Here's how much I spent on my baby’s first year
“Can we afford this baby?” is one of the first questions an expectant parent will obsess over. At least it was for me. As excited as I was for our first child, anxiety quickly grew as I began to wonder: Should we move? Can we afford childcare or will it make more sense for me to stay home? What are all the things we need to buy to prepare for this child?
In the US, an average middle-income family will spend $12,000 to $13,000 on their baby’s first year of life, according to a recent report from the US Department of Agriculture. Our family spent a bit more — around $15,000 — which makes sense since families in Northeastern cities reportedly have the highest child-rearing expenses.
To get a good idea of what you can expect to shell out in your child’s first year, I’ll break down where all our pennies went.
Get ready to change diapers non-stop, around the clock
Let me give you the inside scoop on dirty diapers: Until I had my first child, I had never changed a single diaper in my life. So going through 20 to 30 diapers a day with our newborn came as a shock.
Fearing something was very wrong with our baby, I called our pediatrician in a panic and quickly learned that until the baby’s digestive system settles down – sorry to be graphic – every fart is actually a poop. And you have to change your child after every passing of gas because if you let anything sit there too long, your baby’s tender skin will have to endure a painful diaper rash for days.
In that first year alone, we went through 4,800 diapers! It sounds outrageous, but it’s actually the average amount; most babies go through 8,000 diapers from birth to being potty-trained, as reported by DiaperDecisions.com. For us, the total cost for one year of diapers and wipes came to $1,300.
Big-ticket baby items you’ll need
Yes, you’re giving birth to a VIP baby, but there’s no need to buy a crib fit for “MTV Cribs.” Remember, retailers know how easy it is to play on your emotions when shopping for your precious new one, and all the cribs on display inside a store will be a lot fancier than what you really need. So it’s best to leave the store behind and find a better deal online.
Instead of tucking my child into a brand-name bed, I went for a modest one on sale and tucked some money away for his college education. We bought this crib from Walmart for $179; it has storage underneath, offers adjustable heights for the mattress, and transitions into a toddler crib, too. (The price has since gone up to $250.)
Stroller prices can also range quite a bit — from hundreds to thousands of dollars. But I ended up spending $242 for a Graco carrier that also doubles as a carseat. For safety reasons, you should always get a brand new car seat. The model for the car seat carrier I bought has been discontinued but there are plenty of similarly priced “Snap n Go” carriers you can buy.