How much do you spend on your kid in the first year?

[Anonymous]

I don't think if this should go here or infants, toddlers, and preschoolers....

DH and I are talking about having kids and trying to figure out what financial adjustments we need to make.

Roughly how much would you say you spend on your <1 year old per month? Including formula, daycare, diapers, wipes, doctors, etc. Assume we're doing a regular chain daycare like BH or Kindercare. We were guessing total a baby would cost about $4K extra per month when you factor in all that stuff, but we really have no idea.

Does anyone have any insight?

[Anonymous]

Are you in DC proper? If so, BH is like $2800 per month for infants. Diapers/wipes maybe $70-100 a month depending on what you buy. Food costs are minimal unless you need formula, I think that's expensive- others can chime in. you don't really NEED anything else, but you will probably buy clothes/toys etc- $50 a month?

The main cost is daycare.

[Anonymous]

$4k extra/month is a very high estimate unless you're factoring in a generous 529 contribution or using a nanny/nanny share.

$3k should do it, for the first year. You won't even use daycare for the first couple of/several months, while you're using up leave. Start saving that now and then you'll have a dedicated savings pile for newborn needs. Be open to hand-me-downs and have a shower and you won't have to spend much on gear/clothes.

[Anonymous]

This is all very helpful. We were hoping that $4K was on the high side, but really didn't know how to gauge it.


Yes, we're in DC proper and plan to use a daycare in the city. We def have no issue using hand-me-downs and ideally want to breast fee so hopefully that will offset some costs.

We just want to make sure we're thinking everything through and are prepared. We don't want to be those people that have a kid then all of a sudden panic because of how expensive they are.

[Anonymous]

We started daycare at 4 months, so it was $8000 for the remaining 8 months. In-home daycare in Silver Spring right on the next street and it was a great place. We pay more now for a center. Formula wasn’t that expensive, we just used Enfamil Neuropro. Doctors visits were just co-pays and there were a couple of trips to urgent care, also co-pays. Stroller cost $500, car seat cost about $200, Jumparoo and swing cost about $250. I bought all the clothes from Carters so they didn’t cost much.

[Anonymous]

We did not use formula, and had a nanny starting when the baby was six months old.

Don't forget to add in all the things you pay extra for because you're exhausted with an infant - house cleaner, delivery services, takeout food, etc.

[Anonymous]

Call the local daycare(s) you are considering, they will give you an exact price. Other costs are minimal like others said, unless the baby needs designer clothes. A baby shower usually covers the big stuff (crib, stroller etc).

200-400 per month plus your local daycare price.

[Anonymous]

Get on those daycare waitlists the moment you find out you are pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Agree daycare/nanny is the only really significant cost. You can spend a lot on gear/clothes if you want, but you don’t have to. You can get stuff for cheap on message boards or just buy the less expensive stuff. If you budget for daycare + maybe $300, that should be plenty

[Anonymous]

Assuming you have most employer health insurance plans and your child is healthy, regular pediatrician visits are covered. The main expense is childcare.

[Anonymous]

Formula is expensive if you need special kinds. Regular formula is about $50 a month max, which is a lot for low income moms but won’t be significant to most DCUM families.

[Anonymous]

Your estimate is fine. The main challenge will be getting on lists for childcare.

The one thing that could throw a major wrench in the situation would be if your child has major special needs, but oftentimes in that case one parent ends up staying home.

[Anonymous]

In home daycare starting at 6 months was $1200/mo
Diapers $100/month
I exclusively breastfed so I can't think of any other major expenses.