Good Grief! Aren't babies expensive!

TargetWidow

Now I'm not for one second saying she's not worth every single cent (and then some!) but I just did a budget for the house for the first time since we had our little one and between nappies and milk and ingredients for her food, creche and petrol for driving her to and from it as well as the second car we use only for that my little darling has set us back almost €1,300 per month!!! Wow! I had no idea! And I was wondering how things were so tight at the end of every month suddenly! And that doesn't include if either of us has to take a day off to bring her to the doctor. A sore throat a few months ago set us back a whopping €300 outside of the VHI covered expenses.
No wonder the celebs are begging borrowing and buying them! Babies must be the new bling status symbol!!!!:P

Victor

Is it fair to blame the second car on the baby?

luckat

Hah! Wait till she's a teenager. At least babies don't do ballet.

stovelid

It would be more accurate (for the non-parents reading) to say that your high expense is largely the crèche and car(s). Food and nappies don't really cost the earth, especially if you prepare all the food yourself.

lolly22

stovelid wrote: »

It would be more accurate (for the non-parents reading) to say that your high expense is largely the crèche and car(s). Food and nappies don't really cost the earth, especially if you prepare all the food yourself.

Have to agree with Stovelid, my little girls only ten months, so maybe when she gets older (teenager ill be saying otherwise!!) but when i was pregnant one of the things going through my head was how can i afford to bring her up,but, its not actually that bad!

There are ways around it.....dont get me wrong, and i know everyones situation is different but i look after her during the day so i dont have to pay for a creche and then work few nights a week, and walk her everywhere so i dont have to pay for car (although i live pretty close to everything i need ). I make her food myself so i dont have to spend on the baby jars wich i know for some they are great convience but can be expensive.

Also before she was born her dad and I bought a pram for 600 euro which had everything it was like a 4x4 lol was massive and we though it was great.As soon as she was born and we started using it we realised it was too big it didnt fit in the car and was just a nuisance so i sold it and got one for 99euro and its the best thing ever and much easier to manage.:p

Anway what i mean i guess is the best doesnt really mean the most expensive! Its just a few examples but for stuff we cant help having to pay for,for them.................well like you said op, they are all worth every penny :)

TargetWidow

Nearest creche is 10 miles away. Hubby works nights and doesn't get home till after I have to be at work so second car needed to get her to creche. It literally doesn't leave the driveway other than to take her in the mornings! I would dearly love to mind her myself, but situation right now just doesn't work that way. I agree that those are the two most expensive costs though. I do make all her food myself but fresh organic ingredients to make her food cost the earth! Whats that all about! I've lost almost one a half stone since she was born because instead of sitting around watching tv or chatting to friends all night like I used to do BB(before baby) I'm making bottles and food now and staggering into bed at 11!! I may have to cultivate a vegetable plot to cut costs!!! I have no idea whats happenning on Corrie or Emmerdale and since the first episode of the Clinic where they killed off Cathy I've scarely watched an hour's tv! If only I had known all those years that I struggled with weight!! Wait till she goes to college!:eek:
Timer gone off for bottles. Must dash!

TargetWidow

Lolly do you have any good salmon recipes please? I don't eat fish and I really don't want her to turn out like me and I'd love to get her going on fish this week and salmon is so full of omegas and other good stuff. And chicken chasseur if anyone has a recipe. I've seen the jars but the ingredients dont sound like chicken chasseur at all!:rolleyes:

lolly22

Op i totally understand what your saying about not being able to stay home all day with your baby, like i said everyones situation is different.

AS for the salmon recipes, if im honest, my little girl eats fish and chiken but i havent done anything fancy with it I just blend it really well with potatoes or carrots and she loves it, dont know bout anyone else but i feel she's just starting to taste food so im keeping it plain and simple for now but again, I dont know if its the right thing to do for every baby its just what i do for mine.;) Sorry if thats not much help.


Also the loosing weight issue all i can say is congrats, i know id be happy with that, i know its hard doing so much everyday washing clothes making food and going to work and so on but I know it gets easier in time, and it will for you as it will for me!

Lastly to you and your husband best of luck with it all, make sure you make time for eachother, and enjoy your little bundle of joy:)

deisemum

I hope it's ok to post this recipe here but it's one I use for my mindees and my own children and they all love it. In this recipe I've used chicken but I've also replaced the chicken with salmon and cod and it's worked very well

Chicken Dippers

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts about 600gms in total
2 tbsps sesame seeds
2 tbsps golden linseeds
75g/3oz fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsps ready-grated Parmesan cheese
2 medium eggs
2 - 3 tbsp sunflower oil

1. Rinse the chicken with cold water. Drain and pat dry with kitchen paper, then cut into long thin strips

2. Mix together the seeds, breadcrumbs and cheese on a large plate. Put the eggs into a shallow dish and beat. Dip the chicken strips into the egg, then roll in the breadcrumb mix.

3. Heat a little of the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add as many chicken strips as will fit in a single layer and fry for 6 - 7 mins turning once or twice until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan and keep warm then add remaining oil and cook the rest of the chicken.

I don’t fry mine. I just bake them in the oven and they’re lovely.

I use this recipe with fish and normally replace the chicken with salmon or cod.

The seeds are a good source of potassium, calcium and vitamins B and E. Sesame seeds also contain zinc which boosts the immune system.

Just be aware that you will see the seeds in the nappy

Dfens

lolly22 wrote: »

i know its hard doing so much everyday washing clothes making food and going to work and so on but I know it gets easier in time

Yes, it does get easier until a year or two passes & you forget & go have another baby.....!!!!! Still can't imagine life now without the munchkins

Moonbeam

I take it you don't live in Dublin?

1300 sounds pretty reasonable including creche fees here *cry*

SpiderPiglet

I think my little man, who is 6 months, has only started to cost us since I went back to work; we pay 600 yoyos a month for child minder.
Nappies and baby food does add up but I think that because we dont go out every weekend like we used to I reckon the little man has actually SAVED us money.

lolly22

Dfens wrote: »

Yes, it does get easier until a year or two passes & you forget & go have another baby.....!!!!! Still can't imagine life now without the munchkins

Hmmm well now if that was the case then I would probably agree with the title of thread they are worth the expense but one's enough for me

metrovelvet

TargetWidow wrote: »

Nearest creche is 10 miles away. Hubby works nights and doesn't get home till after I have to be at work so second car needed to get her to creche. It literally doesn't leave the driveway other than to take her in the mornings! I would dearly love to mind her myself, but situation right now just doesn't work that way. I agree that those are the two most expensive costs though. I do make all her food myself but fresh organic ingredients to make her food cost the earth! Whats that all about! I've lost almost one a half stone since she was born because instead of sitting around watching tv or chatting to friends all night like I used to do BB(before baby) I'm making bottles and food now and staggering into bed at 11!! I may have to cultivate a vegetable plot to cut costs!!! I have no idea whats happenning on Corrie or Emmerdale and since the first episode of the Clinic where they killed off Cathy I've scarely watched an hour's tv! If only I had known all those years that I struggled with weight!! Wait till she goes to college!:eek:
Timer gone off for bottles. Must dash!

Yep. If you want to lose weight, have a baby.

lostinnappies

Kids are very expensive ... and only get more expensive with hobbies...sigh now I know why my parents were always complaining, although there was 7 of us :eek:

LadyE

How old is your daughter OP?

A good salmon recipe, suitable for freezing (make it bulk and freeze in portions) and makes 3 portions.

Ingredients:
200g carrots, topped and tailed and sliced
125g salmon fillet, skinned
60ml orange juice
40g grated Cheddar cheese
a knob of butter
2 tbsp milk


Method:
Put the carrots into a saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil and cook over a medium heat for about 20 minutes until tender. Alternatively, place the vegetables in a steamer and cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the salmon in a suitable dish, pour over the orange juice and scatter over the cheese. Cover, leaving an air vent and microwave on high for about 2 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork . Alternatively, cover with foil and cook in a pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes.

Flake the fish with a fork, carefully removing any bones. Drain the carrots, mix with the butter and milk and puree in a blender together with the flaked fish and its sauce. For older babies, mash the carrots together with the butter and the milk and then mix the flaked fish with the mashed carrots.


This is an Annabel Karmel recipe, you should get her book, its really good dor making homemade, good meals for children. My little boy lived on them until he was about 3 (she goes from babies until toddlers), and is great for finger food recipes too. Also a great guide for what they can/cant eat at certain ages.

As for the expense, yes..very expensive, but this goes down greatly as they get older (creche fee's reduce as being one of the main culprits) but then I suspect once you hit a certain age they go up again!

LadyE

whooops the above recipe is suitable for babies 7months +

TargetWidow

Got hubby to pick up that book this morning on way home from work. Looks great although Im too jaded to tackle anything tonight. Thanks for the recipe LadyE. DD will be 8 months on Tuesday so that recipe will be fine for her. Everything I give her has been getting very enthusiastic "Noms" for a week now and suddenly mealtime isn't a struggle anymore. It's lovely.:D

LadyE

No probs - it really is a great book.

The most loved dinner in my house when my ds was a baby was butternut squash and sweet potato, just boil or oven cook the butternet and boil the potato and mash together to eliminate lumps. It was barely on the spoon and it was gone! Bot freeze really really well too.

TargetWidow

She's a total sweet potato addict! I was using the Gina Ford weaning book for purees up till now and I got the great trick of introducing new foods in small quantities with sweet potato over about 4 days reducing the sw.pot and increasing the new food till she has a full portion of the new food. Works a treat. She's never refused anything! I just find that the recipes get alot more complicated and time consuming at the 7 mth stage onwards and as I work a 44 hour week there isnt a pile of time for doing meals that take ages to cook or shop for. There were 10 and 15 ingredients in some of the recipes! My hubby works in a shopping complex with a 24 hr Tesco so I txt him the shopping lists and he brings it home each morning. Very handy now baba is here but not conducive to long lists. Especially with needing to explain what some of the ingredients actually are for him!!:D
Some of these recipes are using lovely fresh ingredients and they look like I could do a recipe or two a week. It's all very exciting!:P

deisemum

When I used to go out to work and a rest I used to spend about 2 hours on a Sunday morning roughly once a month and make up batches of different dinners, then put them in portion sized containers and pop them in the freezer.

It was great having a month's worth of dinners ready and all I had to do was take one out of the freezer in the morning and give it to his childminder.

TargetWidow

Thanks Deise. ~I'm batch cooking but in smaller quantities and trying to do it at night. I think thats the problem really, so jaded every night. Have taken to eating lunch in the quiet hour before lunch hour at work so that I can get an hours housework done at home during lunchhour! I'm finding it tough to keep up with everything. My trusty 15 yr old washing machine broke down last week so have been trying to handwash and dry clothes then at night too! Madhouse! At least they're delivering my lovely new 8kg washer next week! By golly then I'll get some washing done!!! But seriously that Sunday morning idea is a good one. And hubby could help cos he's off and up on Sundays and he's always looking to get involved in the babyfood thing.

deisemum

Put a blender in his hand and if he's like a lot of males he'll be happy out with gadget.

As I'm sure any parent of a smallie knows they wake up at their normal time at the weekend so there was many a Saturday morning that I'd be in my local Supermarket by 8am or 10am on Sundays. That way we'd get the vegetables etc while they were as fresh as possible (for a supermarket anyway) and then with batch cooking they're not left for days in the bottom of the fridge or cupboard losing vitamins etc.