by Emily Hechler 
Welcoming a baby is an exciting milestone. This season can come with financial challenges if you aren’t prepared. Understanding the upfront and ongoing costs of your baby as they continue to grow will help you create a budget that’s maintainable. By breaking baby’s first year into stages, you can better estimate expenses to plan ahead strategically in a way that supports your growing family and your financial goals.
Pre-Baby Expenses
Before your little one arrives, you’ll have essential purchases to make ahead of time. Some parents like having a nursery ready to go before baby comes, while others opt to wait for a few months post-birth. Regardless of your baby’s sleeping situation, you’ll need to purchase essential items like a car seat, stroller, clothes, diapers, feeding supplies, and other care items.
Tip: If you choose to have a baby shower, many of these items may be generously gifted by friends and family. Be sure to create a registry wishlist!
Newborn Expenses
Once your baby arrives, the costs shift from what you needed to prepare for baby’s arrival to what you need to keep baby alive. Soon after you leave the hospital, you’ll receive bills for your and baby’s care. The costs of baby’s care can vary greatly depending on whether you have health insurance and what your provider covers.
In the newborn phase, you can anticipate more doctor’s appointments to ensure that your little one stays healthy. Typically, baby will visit a pediatrician about three days after leaving the hospital, then again at one month and two months old.
In addition to doctor’s appointments, baby will need clothes, diapers, feeding supplies, and other care supplies to keep up with their growing body. At this point, you’ll want to consider childcare options for your little one, assuming that baby will need paid care after the typical 12 weeks of parental leave ends.
3-6 Month Expenses
Between three and six months, baby will likely have two more doctor’s appointments at the four- and six-month milestones. Baby will keep growing and need more clothes, diapers, feeding supplies, and other care items.
This age range is likely when you can expect to start paying for baby’s ongoing childcare. In addition, you’ll also be paying for baby’s health and other insurance.
6-12 Month Expenses
Baby will have two more milestone doctor’s appointments at nine and 12 months. Of course, baby will keep growing, and more and larger clothes, diapers, feeding supplies (including some solids), and other care items will be necessary. Fortunately, you can expect childcare and insurance costs to be around the same.
By the time your little one turns 12 months old, WECU estimates suggest out-of-pocket costs can range anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000. This range is so large due to the varying costs of insurance and healthcare coverage.
How to Budget for Baby’s First Year
Since the costs of baby’s needs can vary depending on many factors. It’s important to create estimates so you have an idea for how much you’ll be spending in these upfront and ongoing costs. After you get an idea about how much these expenses will be, you can add these goals to your budget.
This is easier said than done, so we’ll walk through how to budget wisely. First, you should save money for the upfront costs listed in the Pre-Baby Expenses section. Determine how much time you have now versus when you need to purchase these items so you can save over a few months. Once you have made ample progress in saving for your Pre-Baby Expenses, start saving for your Newborn Expenses, since this time is when you’ll likely have your largest expenses.
Once your baby arrives, you can add some recurring Newborn Expenses into your budget so you have room to spend more as you earn your income. This will help you shift into budgeting for baby’s care beyond the three month milestone coming soon.
Next, add the ongoing costs of baby’s care from three months and on to your monthly budget. These costs will stay in your budget indefinitely since they are recurring.
Get Baby Ready
While the costs of baby’s first year can feel overwhelming at first, it doesn’t have to be. As your expenses evolve from pre-baby to newborn to three months and beyond, you can budget their changing needs into your family’s existing financial situation. Use this guide to plan, and save, before baby’s arrival so your family can spend more time enjoying your growing family and less worrying about what costs are coming next.
