Community

[Neha Sharma]

Here’s what our first year actually cost us:

Crib mattress – $200
Diapers (initial stock-up)- $600
Wipes + Target-brand diapers after that – $200
High chair -$180
Stroller -$150
Carrier- $140
Bouncer and swing -$200
Odds and ends like soap and infant Tylenol- $170

Total cost $1,840. Things I haven’t included:

Food. She was exclusively breastfed, then started on whatever we were eating at six months. My pump came free through insurance.

Clothes and toys. Every single piece, secondhand. Our local Buy Nothing group is a goldmine- that’s also where the crib and car seat came from.

Baby shower loot. Bottles, plates, that tiny spoon, the bathtub, bibs, two pairs of shoes, more toys, and the infant car seat all showed up as gifts from family.

Medical. Well visits were covered. Delivery costs are their own beast and vary so wildly there’s no point including a number.

Detergent, water, etc. Technically a cost. Realistically, a rounding error in our grocery budget.

Babies can be costly or they can be inexpensive. Sometimes the answer is decided for you. Formula and daycare aren’t optional if you need them, and those change the math completely. Other times it’s a choice: a particular brand you love, or wanting something new instead of used. Neither one is wrong. But I think it’s worth knowing that the low end is possible, because the internet mostly shows you the other one.

[Neha Sharma]

Ok so first things first chuck the pet food somewhere they can’t get at it but maybe leave it in sight so they eventually get the message that it’s not a toy. Anything sharp or heavy has to come off the kitchen counters yesterday.

Seriously, once they start pulling up you have no idea how tall they suddenly are. And climbing!! They’re gonna figure out chairs and stools any second. Grab one of those little helper towers so they can “help” at the sink and counters (it’s a lifesaver). But clear everything off the tables that they could reach by standing on a chair, and make sure the chairs themselves don’t tip over when they lean.
Once they can get to the sink, turn the hot water down so it’s not boiling. Burnt hands are not fun. Tablecloths are basically history for a while, they just pull everything down. “Houseplants” Google which ones are poisonous and move those. Also move any that are low enough because they WILL try to eat the dirt. Gross but true.

Battery toys: check those little compartments stay shut. I just drilled a couple tiny holes and put screws in so they can’t open them. And keep talking about the dangerous stuff every day. They actually start understanding faster than you’d think.

[Neha Sharma]

We have a Nannit. We are using it from last 2 years. It’s Solid.

[Author]

Posts