How to Budget for a Baby: A Quick Guide

If you’re planning on growing your family, you need to learn how to budget for a baby. Read our guide and learn all the basics you need to know!

It’s been estimated that there are 250 babies born every minute. That’s a lot of new parents.

In addition to all the space these babies require, there’s the issue of money. It’s no mystery that babies tend to be expensive, and the mind boggles at the amount of money and resources it would take to care for these children.

While babies may be difficult to afford, they don’t have to be impossible. There are plenty of great ways to budget for a baby. We’ll talk about some of them in the paragraphs below.

1. Prenatal Care

Babies need to be cared for even before they’re born. This mostly boils down to keeping the mother healthy, since the baby is very much dependent on the mother.

A common medical procedure during pregnancy is an ultrasound. Ultrasound works in much the same way as sonar does. It bounces sound off the fetus, and the reproductive system it depends on to create an image.

It’s important to note that there are a few different types of ultrasound–internal and external. A few of them may be needed throughout the course of the pregnancy.

Ultrasounds can cost up to $1000 at a hospital, but it’s often much lower. If you don’t want to go to a hospital, there are facilities specifically designed for ultrasounds that are more affordable.

Another aspect of prenatal care includes Lamaze classes, which often cost about $100.

2. Birthing

You have a few options when the time comes to birth your baby. You could go the road of natural birth or c-section. 

Natural birth is usually more affordable, but the difference in cost can be very slight. You’ll also spend less time in the hospital after a natural birth. Since vaginal birth is a natural process, you avoid some of the risks associated with surgery.

C-sections can be worth it, and even necessary in some cases. However, the key reason for c-sections is that it can get the baby out quickly in case it requires emergency medical care.

3. Bringing Baby Home

A lot of the cost comes after you bring the baby home, but so do most of the affordable ways to budget for your baby. For instance, if one parent plans on staying at home, daycare is no longer needed. This will save you a lot of money.

Diapers and clothes can cost hundreds, but thrift stores can help. Another expense is baby care products like wipes, lotions, and others. Making baby care products at home can save a considerable amount of money.

There’s also the issue of safety. To keep the baby safe, you may need baby proofing products and furniture corner protectors. This may cost over $1000 for larger houses, but only a few hundred for smaller ones.

Plus, the baby’s not really at risk from furniture until it can crawl, so you may have time to save up.

How to Budget for a Baby

There are a lot of ways to budget for a baby. We’ve talked about a few of them in the paragraphs above, but there are others out there. We encourage you to do more research on your own.

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