How much does it cost to raise a baby under 12 months?

[hermitzero]

I'm going to decide how long I'll take maternity leave soon and I think I should consider my financial situation.

I know how much I spend on food and necessary things for me but I don't know how much more I would need after my baby is born.

It may be different depending on whether I breastfeed or etc. I just want to know the average cost of raising a baby. This includes baby formula, diapers, clothes, shampoo and etc.

Any comment would be appreciated.

More than you would expect.
It depends how you plan to do things. If you're buying clothes from next or m and s then a lot. If you're buying from Facebook then less.

How long is a piece of string really. Even if you breastfeed, you might spend a lot in clothes you can feed in and still express so have the expense of bottles etc. If you formula feed, you might find your bay really takes to solids at six months and don’t need much milk or it could be the opposite.

I’d say the opposite, less than you expect.

Once you’ve got the ‘big baby buys’ like pram, cot, clothes and mulsins or whatever before they’re here, nappies are cheap 100 ish from Asda for £4.95 and we went through 15/day in first few weeks then 8 ish a day even if you average that as 10/day that’s £15 ish on nappies/month. Wet wipes we go through like wildfire, a box of 18 from Amazon for £18 which lasts 2 months ish. One bottle of bath stuff has lasted us his whole life so far, he’s nearly 10 months old. One pot of Aveeno because he was overdue and his skin was cracked.

Breastfeeding will cost you a few extra snacks and maybe a top(?). Milk is about £11/tin for standard formula and 800g is lasting us 10 days at 10 months old. I don’t know how much they have in the beginning someone else can prob explain that.

So what’s that nappies, wipes and milk for £80-90. Say £100 to be conservative not including clothes but those would have to slot in with your budget anyway, Facebook market place to John Lewis and everything in between.

I went into it thinking babies would be incredibly expensive and I just haven’t found that.

Tin of formula £10 weekly
Baby shampoo/wash can pick up for £1 and lasts awhile
Nappies depends on brand but average £3/4
Wipes 50p
Once weaning you can make your own or can buy like 6 pouches for £2/3 I think it is.
Clothes depends what you like etc H&M do lovely baby clothes and very reasonably priced.

The significant cost will be any loss of income through your mat leave, my work pay 3 months full pay and then it’s smp.
Then returning to work the cost of childcare- these are the costs to consider, everything else can be sourced second hand, you can breastfeed etc.

That was meant to say £80-£90 a month*

Agreed with above poster, you’ll get £80 odd child benefit a month which I used to buy baby his things for the month.

Very little potentially - second hand cloth nappies, breastfeed, purée/chop ordinary food, charity shops for clothes. We coslept too.

I honestly think mine cost me next to nothing once I had the initial outlay but I was on a low income and looking back pretty earth mothery

£500 a month or around £20 a month. It depends on the parent. It is possible to spend very little. Clothes and toys can often be collected for free on free cycle. Nappies and wipes £10-15 a month. Formula is expensive though maybe £40 a month. Breastfeeding obviously free. Weaning needn’t be too expensive.

You say diapers which makes me think you’re American. Unless you live in the U.K. you would be better off asking on an American site - it will give you very different answers (and very different maternity leaves!).

Assume 10 baby grows and sleepsuits for each size, bibs, muslins or other sick cloths, winter suits for appropriate sizes, nappies (8 a day for first 3 months reducing to 6 for the next 9 months) reusable can be cheaper but you've got to be able to manage the washing and drying, I change mine on a tea towel on the rug (and did the previous 2 dc), a carseat if you drive (Facebook is fine but some would object), a sling (I wouldn't bother with a buggy), somewhere for baby to sleep (you might co-sleep but still need appropriate bedding), breastfeeding is free but you will probably need new bras due to changing breast size and v neck t shirts for easy access or formula (no idea how much that costs but £££), you'll probably want some money for toys and books (I'd budget a minimum of £50 and get most 2nd hand), plus any activities you want to do if they're back on, a decent rucksack/bag (to fit nappies, clothes change for baby and possibly you, snack, drink and any other "essentials")

That's probably quite a minimalist list compared to what you may get from others. I'm on dc3 and don't want piles of (mostly useless) crap filling up my house

I don't and didn't use baby soap/shampoo. Food from 6m costs very little as they barely eat anything - I just gave mine bits off my plate

The biggest cost is the loss of your salary.

Then the big purchases - cot, oram, car seat, buggy.

After that I have was given so many clothes as gifts I really didn't but much in the first 6 months.

I breastfed so the only cost was a pump and a few bottles fir when I wanted a break. (£50).

I did blw weaning so food was next to nothing as they ate what we did and we didn't get sucked into buying special baby foods.

I spent quite a little on going to various baby groups and lunches out with my mum and sister.

You also get given a lot. Often from people you wouldn't expect but they're done with having babies and happy to pass stuff on.
The only thing I'd buy new are car seat, moses basket and nappies.
Everything else second hand tends to be great quality.

I forgot - nappies. They cost a lot and you need tons.

We breastfeed, cloth nappy and cloth wipes so daily basics not much.
But we still spend a fair amount I think. All baby basics bought before born but since he has been born:

Highchair, clothing 3-6, 6-9,9-12 months, weaning bits, toys, books, storage, rug, etc etc

Prob around an extra £100 per month

since 6 months our grocery bill has increased a fair bit.

You can almost everything secondhand - ask around, look on local selling sites, go to boot sales or jumble sales. If you let it be known that you would be happy to accept hand-me-downs, you will find that friends and family will start offering you stuff for free.

The child benefit covered DS for the first year unless I needed something big like an off road buggy. Which in the end was very cheap in a charity shop. Don't waste money on crap clarkes shoes, Asda and Sainsbury's do very good ones for a fraction of the price.

Everyone is going to have completely different answers for this because some people just do spend more on things than others. Essentially you can do it very cheaply or spend loads x

Super cheap !!!! Never stress about the baby days.
Worry about the teen years thats when they cost a lot

I found it cost less than I thought.

Yes, sling, car seat, buggy and cot were expensive (though the sling was £80, the cot was from Ikea, and the £150 Joie car seat is still in use four years later, so the buggy was the biggest extravagance).

We used cloth nappies and I breastfed. So that didn’t cost much. Once he was weaned it was even cheaper because he would just eat my food.

Clothes-wise, DM turned up with a new baby outfit every time I saw her! Once DS was crawling, most of his clothes were from H&M, with a few bits and bobs from M&S and John Lewis. Their toddler clothes are super cute, and also very practical and cheap.

I did spend a reasonable amount on baby swimming, post-natal yoga, Hartbeeps etc, but that was totally for my own benefit to give my week some structure/get me out of the house.

Hardly anything, they don't get expensive until later! If you source nearly new second hand things it's very inexpensive. However, they are eye wateringly expensive once they hit teenage years.

Breastfeeding is free, you can pick up second hand baby clothes fairly cheaply. Second hand pram. And nappies and wipes are fairly cheap, especially at Aldi.

The two things I wouldn't skimp on are a new mattress for whatever you get for them to sleep in and a new car seat. The extra washing costs should be factored in. My laundry pile was huge.

Make your own weening foods and then get them used to a mashed or puréed version of whatever you are eating.

Everything can be bought new, but you really don't have to. As PP has said, your child benefit will cover what you need.

I'm taking a year's mat leave, so I have 3 months completely unpaid and a few more on around £600 statutory mat pay. So far it's been fine...you can buy things very cheaply if you're prepared to buy 2nd hand. I gradually stocked up on pretty much everything I'd need for the whole year while I was still earning - so a year's worth of clothes bought in bundles on eBay and Facebook, lots of formula tins (not for the whole year but I had a good few months' worth), plus all the big purchases like cot, pram, car seat, toys etc.

Baby clothes cost me around £40-50 for each age range 2nd hand - that includes everything they need (lots of sleepsuits, vests, day clothes, socks, hats, pramsuits/jacket etc).
I use cloth nappies, initial outlay was around £300 for all the nappies, liners, wet bag etc. You can get them second hand but I preferred to buy new.

So now I only spend about £60 a month....all we buy is formula and baby food (you can make your own purees but I've been really busy lately so the jars are handy).

I would advise anyone to prep as much as they can while still being paid, if possible.

Too much.

I stock up on things that keep before baby arrives to spread the initial cost or it feels like you've been robbed in the 1st few months. Never ever totted up the cost tbh though. I think the most noticeable cost was formula which was around £10 a week per baby and increases by about 50% until you wean then it starts to go back down.

The baby shampoo made me laugh. My son is 3 and we've only just used all the baby shampoo people gave us before he was born.