According to a 2010 USDA report, the average middle-income family will spend ~$12,000 on child-related expenses in their first year of life.  This is an insane number!  I remember reading this when I was pregnant with my first child, and it sent me into a panic.  How could we afford a baby??  We were already drowning in debt and now I had to figure out how we were going to budget for a baby, FAST.

Where was I going to find $12,000???!!  I knew we were going to have a baby shower that I could rely on to provide some things, but there is no guarantee of what people will get for you.  I took the advice of lots of different moms and registered for what I thought was just the right amount of necessities for our first child.  In comparison to lots of other moms I knew, I really cut out a bunch of what I thought to be unnecessary stuff.

Now that I have had two children, if I could do it over, I would have only registered for about 25% of what I actually registered for.  I now know the bare minimum of items that you need to survive life with a newborn.  You may be surprised by some of the things I say you won’t need.  Trust me, if you can’t afford it, you don’t need it.  Also, if you don’t buy something at first and then find out you need it…..the store will still have it later.

 

 

 

When you think about life with a newborn, you should go through and make sure you are providing for their basic needs because that is all they require at that age:

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Basic Need #1:  Newborns need food

Fabulous news….you can provide them with food, for free!  If you have success breastfeeding this will be a huge cost saver!  I, personally, was not made for breastfeeding (I actually have a very strong dislike for it).  I only ended up nursing both of my children for 3 weeks and then switched to formula.  Either route you choose will be fine, just do what is best for you and your baby.  To give you an idea of cost…

Costs associated with breastfeeding:

Breast pump – nowadays, most insurances will provide you with a breast pump free of charge.  Make sure you check on that prior to buying one.

Costs associated with bottle feeding:

Bottles (~$10 pending on brand and how many you buy – I am basing this on 3 Avent bottles)

Nursery water (~$1 per gallon)

Formula (~$10-$15 per 35-40 oz.) – Pro tip:  ask the hospital, your OB and your pediatrician for formula samples whenever you are there.  Sign up with Similac and Enfamil to get free samples as well. Make sure you have at least one can of formula on hand at home if you need to supplement at 2 am – husbands don’t like to go to the store at that particular hour.

Pacifiers will be needed regardless of feeding method.  Two pacifiers on average will be ~$5 or less.

Now some people may totally disagree with me on this, but I’m going to say it….

You do not HAVE TO HAVE a Boppy Pillow to nurse or feed your baby.  You can use a pillow at home and save yourself the $40-$50 on a Boppy.  There are some brands out there with Boppy imitation pillows for $20-$25, so if you think you absolutely NEED one, those would be a smarter option.

On the lowest end of cost – Bottles and pacifiers (because you are breastfeeding) = $15

 

Basic Need #2:  Newborns need clothing

For pretty much the first three months of both of our children’s lives, they lived in Sleep ‘n Play pajamas with zippers.  If you do laundry frequently enough, you will only need about 5-6 of these. Seriously, you will be too tired to dress your kid up, and cutesy clothes are not practical at all for what life as a newborn is actually like.  Why do babies need shoes?? They aren’t walking, people!

Refraining from buying clothing may sound good in theory, but let me tell you what will happen as you near the birth of your child.  You will begin nesting, you will see tons of pictures of cute baby outfits on Pinterest and you will make yourself feel guilty for not buying your child clothing.  JUST. STOP. THE. THOUGHTS.  Put your money away and do not go shopping.

What you will be doing for your child by not buying the clothes is being an example of an extremely responsible parent.  That is something to be admired.  Another thing I found with both pregnancies is, when people find out you are expecting, they come out of the woodwork to buy your little one clothes.  You will end up with more clothing and toys for your kiddo in that first year of life, and you will have no idea where they came from.

Costs associated with Sleep ‘n Plays:  These are typically ~$5 per pajama. Pro tip:  shop for these on online swap/community sites, go to second-hand stores or garage sales.  These are always being sold.

On the lowest end of cost  = $5-10 because you found a sweet deal at a garage sale.

 

Basic Need #3:  Newborns need to be kept clean

Babies are dirty little creatures.  They are constantly pooping, peeing and spitting up on themselves.  Because of this, they will require bathing on a pretty regular basis, as well as clean diapers.  Everyone out there will say you need to have baby-sized towels, washcloths, and bathtub. Guess what?  You absolutely do not.

Save your money.  You can use washcloths and towels meant for adults….they accomplish the same thing.  You also do not need a baby tub. You can hold your baby while you bathe them. It can be awkward at first, but you get the hang of it.  This saves you money and the space for storing an awkward tub that you will only be using for a few months. The only item you actually should purchase for baby bathing is baby shampoo at $3 for 28 oz. (this will last you forever).

While we are talking about spit-up, burp rags are SO cute!  I know this, and I know there are lots of cheap ways to make your own adorable burp rags.  I also know this costs you money to do. Save yourself the money and use the hand towels you already have at home.  These will accomplish the same thing and let you put your money toward more important purchases (like formula or diapers) for your newborn.

Now, diapers.  This can be done 1 of 2 ways for your newborn.  You can either decide to do cloth diapering (this entails an increase in laundry and either purchasing the diapers or renting them) or disposable diapering.

Both options have pros and cons, but for my lifestyle, we have always done disposable diapering.  If you aren’t sure yet, the good news is, you just have to get through the first few weeks with your newborn.  Before you go and load up on diapers that your little one could be sensitive to, you really just need one pack of newborn size diapers ($4.50 for 42 diapers) and one pack of size 1 diapers just in case you have a bigger baby ($5.50 for 50 diapers).

You will also need baby wipes to clean up those nasties.  I recommend starting with unscented wipes to find out how your little one handles them.  You can purchase one pack of 80 wipes for $1.75 or get a small box of 500 for $10.

On the lowest end:  Shampoo $3, Disposable diapers one pack of newborn and size one $10, Wipes $1.75

 

Basic Need #4:  Newborns need shelter

In addition to your home, your baby is going to need somewhere safe to sleep.  I have been super fortunate in getting cribs for free from family members, but not everyone has this available.

What I found with both kids of mine is they didn’t sleep in their cribs right away, so this is not something you have to have for quite a while.  This will buy you time to save for one or find one at a reduced cost or even free.

The non-crib sleeping options include a bassinet or a Pack ‘n Play.  There are pros and cons to both options. My favorite bassinet is the Fisher-Price Stow ‘n Go bassinet because it is small, vibrates for comfort, holds up to 25 lbs., and folds flat for easy storage and travel.  On average, you can buy that bassinet for ~$64 (Amazon seems to have the best price). A Pack ‘n Play could be a really nice option too because it will grow with your little one into toddler-hood. They typically have a changing table kind of station/newborn bassinet area and later on can be a “playpen”/toddler bed option.  The awesome thing about Pack ‘n Plays is they are EVERYWHERE. I have never seen a garage sale or online swap that didn’t have one of these available for a fraction of the cost. I have now gotten two of these that way for $20-$30 each. If you purchase this brand new, it will cost ~$80 for a basic model.

I don’t think you can go wrong with either option, but the important thing is you don’t have to have a crib immediately.  A bassinet or Pack ‘n Play could serve you well for quite a while to allow time to save for a crib.

Other sleep necessities include swaddling blankets.  I am a huge believer in swaddling your newborn. There are tons of swaddle options out there, but I am in love with Aden & Anais swaddles.  These are on the higher end of price, but they are so durable and can be used for car seat covers, nursing covers, grocery cart covers, the list goes on.  A 4 pack of these is $35 at Target.

The other item that I believe to be an absolute essential is a sound machine.  I have one in each child’s room now as it is part of their sleep routine.  As a newborn, they slept in my bedroom so I had the option to just use a white noise app on my cell phone instead of purchasing a sound machine.  My favorite sound machine is ~$20 vs. a phone app $0.

On the lowest end:  Pack ‘n Play purchase (used) $20-$30, Swaddles $35, White noise app $0.

 

Basic Need #5:  Newborns need to be kept safe

Safety is one area that you shouldn’t compromise.  You will need to purchase a car seat. There is no way around this one.  The good news is, car seats have to pass certain safety standards so you can pick out a car seat and feel confident in it.  You should be able to purchase a new infant car seat for ~$60.

If you think you must have a stroller initially then I would recommend getting a travel system that includes a car seat, car seat base and stroller (that the car seat fits into).  They have all kinds of these available, starting as low as $99.  We wanted something to jog and take on trails so our combo (Graco Modes Travel Jogger System) was $380, but this is something we saved for.

While we are on the subject of being out and about, you may be thinking…don’t I NEED a diaper bag??  Short answer, no, you don’t. Diaper bags are so stinking expensive!!  From one woman to another….I KNOW you have an extra cute bag, large purse or backpack at home that can be used as your diaper bag.  You do not need to spend $150 on something because you think it will look cute….you have to save for a crib instead!

If you are dying for a cute diaper bag, shop online swaps, garage sales, host a Thirty-One party to get one paid for.  Do something to not spend a small fortune on something that you won’t be using forever. Trust me.

On the lowest end:  Car seat $60

 

Basic Need #6:  Newborns need love

Love encompasses about 90% of what your new baby will need in those first few weeks of life.  My favorite thing about this (I’m sure you can guess)….it’s free!!  Don’t worry about all the material things that society and Pinterest tell you your baby must have in order to survive.  If they have you, they will be just fine.  The rest is just details.

Do not feel bad if little Johnny doesn’t have an outfit with matching shoes and suspenders to be seen for 30 seconds on his outing to the grocery store.  Little Johnny will be sleeping 15 hours of the day and he doesn’t care what he’s wearing. You are going to want to change diapers quickly and easily and little baby blue jeans do not make that easy to accomplish.  Let yourself off the hook when it comes to the “appearance” things with your newborn. You are enough mama!

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For fun, let’s add up the lowest possible amount for your newborn’s basic necessities:

Food – Bottles and pacifiers only (because you are breastfeeding) = $15

Clothing – Sleep ‘n Play Pajamas (you found a sweet deal at a garage sale) = $10

Hygiene – Shampoo, Disposable diapers one pack of newborn and size one, Wipes = $15

Sleep – Pack ‘n Play purchase (used), Swaddles, White noise app = $65

Safety – Carseat = $60

Love – You! = $0

Total:  $165 for newborn necessities.  I’d say this is a pretty good start to come in lower than that predicted $12,000.

This may seem extreme, but if you start with fewer items, there is less chance for overspending.  You can always add to what you have if you truly need it. If you are going to have a baby registry, you can then add your more expensive items to it (car seat, stroller, swaddles, crib, more diapers) to cut costs even more.  I promise people will give you clothes and blankets. I have more clothing, blankets, and toys than I know what to do with.

Stay in charge of your budget and stick to the necessities.  Everything on this list is enough to get you through the first few weeks with your newborn.  Babies are simple. They mostly need you, the rest is just “stuff.”

 

Still need to pack your hospital bag on a serious budget?  See how to do it for $25 or less!

 

Pin this as a reminder!  You can do this on a budget!

 

Did you purchase anything for your first child you wish you wouldn’t have?

PIN FOR LATER!