Cost of Having a Baby

There is an article on babycenter.com that should be helpful. See http://www.babycenter.com/expert/pregnancy/childbirth/241.... I followed the advice in this piece to get information from the hospital where I delivered.

Also, just my opinion but unless you are really set on having a c-section I would get a second opinion. I am 36 with two kids and my doctor never mentioned a c-section because of my age. Many of my friends have had them and they don't seem to be any easier to recover from than a vaginal delivery. Just my thoughts.

Good luck to you!

Hi D.,

I don't respond to very many of these, but I remember when I was pregnant with my first, I asked my brother this question, and he just laughed at me like there was no way he could answer it, so I thought I might be able to at least tell you a little something. First of all, I'm not sure if you're talking about the actual delivery since you mentioned a c-section or if you're just referring to the afterwards. Obviously the hospital bills can be quite varied depending on where, who, complications (if any) and your insurance. As far as afterwards is concerned, its not an enormous amount in the beginning. First of all, if you have any baby showers, you will get a lot of your beginning gear such as car seat, stroller, bedding and other necessities as gifts. I think most things were bought for us with the exception of furniture which we spent about $500 on, but you can get it for a lot less if you're willing to go with used. I'm currently pregnant with #2 and I bought the crib, mattress, and changing table all for $150. You can expect to spend about $100 a month on diapers/wipes/hygiene and basic OTC meds. If you don't breastfeed, formula will cost about another $100 a month. Those, along with any dr. fees (depends on your insurance) are the main expenses the first year. You will also want to factor in misc. costs of spoiling them with a new toy hear and there, but once again you can get those used. Clothes are minimal depending on how important that is to you. You can find a lot of cute inexpensive clothing at places like Wal-Mart and Kohl's, plus you will probably receive some as gifts. My first will be 2 in August, and I definitely think the cost rises as they get older since you may want to get them involved in a Mothers Day Out program (that is, if you stay at home) and then activites start to come into play. For example, he is in swimming lessons for the second summer, and they will run about $250 for three weeks of lessons. There are definitely a ton of ways to cuts costs. If you will be needing daycare, most of the people I've talked to pay anywhere from $600 - $1000 a month, so that is a huge expense if you have to work. It's getting late, so I need to go, and I may be forgetting some things. Feel free to ask me any other questions. Best wishes on this new venture. Regardless of the financial burden, if you want children, you can make it happen. They are the biggest blessing on earth, and I don't know what I'd do without my little Jacob. FYI: I am 29 and if the inducement goes properly, we will have another little boy Aug. 1st. Good Luck!

N.

D.,

I do not know what type of insurance you have (if any), but my husband is self-employed and our insurance did not cover maternity. My OB offered special discounts and payment plans for people in my situation and I believe we ended up making 4 payments of $700 to the OB, which covered my pre-natal care, two sonograms and the doctor's fee for labor and delivery. The hospital was billed seperately following the birth of my son and I want to say the total came to somewhere somewhere around $4K. The hospital was also very easy to work with and we made payments for a little over a year until that was paid off. If you need further information, or if you would like a referral to my obstetrician, please do not hesitate to contact me. Haing your first child can be very scary (I've been there) and I am more than willing to share any advice I can. Good luck!

The cost depends on your ob/gyn, your insurance, and what you require for care. The cost of your prenatal care is spread over your visits.

I was also 36 when I was pregnant with my first child. I can tell you it was less expensive than I expected, but I had Aetna which was very good insurance. Also, c-sections are more expensive. I had my child the old-fashioned way incl. no medication. So my child's birth was pretty much cheaper than anyone else's.

Now I'm 40 with a 2 yr old so I would recommend not waiting. You want to give your child your best years!

Overall the biggest expense is daycare. Of course you need stuff, but showers will be helpful and shopping with a budget helps. Also, you don't need everything the day the lil' one arrives.

About the C-section. Two points I have...
1. They are significantly more expensive
2. I would do some research, talk to birthing instructors (outside of the hospital) for advice on whether to go ahead and plan a C-section. C-sections are major surgery and it would concern me that the Dr. is opting for this so quickly.

I know I don't have all the background on your case, however getting a second opinion is a great idea---Let me know if I can answer anything else for you. No matter the expense--having a child is an experience that is (as Mastercard would say) PRICELESS.

Good luck,
K.

Hi D.. Are you wanting to know the cost as far as prenatal visits and delivery or after birth or both? Do you have health insurance that gives any coverage?

gosh, having a baby can range from almost nothing to tens of thousands. it really depends on multiple things. first of all, what is your insurance company/coverage/deductible? then, your course of treatment, which is unknown at this point will impact the range significantly...in otherwords, as an over 35 mom-to-be you may be in a high risk group of treatment in which you'll have to have many more sonograms than the younger pregnant mom (that was the case for me). therefore, that along with hundreds of other variables again tied to your insurance coverage will affect your bottom line. there is no way that anyone other than your own doctor can even begin to estimate. my doctor's office/acctg group gave me an upfront estimate based on my particular insurance. it was a cost if a vaginal delivery vs. c-section and what the deductible cost would be, downpymts along the way for check-ups and any addt'l like sonograms, etc. of course, they will tell you that those estimates are based on a normal delivery (vaginal or c-section) without complications.

i hope this helps somewhat. my reco is to contact your doctor's administrator for the 'normal delivery' cost range and pre-natal care.

I had a C-section last year and it was about $900 for the anesthesia ( I had a partial epidural), $2500 for the C-scetion, and $4000 for the hospital stay. I had my daughter at HEB Bedford.

As far as having the baby, my husband and I thought it would be terribly expensive, and it is not. We bought a lot of the big stuff like the crib, play pen and high chair at the used baby stores. They have very nice stuff.
Breast feeding ecessaries are way too over priced, and I would not buy a pump etc. until you are sure you will use it. I purchased all that stuff, and didn't use any of it. The only thing you really need in my opinion is breast and a good lanoline cream.

Baby formula is very expensive, and different stores carry different brands. For instance Target has very little Good Start products, but all of the Emfamil. I was very resistant to using the powder formula because I did not want to mix it all the time ( it is much cheaper than the already mixed stuff), but it is actually much easier to use because you do not have to warm it up before you give it to the baby.

If you do not have medical insurence for you child, I would try to get some. We are fortunate to have it, but I know that an office visit with immunizations runs over $400.

Daycare is about $200 a week for full time, and a nanny at home is about $350 to $450 depending on your requirements. I tried daycare at first, but we now have a nanny.

Target has great clothes for kids pretty cheap. For special occasions, baby gap and old navy have great stuff on sale all the time.

Hope this helps. Whatever the cost, it is so worth it.

Have a great day,
A.

D.,

Oh gosh... where do you start!

Normal birth (without factoring insurance) - $6,000 (includes OB, hospital and epidural); C-section - pretty much doubles it
Day care - minimum $150 a week at a home daycare; over $200 at a center for infants (that goes down as they get older)
Formula - $40 a month (BF helps keep that down, but you would need a pump which makes the cost almost the same for the first kid)
Diapers - $50 a month
Clothes - usually okay until the 6 month mark because of all the gifts, but then its probably at least $200-300 every six months. It's way worse the first year because they change so fast.
Equipment - crib $200, table $200, car seat $50 for the infant, $100+ for the convertible, stroller $100+, swing $75, bouncy seat $30, play pen $100, exersaucer $100...... it just keeps going...
Doctors - every time they get sick you usually have the visit copay plus medicine, then another visit copay to make sure they're okay.

That being said, there are definite ways to save money - get as much of the stuff used as you can (except for car seats); ask the doctor for formula (they are given it free to give out); don't buy tons of clothes and only buy things on sale; cut wipes in half; buy diapers and formula in bulk at Sams...

It's depressing but well worth it! Good Luck!

M.

My fourth baby cost $1,000 with a wonderful midwife. That baby is 14 yo now. I was 41 yr. when I had her.