Deciding when to add to your family is a huge decision that includes so many factors! For many families, one of the biggest questions comes down to finances – Can we afford to have a baby? How much does it cost to have a baby? The initial medical costs aside, adding a baby to the family will come with many recurring costs. If you are not a parent, it can be hard to know how having a baby will affect your family’s finances. Let’s take a look at the real costs of adding a baby to your household and try to answer the question – How much does it cost to have a baby?

Start With Understanding Your Current Finances

The first step in figuring out if you can financially handle having a baby is to accurately look at your current finances. I am amazed by the amount of people who don’t track how they spend their money – I would go crazy! Start off by recording your spending in a household budget spreadsheet so that you see where your money goes now. 

How much does it cost to have a baby?

If you really want to freak yourself out, Baby Center has a calculator that you can use to add up the cost of your baby’s first year. Yikes! As you can see, there are a lot of ways that a having baby will change your household spending. Some of them are pretty obvious, but babies also come with some costs that you are probably not considering. 

Here are the biggest costs associated with having a baby:

The Cost of Actually Having the Baby

Prenatal care, labor and delivery, and your hospital stay are the first big costs associated with having a baby. These costs will vary by location, but the average birth costs in the US range from about $5,000 to $14,000. There are a lot of variables depending on your birth plan. You can check out the average cost by state from Time.com here.  Don’t let these numbers scare you! Your health insurance will likely cover a lot of these costs. Call your provider and ask them about coverage for prenatal care, labor and delivery, and breast pumps. As a planner, I like to always be prepared for the worst case scenario. Know ahead of time what your maximum annual out of pocket payment could be for your insurance coverage. This will keep you prepared in case of emergency, complications, and any unforeseen medical expenses for you and baby.

Insurance

On the subject of insurance, be ready for a big jump when you go from a single or couple’s plan to a family insurance policy. Our insurance costs almost quadrupled when our first child was born. Find out what your insurance premiums will be and plan for the added cost. Remember that your little one will have frequent doctor visits – both planned and unplanned – so keep that in mind when choosing a coverage option.

Baby Gear

Babies come along with a lot of stuff! The good news is that baby showers are common practice in the US, so your friends and family will help you out with the initial cost of it. Most people create a baby registry and receive the big items as gifts. If you’re on a budget to complete your baby shopping, there are a lot of great places to get baby items for a steal if they’re slightly used. Check out your local Facebook groups, resale stores, or Swap.com. Hand-me-downs from friends or family can be lifesavers when it comes to getting ready for baby! To get an idea of what you will need for baby, check out my new baby checklist. 

Maternity Leave

This one is another one-time cost, but something to save and plan for. Learn what your company’s policy is for maternity leave. In most cases, new mothers and fathers will take some unpaid time off. Factor any lost income into your financial planning for when your little one arrives.

Baby Feeding

How much it costs to feed your baby will depend on a few things. The biggest initial difference is if your baby will be breastfed or formula fed. I used this method here to buy formula from Target, and it is by far the cheapest option that I have found. Even that cost about $130 for 6 weeks worth of formula towards the end. Breastfeeding is much lower in cost, but will still add some cost for things like prenatal vitamins, supply-boosting supplements, nursing wear, and freezer bags.

Once your baby starts eating solids, there will likely be a slight bump to your grocery bills. Many people just feed their infant from their own plate to start, so the cost will start out very minimal and just keep growing as baby eats more. Even if you choose to buy baby food, your little one will eat a tiny amount to start with.

Diapers

Many parents now choose to cloth diaper to save money and the environment. If you choose to cloth diaper, the biggest cost will come upfront with purchase of diapers. After that, you will spend more in laundry costs, but otherwise your monthly costs will be minimal. If you go the disposable diaper route, plan to spend $30-$75 each month in diapers. You can offset some of that cost for the first few months by creating a diaper stockpile before your baby is born. Amazon and Target also offer subscription services that will help save on monthly diaper costs.

Other Baby Consumables

Babies are the most wasteful little people! There are many smaller items that they will go through on a regular basis that add up to a small additional cost. Wipes, diaper rash cream, lotion, shampoo and body wash, … I’d even put clothes into this category because babies go through clothes as if they are disposable sometimes! Most of these costs will be small. Clothing costs can be kept down by shopping second hand and keeping on the lookout for hand-me-downs.

Childcare

The cost of childcare will depend on the type of childcare you go with and how often you will need childcare. For working parents, childcare is one of the biggest costs associated with having a baby in your home. Resources like Care.com can help with average costs of childcare (they state a national average of $10,468 per year for one infant), but the best way to accurately budget for childcare is to make calls to some local daycare centers or nanny agencies that you would consider up to your standards. You could also ask friends or family members in the area what they pay.

Added Utility Costs

If you skimp on utilities to try to save in your budget now, a baby may change that. You need to keep your home at a comfortable temperature year round (added heating cost), you will be up at night (added electricity cost), and you will do more laundry and dishes (added water cost). These changes will most likely not be huge, but they are worth factoring in.

Is there anything you will cut out?

Becoming a parent will most likely change your lifestyle! There will probably be things that you do now that you won’t do as frequently after you have a baby – going out, hobbies, or recreational activities. You may choose to give up some of your creature comforts in order to balance the cost of having a child. The cost of a coffee shop coffee five days a week will add up to a month’s worth of diapers. A trip to the nail salon equates to a couple weeks of formula. Your priorities will change, and therefore so will your spending habits.

Government Assistance

Once your family includes a child, you may quality for government assistance programs that you did not qualify for before. This is especially true if you decide to be a one-income family. Check out the qualifications for medicaid, WIC, and any local programs that may help you balance out the cost of having a baby in your home. Sometimes the decision on whether to become a stay at home mom or return to work is dictated just by what will work best for your family financially. 

Can I afford to have a baby?

So here’s the real question, right? My uncle told me once when I was a kid “no one is ever financially ready to have a baby. You just find a way to make it work.” In most cases, this is true. When it’s the right time to start a family, you will be able to figure it out. There is no one answer to how much is will cost to have a baby. Take the time to realistically plan, but don’t scare yourself out of having the family that you want!

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