Expenditure before birth & in first year

[JackJack84]

Hi all I'm currently 20 weeks pregnant & just trying to plan financially for baby costs before birth & in their first year. Would love to know what you spent money on?

We are so lucky that we have so far been given a pram with travel system, cot bed, Moses basket, next to me crib, clothing, blankets, nursing chair, baby bath & bouncer. I still have little things I need to buy like nappies, pads for me, thermometers etc.

I'm hoping to BF so hopefully won't need to buy formula. I'm guessing the biggest expenditure will be childcare, I'm getting 6 months full pay from work then will return full time 3 days a week.

What did you find you spent the most on & are there any costs that you weren't expecting?

TIA x

I pay less than £100 a month for activities for both my 8yo and 10yo! (Cricket, swimming and Cubs)

Another vote for cheeky wipes - I think it's about £40 or so for the kit and I bought an extra pack of 20 wipes and they're just great. 9 months on and we've saved a fortune on disposable wipes! We also bought some for weaning so for wiping hands/face after meals. We do keep those separate from the bum ones 😂

Also another vote for the IKEA high chair. You'll be amazed at how messy they are and it's so easy to wipe clean. We paid an extra £20 for a footrest as that's meant to be beneficial.

I also live in the NE and pay £50/day for nursery which includes all meals. As long as both parents are in work and making something like £150/week minimum, you are eligible for tax-free childcare. So you pay 80% of the monthly fees and the gov tops up the other 20%.

I would definitely get a thermometer. I have a braun in-ear one. Obviously you can tell when they're warm but I had to take my daughter to A&E with a 39.5 temp a few weeks ago and it kept me sane being able to check her temp through the day/night for a few days after.

If you are interested in cloth nappies/wipes Cubs n Foal has 40% off of everything at the moment as they are closing down. The code is SALE40. I ordered a load of stuff two days ago and it’s already arrived with free shipping.

[quote 21Bee]@JackJack84 out of all of the classes we’ve done swimming is the one I’ve found best. Ours is £15 for a 30 minute lessons but my daughter can turn over onto her back, kick holding onto a float and can get to the wall and climb out. Baby sign language was pretty good too because she knows the signs for things like milk and signs different things she wants.[/quote]

Swimming lessons is a must for me. I was a total water baby so I want DC to get used to the water quickly. When can you start swimming lessons? After vaccinations?
I'm very lucky in that DP is a BSL teacher so he's got the signing covered. I'll need to catch up otherwise they'll be having conversations & I'll have no clue what they're saying haha

@ChocOrange1

On top of part time nursery baby classes, swimming and play groups are £100+ a month. Crikey, we do one class which is £4.50 a week and apart from that I take her to free toddler groups at the church or community centre and stick a quid in the donation tin

These sound like my kind of classes 😁

@ZoChan

A childminder is Ofsted registered to look after your child in their home. We need to be first aid trained, have safeguarding food hygiene and other child development courses under our belt. A babysitter is usually in your own home for an ad hoc agreement. You cannot legally pay for childcare to someone unregistered in their home for over two hours, so if you were planning on paying family, think about how you can do that (pay for dinners out, treats etc instead of cash)

Thank you for explaining this. I was confused cos all of the childminders on the site I looked at are registered etc. but the prices for babysitting are higher than childminding. But I guess if they're coming to my house that would explain it. I doubt the grandparents will want to be paid so that shouldn't be an issue.

Thank you to everyone who gave suggestions for reusable nappies/wipes. I'm definitely going to get some wipes but I'm undecided on the nappies at the moment. We have a nappy library nearby so I'm planning on going for a visit to see how I feel about them!

You don't need to wait until after vaccs to take them swimming 🙂 I think my water babies leader said the youngest baby she'd had was 2 weeks old or something 😮 I personally think it's easier starting when they can at least hold their head up!