How much money do you need when the baby is first born?

[davidspetri]

Hi folks,

Expectant first time dad (early June due date for a little boy) in the UK.

Just wondering how much we need to realistically have saved to get the essential baby items/nappies/clothes etc.

We have just moved to a house (previously living in a 2 bedroom apartment) and had to make immediate fixes to things (totalling 7k)

Our savings have taken a huge hit and we're having to borrow 2 k from my parents.

We do have savings for the baby that we've been building up which currently stands near 3 k. When my wife goes on maternity we will be really tight though and won't have any room to save for at least 5 of those months probably

But how much did it cost you in the first year, say, roughly?

I guess it will be different for everyone but it would be good to know what I'm facing.

 

[samuelcalebisrael]

@davidspetri UK dad of a 2.5yo old here. We don't keep a strict ledger but here's what I remember.

You don't need too much to be honest. You have your standard expenses for new gear, depending on what you already have. You can get most of the items second hand for very cheap or free. Personally, we got almost everything second hand. Pram, crib, bouncer, most first clothes, changing table. Fara and Oxfam have a great selection of baby items and there is a ton of things on Facebook Marketplace and Vinted as well. You can even rent or borrow a pumping machine from your hospital if the missus decides to go that way.

I would say we have spent less than 1K in total on those things on the first year. The main things that we bought new were a new mattress, milk bottles and some clothes that were gifted by family.

Then you have your regular spending each month, nappies, formula, water wipes etc. Those vary greatly depending on the brand. If you want to play it safe avoid the big brands in the beginning and work up from there. Like, buy Sainsbury's nappies first and if they don't work great, move up to Pampers etc. These cost us probably around £100/month but our girl was breastfeeding, formula might drive it up by quite a lot.

Most of the stuff we spent money on was definitely not necessary, it was just us pampering our kid. Toys, a play matt, a fancy changing bag, stuff like that.

My best advice would be to only buy the things that you will definitely need in the first 3-4 weeks and then work from there. Get a pram, car seat if you need it, crib, bottles, some clothes. But do not get too many clothes, toys etc in the beginning because you don't know ahead of time how many and what you will end up needing. Once the baby comes just take them with you for a nice walk at the nearest charity shop and grab a few items here and there and build their "inventory"

 

[hosee]

@davidspetri Mum here (just turned 3 year old). Contrary to what the media tell you, small babies are actually very cheap. Biggest purchases are car seat (which should be new) but virtually everything else can be bought second hand for a fraction of the price. For baby bassinet/cot, you should get a new matress. We were gifted a lot from friends and bought most of the rest second hand on facebook. We bought virtually a years worth of clothes for £30 (it got subbed with a few extra bits but it would have been more than sufficient if needed). We were fortunate and could afford to buy new but I simply didn't see the point. Remember that amazon (and facebook marketplace) is your friend, with which, you can get a lot of stuff virtually the next day as you need it.

You can get a lot of sample stuff free (which I recommend to try the different brands). Don't buy tons of nappies before baby is born because you don't know what size they will be. We had loads of size 1s...baby was small so had to rush out and buy size 0 for the first few months. I strongly recommend sainsbury's nappies for small babies. Assuming it's still the same as it was 3 years ago, they had stretchy backs which none of the other brands had! After that, we used Lidl's own which were great. Nappy cost generally comes down to the baby and how often they want changing. Some babies want changing the second they are wet...others (like ours) didn't care which saved a fair bit. It was great at the time but toilet training her has proved a nightmare

The biggest cost is food (formula) if baby is not breastfed. This is a killer at ca. £14-16/tub, much of which gets wasted with undrank bottles. If your wife can breastfeed to begin with, it will save a lot of money. Pumping etc requires things but you don't want to be pumping until milk supply is established (and again, the kit can sometimes be rented). It's a personal choice, but it's a cost effective one. We BF'd and then supplemented with formula when she was about 6 months old and in nursery. We actually found that the small, pre-made bottles were more cost effective than the tubs of formula if you don't need much because it lasts much longer (a tub must be thrown away after a few weeks when opened).

I didn't keep a tally but I'd say cost was well under £1000 for the first year - we probably could have done it for

 

[jamiee]

@hosee My wife pumped right from the start. Couldn't get the baby to breastfeed at all but she pumped every 2 hours and kept it up for like 14 months, so you definitely don't have to wait to start pumping.

 

[hosee]

@jamiee Qudos to your wife - that is serious commitment. OK, I'll rephrase - If baby is going to feed directly from mum then it is recommended that mum doesn't pump to begin with.

 

[ck_49]

@hosee My doc told me the opposite, breast feed then pump to add further stimulation. I’m sure there are diff lines of thought though

 

[hosee]

@ck_49 The joys of navigating the world of breastfeeding as a new mum! I’d guess that the risk with actively encouraging oversupply is you are at much greater chance of mastitis. I think I started pumping at about 3 months but it was never very effective. I just remember feeling like a dairy cow hooked up to the pump

 

[smalltownyouthpastor]

@davidspetri You can buy pretty much everything you need second hand and for very cheap

 

[rhinoofgod]

@davidspetri Hard to say, I don't know what your benefits are like over in the UK. Here in Sweden we've got really good benefits so I can only speak from our perspective. The first year will not cost you much, especially if you choose to get clothes and toys second hand. Kids grow so fast that you can save a ton of money by getting them on Facebook. Or check if you have local groups doing second hand stuff for kids, there's one every few months in our small town. Most clothes will just have been worn a few times and will look new.

Buy a few cute pieces that you love, but the rest you can find for cheap. The same goes for toys, especially the big expensive items such as strollers and such.

 

[supernova1044]

@davidspetri Always $100 more than you currently have

 

[simon_peter]

@supernova1044 my first child comes in May but I know this will be the case

 

[surskit]

@davidspetri If you’re in Scotland then the baby box has lots of the smaller stuff you’ll need/want like carriers, thermometers,blankets etc.

Don’t sweat on clothes, supermarket stuff is fine for how long they’ll wear them

 

[ws371]

@davidspetri We find stuff almost daily for free on Facebook Marketplace or local Moms groups on Facebook. Strollers, cribs, sometimes formula etc. Almost no need to buy anything new aside from a car seat.