop and we can't even give away baby clothes (even brand new with labels on ).

You really don't need to spend much on a baby ............... just don't be too proud to accept hand-me-downs - I didn't buy any baby clothes/toys/equipment for the first three or four years of my DS's life .

I think I'll be charity shopping for a lot of the newborn stuff. I love a good bargain! The only think I 100% would buy new is a coming home outfit for a baby boy. (a girl will hopefully be wearing my dress I came home in)

I spent just under £10 per week on formula.

I use disposable nappies - Pampers. They are expensive, but are on offer quite often. I got approx 104 for £15 yesterday. This supply will last a few weeks, maybe a month!

Supermarket brand nappies are fine, and much cheaper. I just prefer pampers. I imagine on a very tight budget you could get the cheapest (think tesco value) nappies on the shelf for about £3-4 a week!

Once you start weaning, solid food costs come into the equation too. You dont have to buy 'baby' food or jars of purees etc. You can give your baby literally anything you eat apart from one or two things. Research baby led weaning. Not buying 'baby' food will keep costs down hugely, youl

What a fantastic thread, I love it when MN pulls together to help instead of just going on a self righteous rant about how much babies cost.

I know this isn't answering your OP but don't be afraid to have a baby shower and put essentials on the gift wish list. Most people want to buy babies a gift anyway and some will find it helpful to know what you need.

When's your baby due?

Hit send by mistake!

But yeah, avoid baby jars and feed your baby whatever you eat as long as it is safe for them, and you probably wont notice your weekly food budget change for a while! They don't eat much for the first few months of weaning!

Tyla what a lovely idea about the dress! How nice that is been kept all this time.

Prepared baby food is a huge rip off - just give the baby whatever you are eating (within reason ) when you start weaning. I am sure it is much better for children anyway to start with 'real food'.

I had to re-read the bit about the dress - thought you meant a dress you wear now .

Also, surestart centres offer free baby groups, no need for expensive classes like baby yoga/sensory etc

My lovely mum kept all our first outfits. She also is giving me all my little brothers baby gear like cot, Moses basket, bouncy chair, swing etc. I'm not ashamed to have hand me down or second hand stuff. A lot of baby things only get used for a few months and thrown away. Seems a waste to me.

With the baby food and weaning if you're on low income you can get the fruit and veg vouchers so weaning can be practically free.

I used cloth nappies and breast feed for the first six months. Between family and friends buying and lending baby clothes I spent nothing on that. I spent nothing on milk. We spent about £5 a month on nappies (I always have a packet around in case I didn't do the washing!). In the first three months I spent a couple of pounds on infacol every fortnight. In the first six months (minus the big
Items like you said!) it didn't cost us much. Hope that helps.