Budgeting for new baby

Eglinton

Hi All,

Not sure if I'm asking in the correct forum so feel free to move.

I'll be a new father in the reasonably near future and I haven't a clue what we need to get and how much things will cost. I have no close relations with babies already so unlikely to get anything second hand of any note.

Obviously there are things like prams and cots etc which from some websites I looked at seem to range from low hundreds to possibly thousands. I've no idea on the clothes front or any other things that might be necessary from Day 1.

If anyone has a list of things we'd need to get and cost estimate I'd be most grateful (or point me in the direction of other threads on similar)! I want to be able to set aside enough money and also get whatever I need in advance as soon as possible

Thanks for your help!

Sikpupi

my tip for you is ...put away the Children's Allowance in a Deposit Account!!

I know its only €130 a month,,, but you will be thankful for it in 18 years time when going to college.

College Reg fee in 2014 = €3,000
1st Yr on Campus accommodation = €4.500.
Buses, Books, Food, Allowance = €2,000+++

So.... 4 years at college could all up!

18 years at €130 per month = €28,000 + interest!

Have learned that hard way.........

eviltwin

Babies only really need a few things. Clothes, a pram, car seat, somewhere to sleep...everything else is what you want and tbh most parents will tell you that a lot of what they buy in the early days turn out to be a total waste of money.

You might not have any friends you can borrow from but you can pick up most essentials on sites like Adverts.ie or via the classifieds on parenting sites like Magicmum and Rollercoaster. There is a site called Babybay I think which is exclusively second hand baby items. Seeing as how most of them only get used a bit you can pick up some really good quality stuff.

Places like Penny's, Dunnes, Tesco are great for baby clothes.

You need to buy your cot mattress and car seat new but everything else you can pick up as you go along...you'll probably get tons of stuff as gifts anyway. What you could do is ask people if they are going to buy you clothes to buy the larger sizes so you aren't swamped with newborn stuff.

Mink

Buy as much as you can second hand, saves a fortune. Adverts.ie and the like are great for that.

Approx 10 vests
Approx 10 baby grows
2 hats
Cellular blankets

Changing mat
Nappies
Wipes (I found Huggies Pure to be the best)
Cream for sore bums (bepanthen, sudo crème etc)

Car seat
Pram/buggy

Either cot/crib or moses basket (if getting second hand then just buy mattress new).
Sheet for the mattress (for moses basket, you can just pop the mattress into a pillow case and that can be a good sheet)

Bottles & bottle steriliser (if not breastfeeding)

Muslin cloths/bibs for spit ups/spills/anything messy


Just start with that and you'll muddle your way through from there.

Mink

If you're unsure of what any of ^^^^ those are, just google or even go into a Mothercare/Boots etc and bring your list and ask them to help you.

SaceyFlynn13

Micheal gunieys have some pretty cool stuff for cheap like baby carrier when baba get old enough, cot sheets , Moses basket sheets, they even have Moses baskets and stands for cheap, a microwave steraliser if ye plan to bottle feed, clothes,baby grows and vest for cheap also they also have buggy a with foot muffs.. I advice to get a buggy with a foot muff instead of getting a pram that you be able to only use for a couple of months I have a buggy with foot muff and it's great and handy as I could use it when he was first born right up to 6years.. He's only 2 months now and he loves it grand and comfortable as he sleeps in it too when he go for walks.. Penny's have some good stuff too like vest baby grows and bibs.. I would also recommend if you go to Micheal Guineys to get muslin they are the best invention ever I got 10 and they really are the best you could use them as a burping cloth as a bib and to clear up sick there only 99cents also

dandyo

Pretty much nailed by Mink - not much else I can think off other than we got a bouncer from Day 1 - always great to have somewhere to put baby for a few moments rest when dashing frantically around

Flippyfloppy

It's hard to put a price on what a new baby costs.

All you can do is sit down and work out how much the essentials cost.

As a pp said, you will need a new car seat (you aren't suppose to use ones that have been in a crash or even dropped, so they recommend new ones)

A buggy that the car seat will fit into is useful, such as a travel system. Only thing with these is you might not get use of all the parts of travel system, they generally come with pram & pushchair attachment. We didn't use the pram because our baby had reflux and couldn't lie down. It wasn't too bad though because we bought the car seat & travel system half price mothercare.

Car seat isofix bases are recommended for safety. If you car is not fitted with isofix anchor points you can get it done at manufacturers garage.

You will need a Moses basket/co-sleeper cot whatever the case may be. People prefer Moses baskets before cots because the baby seems cozier. You might not need a cot until 6 months when the baby moves to their own room, but you might be best budgeting to buy at 4 months.

Changing mat x 2 (one for upstairs one for downstairs! You will be doing a lot of changing!!)

Oooh and a changing bin- they keep foul odors away!

Newborn/size 1 nappy packs x 2 should get you through the first couple days!

Vests & sleep suits are mainly what baby will wear depending on the season. Get a couple packs in dunnes in newborn or size 0-3 months.

You will also need maybe 4 aerated blankets.

You could need a pack of bottles or a breast pump, or both if mother intends on combination feeding.
A sterilser will be needed to, for soothers if using it bottles if using. We left these items until I came home from hospital & we knew whether I would be feeding baby myself. I did feed for 8 months but I think we bought bottles etc in case !

Also, you OH will be able to register with eumom and pick up a starter baby pack at super value, a lot of samples of things like baby powder & Sudocream & stuff- handy to have!

runawaybishop

A changing table is very handy as well as the items in post 4. You'll ruin your back changing a baby on the bed/floor/table etc as they will all be too low to stop you bending.

blu3r0ri0n

We have a lot of barely used assortment of clothing for a 12 to 18 month old baby boy. Pretty much anything and everything you would need clothes wise. Onesies (no idea what these are), trousers, jackets (winter and summer), hoodies, t shirts etc.

Have a good few new born clothes too.

Little dude grew out of them in a matter of months.

All were bought buy us, no hand me downs and have been thoroughly washed and cleaned a few days ago to give away. You are welcome to them if you want.

Flippyfloppy

Hey OP check this out, some great buys for you!

https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thursday-24th-april/

Cellular blankets & travel cot are great value!!

runawaybishop

Heres what we spent rougly

Cot/changing table: 80-100 each from ikea - buy matresses new if you buy a second hand cot.
car seat: approx 60 from argos (was a fisherprice one on a half price sale). You ave to buy this new.
baby carrier/seat: 30 euro from argos. buy new.
Buggy: 80 euro from guineys online - i think its pointless to fork out 500 euro on a travel system when you'll dump the baby carrier after a short time and so many buggies are madly overpriced for what they are. Get something with big wheels, not small plastic wheels, that you can put up and down with one hand and that you can steer with one hand. Buy this second hand if you want

Clothes from pennies, they have a good selection - don't spend a lot of cash on them because they will be outgrown in weeks. Anywhere from 3-7 euro for a pack of 3-5 vests or sleep suits.

runawaybishop

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Hey OP check this out, some great buys for you!

https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thursday-24th-april/

Cellular blankets & travel cot are great value!!

Those bottles are a great price.

lazygal

The biggest expense for us was my taking unpaid leave. Other than that babies are as expensive as you want. We save a lot using cloth nappies and wipes rather than disposable ones.

pwurple

Banks currently assume 500 euro per month as the expense for each child. So 6k per year. I'd say that's about right. That is not including childcare...

You've to remember that the child grows pretty quickly beyond the newborn stage, and the expenses keep on coming. Clothes, decent shoes are 50 euro every 8 to 10 weeks, they eat a lot more than you expect. You'll probably house them in a bedroom, furnish and heat that room, heat water for their baths or showers. Add in their friends birthday parties and activites like swimming pool or a bike.

Moonbeam

pwurple wrote: »

Banks currently assume 500 euro per month as the expense for each child. So 6k per year. I'd say that's about right. That is not including childcare...

You've to remember that the child grows pretty quickly beyond the newborn stage, and the expenses keep on coming. Clothes, decent shoes are 50 euro every 8 to 10 weeks, they eat a lot more than you expect. You'll probably house them in a bedroom, furnish and heat that room, heat water for their baths or showers. Add in their friends birthday parties and activites like swimming pool or a bike.

I was reading that thinking it is no where near 500 but then started thinking maybe for a 1st child it is .
Mine are 5,3,1 and a few days .
The 2 babies cost me no where near that they would struggles to cost me 100 pm each but the older 2 would easily cost me that and more .
Play school and petrol as the big girl did not get a local school alone cost me nearly 600 .
Shoes are 50 euro each for them twice a year and a pair of school runners, then sandals too.
Dancing lessons , swimming lessons , birthday parties .
Only the eldest and the boy get new clothes at the moment so for now that is an expense spared .

pwurple

Yes, I remember shen we were grtting our mortgage I was thinking, jaysus that's a lot. But i've been tracking it with a spreadsheet over the year now, and it's not far off. Some months are less, but over a year it evens out. I can't believe how much a 3 year old eats! She's like a bottomless pit.

And while for extra children you get the benefit of handme downs... You get the downside of where to put them! We are looking at an extension to try to get an extra bedroom, as we've a 2 bedroom cottage. It's doable to out the two girls in the one bedroom, but an extra bedroom would be much handier as they grow up. Even for sleepovers, babysitter/aupair or any visitors. The cost of building something will certainly offset anything we save in handmedowns.

John Mason

My main concern was unpaid leave and bills.

I pulled up excel and bank statements, listed all current bills and expenses I.e. mortgage, petrol, food, heating, insurance etc

Totalled it up, then started working out what could be paid annually and the best time of year to pay it. So car insurance, tax, house insurance, rates etc have now been paid for the year and won't be due again until I am back in work.

We started buying the tv licence stamps, so that is paid for when it becomes due.


Anything else left over was totalled and divided by 9 months. So we know we have enough money in bank to cover all bills and expenses for the next 12 months plus extra.

We also made sure all credit cards and loans were paid off.

We actually had to buy nothing for the baby. Everything has either been given to us second hand or bought as presents.

Since we found out about the baby, we have been buying extra shopping like washing powder, toothpaste, tea bags so we have a good stock pile of essentials. We also bought nappies, wipes, sudocream and such like.

Wherever people asked us about presents we had a list of essential things we needed, we also asked for nappies and wipes or dunnes vouchers.

Baby is due today, and think we have spent no more than 100e.

Nearly all our babies this were given to us second hand or bought as presents or found on adverts

I recycled an old desk to make a changing table, looks great. The same with a bookcase, I upcycled it to make a wardrobe.