So you had a baby.. POLL

Congrats, my daughter just turned 1 a few weeks ago. I actually wasn't "financially stable" till after my daughter was born. My current boss offered me a full time with benefits job a month after my daughter was born, but before that I was working two jobs. We are lucky enough to have family in town that watches my daughter 3 days a week while my fiance goes to school and my fiance is able to stay at home other times. We are fortunate enough to get medical coverage through the state for our daughter (especially since our daughter racked up a 1/2 million dollar bill while in the hospital).

We have just cut back on our spending of non essential items and said goodbye to a savings for now. We have used credit cards a little, but try to stay away from them as much as possible.

$1000 for all the expenses should be more than enough depending on the cost of daycare and medical bills. Formula is expensive if you have to go that route and diapers and clothes never end. It sounds like you are starting off right and should be do great financially. Now all you have to do is survive the lack of sleep.

 

Yeah, don't get me wrong. I have NOTHING against people having kids. although alot of people seem to get pissy when I tell them were not. Oh well, to each his own.
My wife and I just dont have the patience for it.
I'm not really the father type.

 

My wife and i had our first child when we were young and I was only making $10 / hour. We got by alright. Just had to make a few sacrifices.

 

The first baby comes when she/he is ready. All the rest take 9 months.

Kids are expensive but be nice to them; some day they will be picking your rest home.

 

Thanks for the input!

I found out through work my insurance is only going to be $86 more a month to add the little one with excellent copay of $20.

 

We cut back on non essentials and took a second out on the house, this allowed Sue to stay home with the baby for the first year.

 

I don't have a child but I wanted to say congratulation on the new addition! Very happy for the two of you!

 

Providing a happy secure positive environment for a child is very entertaining. Much more rewarding than whatever is being spent on other entertainment. Priority shift for sure. Don't sweat it, do what you can and enjoy it. I don't regret trading dreams of pro surfing or mt biking & whatnot for the dream come true of having children. Becoming a responsible parent and being down with what matters most when innocent lives are dependent on you is a shift that is well worth it. It is what people make of it and will determine your childs future. Big things to consider. Accept the challenge, be headstrong about it and it will be nothing but joy. Sorry for the heaviness but it is what it is..........just had a granddaughter so I'm kinda in a heavy place about now.

 

I don't know how it works, but she's been feeling like it may be a miscarriage... she said she no longer feels the symptoms besides being a bitchy mood. She def needs to get out the funk... it's bringing me down.

We'll find out Tuesday.

 

Hoping not on the miscarriage thing. Some handle pregnancy better than others. It'll be full spectrum of moods, all in the same day or hour even. Give a pass on this. Try to imagine where she's coming from having all your shit rearranged inside and weird chemical mixes going on in her head. Sucking it up and being there for her will benefit you afterwards and you'll have mucho favor points built up.....not to be used against her of course. If I had could've been a bit more compassionate, I can see where it could have been less hell. This coming from hindsite of course. Good luck...........

 

umm you would KNOW if its a miscarriage...

it feels like death. not everyone has symptoms of pregnancy

 

My comment is towards the breast feeding over formula comments. Obviously breast feeding is better for the child rather than the man made foods. However it is important to consider the health of the mother. If momma isn't eating well and in good physical health then the baby is getting that and in that case formula is sufficient. Just something to consider.

Oh and babies/kids are great.

 

Yea, I tried telling her that. My sister just had her baby last year. I asked her to give the wife a call to give words of encouragement. My wife is actually on sick leave because she was breaking down at work from the stress. Hopefully she can get over it because she will be out of sick leave and no vacation time as a teacher. I'm worry about money now.. LOL

 

look it up on line and show her the symptoms, its no easy thing to go through

 

Daycare will be the biggest thing determining the monthly costs. Our son just turned 1 a few weeks ago. We pay $185/week for daycare, and that is out of someone's house. You can't touch a daycare center around here for under $275/week.

We were fortunate to have good insurance that covered 100% of the delivery and $0 co-pay for check-ups, so I can't comment much on how much that will cost. I think the delivery would have cost us about $5,000 if it were out of pocket.

I suggest getting the formula at Target. We did a lot of research and the Target brand is pretty much the same as the name brands, but a lot cheaper. Also, buy the powdered formula, not the pre-mixed liquid type.

We found the best place to get diapers is at a Sam's Club/Costco type place. Surprisingly, we get better prices there than at Wal-Mart.

Someone already mentioned clothes - get them on clearance. Early on, they will only wear them a couple times. Around here, people frequently set up activities where it is basically mothers selling their no longer needed baby items and clothes. For our son's first 4 months or so, we didn't may more than $2 for a single complete outfit by going that route.

The last piece of advise is based on what you say about your current financial status, I wouldn't stress too much about it. You may look at finances now and say wow, where are we going to find $1,000 - $1,200 a month. Somehow, when you don't have an option but to come up with the money, you find a way to make it work.

We stopped eating lunch out, buy our groceries from multiple stores to get better prices (we currently spend about $100/week for the three of us), you won't have time to go to the bars as much, etc...

Also, our tax refund went up by $2,500 last year because of having a kid. Since our son was born in October, we didn't have but a month of daycare expenses, so I expect it will go up more again this year.

 

Have you looked into child care??

I we have three kids 8 months, 2 and 4. Our "out of pocket" childcare is 1600 a month alone.

That's the biggest factor by far. We have friends that get free child care from grandparents etc.. and they don't know how lucky they are!

 

We hear the heart beat today!

And I haven't looked too much into day care. I am trying to get my sister to do it...

 

congratulations! We just found out a few days ago that my wife is pregnant, about a month along. So I'm right there with ya!

 

Got a 3yr old and one on the way.

Advice for ya.

#1. Clothes are only worn 3 times. Dont spend 10 bucks on a baby shirt. 25 cent clearance stuff is great. Target/jcpenny have awesome clearance stuff. Plan ahead. Go now and buy stuff for summer. then in spring, go and buy the stuff for winter.

#2. Breast milk is awesome. If your wife/gf can handle it. If she has trouble, formula is fine. My first was 2 months breast milk then 10 months formula. He's sharp as a tack. Sign up for similac/enfimil cooupons online. Sign your mom/dad/sister/brother/neighbor up and have them give you the coupons too. You'll need them.

#3. Everybody is going to tell you how to raise your kid. Talk it over with your wife now and figure out how you guys want to raise it. Discipline? Sleep routine? etc. Stick to it and dont let Mom/grandma get you upset because they know how raise kids and you dont.

#4. TAKE TURNS AT NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!! You get up monday, she gets up tuesday, etc. We made the mistake of both getting up for our first. We were BOTH dog tired for 4 months straight.

#5. Maybe the most important. Take time for yourself. 10 mins a day/3 hours a week/something. You'll go crazy if you dont. It wont hurt you to watch the kid for 3-4 hours while she goes shopping or out with her friends. Vice Versa. And make time for the 2 of you. Dont let the sex life die just because you have a baby.

My .02 for what its worth.


Oh yeah, Amazon has awesome deals on diapers. Sign up for amazon mom. Buy your diapers there with subscribe and save. You save 30%. Once you get your shipment cancel the subscribtion. Then when you need more, subscribe and save again. another 30% off.

If you go formula, Target has the best deals on formula. Our son wouldn't drink the cheap stuff. Kept spitting it up. After switching 5 times, we finally found Similac Sensitive worked for him. target usually had 3-4$ off sale price, and we usually had 2-3$ off coupon. So 23$ Formula cost us around 16$.

 

well said kris!