# First Baby - Financial Implications



## MissRibena (16 Jan 2012)

Hi all

I'm sure there's a thread on this somewhere but I've searched and can't find it, so really sorry if I'm doubling up.  

Anyway, myself and husband are expecting our first baby in August.  

So it's early days and of course we're hoping and praying that all goes to plan with everything.  We know we'll be ok financially but I'd like to get a proper grip on it now while there's plenty of time. 

We're both employed thankfully.  However I'm unlikely to get any maternity payment from my employer.  I do have a 'bog standard' type VHI policy. For the birth, I intend to go semi-private (prob Portiuncula) but might go private.

We are not the latest-and-greatest in the gadget dept so will be accepting any/all offers of hand-me-downs from friends and relations.  

How much would be enough to set aside to get organised for the arrival itself?  

And once I go back to work, what kind of weekly outgoings could we expect?

Thanks in advance
Rebecca


----------



## terrysgirl33 (16 Jan 2012)

1. Are you entitled to Maternity Benefit?  Check http://www.citizensinformation.ie/e..._families_and_children/maternity_benefit.html

2. babies are cheap, it's losing an income (if one parent gives up work) or paying for childcare that's expensive.  Childcare costs vary hugely around the country, check your local area.

3. As far as I know, semi-private maternity services are only available from the maternity hospitals in Dublin, the best way to find out is to ring the hospital(s) you are thinking of and find out.  Private maternity usually costs a few thousand (again it varies by hospital and consultant, ring and find out) on top of what VHI cover.  I have had children semi-private and public and found that public maternity care was very good.  This varies by area and your own preferences, again check out the hospitals you are thinking of.

Congratulations!


----------



## Maxie37 (16 Jan 2012)

Congratulations!  I would seriously consider going public if I was you.  I went semi private with my 1st and public with my second and i can honestly say there wasn't much difference at all.  With semi private you will still have a shortfall of approx 750euro when all the scans etc add up.  My experience is based on Holles St though so maybe things will be a bit different in Galway.


----------



## Delboy (16 Jan 2012)

I agree with Terrysgirl, babies are'nt that expensive ...until childcare kicks in.
you get so many gifts of clothing..at the birth,xmas,birthdays etc....and even when we buy any, we tend to do it in the sales a couple of times a year. stock up on everything so thats not huge expense there though you can get swept away with cool looking branded gear lol!

nappies,wipes etc...tesco did a deal last summer...double up on the value of all your clubcard vouchers and you could cash them in for baby items for example. We got enough nappies, wipes and formual last July that we're still not out of most of it currently. And all for free by just having our credit card with Tesco, using it regularly for all purchases, and letting the clubcard vouchers build up for an event like this.

we did'nt go overboard on the initial baby purchases. Yeah, we spent big on a buggy (it gets a lot of use), but the bed and changing table came from Ikea and were reasonable.
Baby seats for the car are worth spending well on- just be sure they've got all the safety certs.
We did'nt buy baby swings, or expensive bouncers etc. Just did'nt see the need.

It;s easy to get carried away in the months before hand, but once the baby is born, a sense of reality kicks in and you really realise whats important and whats necessary


----------



## MissRibena (17 Jan 2012)

Thanks everyone.  No need for panic stations yet then (at least not on the financial front).  I will qualify for maternity benefit thankfully.

I actually posted this in the wrong forum - should have been in the 'Other Financial Issues'.  Don't know what I was thinking but would be great if one of the mods could move it.


----------



## STEINER (17 Jan 2012)

maybe you could pick up a few things a bit cheaper now in the Jan sales eg buggy/car stuff/any gadgets etc


----------



## Bill Struth (17 Jan 2012)

Congratulations!

Our first is due to arrive in July!

There are some good deals for Pram/car seat combos in Eurobaby, we got a Graco combo for €250. Cot, changing table, chest of drawers and lots of other small bits and pieces we got from Ikea. We have everything now for the baby room. We have spent less than €800 altogether so far. 

I painted baby room at the weekend as well. Woodies are selling 5litre tins of paint for half price, €23.99, which was more than enough.

Enjoy the preparations! Time has flown since we found out. Can't wait!


----------



## minkydog (17 Jan 2012)

Firstly congrats!! enjoy the next few magical months If I were you I would seriously consider going public. I could well afford to go private but decided it was a complete waste of money the public system is excellent. As far as I can see by going private you get 
1. see your consultant in his own rooms if he is not at an appointment or emergency in the hospital - Public you get to see his team on a very regular basis and if you have the slightest complication you see him. OK you may have a little wait on you appointment days but that's great especially on your first as you get to talk to other mums and get tons of hints and tips
2. Private room - if there is one available, Also on your first baby private room means you alone with the baby. If public ok you are in a room with a few other mums -  who are going through the same as you and I know most are more than willing to help out and give you tons of support in those first few days. 
3. consultant will be at birth - yea right again if he is not busy or on a golf course. Consultants work hard and deserve their time off but if his time off clashed with your birth he will not be there.
4 you will be down a lot of money that could be spent on baby stuff.  


on baby stuff you do not need to buy new there is great stuff to be had on done deal and adverts.ie


----------



## laobhise (17 Jan 2012)

Congratulations. Agree with the other posts about going public. I went semi private but think I would go public next time or if there are any domino or midwife led unit options in your area then these are often a much more personal route as you have the same midwifes at appointments as you will have for the birth and are free. You still have all the doctor care available to you on public schemes. 

Regarding money, we saved up about 4-5k prior to maternity leave. We reduced or stopped whatever payments we could while I was on maternity leave but this covered us for mortgage payments and bills for the unpaid portion of my maternity leave and was more than enough. 

My daughter is now nearly 16 months and generally we spend about €20 per month on nappies- I try to stock up when they are on special. I buy some jar food incase we need it but she generally eats what we eat so not much expense at that end. She is breastfed so no formula expenses either. Childcare is 3 days per week and is €129 or €43 per day and luckily we have my mother nearby who takes her 2 days per week for free. VHI is more now with baby included. We take her to a baby class one day a week which she loves and is €10. But these are the main costs we have for her at the moment.

With regards to start up costs, I would buy as little as possible until after the baby is born. There is so much stuff that you think you need which is no necessary. Personally I wouldnt bother with a pram and just get a buggy that can recline fully (as babies should lie flat). Buggy will last much longer. We borrowed a moses basket and she didnt last in it long as she was a big baby so we moved her into her cot early on. I did find a bouncy chair very handy at the beginning as it meant I had somewhere to lie baby when you needed to go to the loo and stuff and they are about €20-25. With regards to car seats, you can get Britax seats which go from birth to age 4 and they cost approx €150-200 but they are stationary. We used one of the seats that you can lift in and out of the car when baby was small which was great for when they were sleeping as your could leave them asleep but they are very sore on your back as the baby gets heavier. They are really the main essentials (buggy and car seat)-although you may prefer to use a sling rather a buggy especially if you are planning to breastfeed and these are much cheaper. Obviously there are also costs for formula, steriliser and bottles if bottle feeding too. 

Hope this helps and best of luck with everything!!


----------



## tester1 (17 Jan 2012)

fyi 

sign up for baby clubs ie tesco have one, Cow and Gate etc as you will get vouchers sent in the post and free items..... 


Eumom.ie

Nice to have a few pennies off things. 

Also mothercare have 'new parent' nights in their stores, if you attend they go through how to bath baby etc and you get a ten visit 10% discount card which is nice ....  

Congrats and enjoy


----------



## MissRibena (18 Jan 2012)

Thanks everyone!  Great tips altogether.

I'm realising on a daily basis how clueless we are.  It's a whole new world - very exciting!


----------



## Firefly (18 Jan 2012)

MissRibena said:


> Thanks everyone! Great tips altogether.
> 
> I'm realising on a daily basis how clueless we are. It's a whole new world - very exciting!


 
Congrads!!

When we had our first we were renting a pretty small house. Once the little one grew out of her moses basket and went into a cot, this would not fit in our room and so we had to put her in the room next to ours with our doors open. I think this was a super move...both of our kids go off to sleep now without any trouble and we have probably been up during the night less than 10 times in the 4 years with 2 kids. I know of horror stories where the parents let their kids sleep in the bed with them and your life will be ruined. You need to be cruel to be kind as it were and leave them get themselves off to sleep (unless there's something obvious like a dirty nappy etc).

The other advice I would give is to not introduce a dummy. We did with our first and had a tough time trying to get rid of it. 

Most of all though, I would say that having children is all about a state of mind....there are times when you want to throw them out the window but it's easy to forget that they're only kids! It's only when they come out with something such as "Dada likes butterflies" (as happened me recently) that you begin to understand what goes through their little heads!

Best of luck with everything and don't dwell on the financial side...everyone gets through it!


----------



## annR (19 Jan 2012)

I agree, moses baskets total waste of money and they're creaky as well, make loads of noise.  Consider buying a cot bed instead of a cot as they convert into toddler bed later on and you won't have the whole hassle of moving child from cot to bed.
Breastfeeding saves a couple of hundred euro.  Otherwise, less is definitely more with babies I find.  I also used reusable nappies up until child was on solids, that is an upfront expense but would be worth it if you were willing to use them for longer (some people use them with flushable liners) or for subsequent children.  Nappies is a large long term cost with kids I think.  New babies need nappy changes about 6 times a day. There's approx 55 nappies in a pack so a pack would last about 9 days. That's 8- 10E every 9 days. or E324 a year. reducing slightly after 6 months perhaps.  Wouldn't be everyone's choice way of saving money but an obvious one nonetheless.

oh yeah baby bouncer essential piece of equipment.  otherwise nowhere to put baby down for a while once they start rolling.


----------



## Firefly (19 Jan 2012)

Another thing (non financial)..don't worry about The Fog as we call it....those first 8-10 weeks or so when you're constantly up during the night. Even with our 2nd I was asking herself nearly daily when she thought it would end. Then one morning you wake up at something like 7am realising you got a "decent" night's sleep and it's bliss!! 

I've heard of horror stories of kids waking before 5. We are very lucky in this regard....very rarely before 8 for both of them. We put them to bed at 7pm too....I think the more sleep kids get the more they will take...a relation of mine keeps her small one (3-4 years old) up until after 10 o'clock so she will sleep until 7am...the problem as I see it is that the child is knackered during the day and regularly naps. 

Another thing I've started doing with my eldest ( 3 1/2) is taking her on Da Da dates about once a month. We'll head into somewhere in town for ice-cream and cartoon drawings. I'll usually bring her into Easons for a comic too.


----------



## Purple (19 Jan 2012)

Take hand-me-downs from anyone who offers, everything except the car seat.
I agree about putting them in their own room ASAP. We have 4 kids and they were all in their own room by 12 weeks.


----------



## csirl (20 Jan 2012)

We have 2 young children. The biggest expense is the initial outlay on stuff for the first one i.e. buying cot, pram etc. All can be reused for future children.

On a week to week basis, nappies is probably your biggest expense. Try to buy in bulk when on special offer. The other big expense which we did not anticipate was medical expenses. Babies tend to need to go to the doctor more than older children and adults. So you end up spending a lot on GP fees in the early years. If one of your children has a medical issue, however minor, you'll end up forking out a lot of money on a continual basis on visits to doctor/hospital/consultant etc. as well as any treatments required.


----------



## Yachtie (20 Jan 2012)

I agree with all those who are in favour of public care. I went semi-private and thought it was a huge waste of money. I still didn't meet the obstetrician until a day before my due date, my son's delivery was assisted by very nice and helpful midwives and I still shared a room with 2 other new mom's and an empty bed. Luckily, it all went really, really well but I was told that in case I needed a C-section, I'd get a private room anyway. It applies to private, semi-private and public patients. If I ever decided to have another one, I would go public. 

My 22 month old son never had a moses basket and he never spent a night in our bedroom. We left the hospital when he was a day old and he's been sleeping in his cot in his room since. This helped us establish a very good and 'reliable' bedtime routine which is one thing I am most thankful for, besides having a healthy child. For that, I think that Moses' baskets are an utter waste. 

So are the prams. Expensive and usable for only a short period of time. If I'd known, I would have bought a pushchair which reclines fully and a newborn car seat separately. Now I am stuck with hardly used pram which cost in excess of €700. We haven't used in ages and I bought an 'umbrella' stroller in Tesco for €20.00 and have been using it for about a year now. 

Penneys and Tesco baby clothes are made of finest cotton and wash really, really well. On top of that they are dirt cheap. Babies grow out of clothes very quickly so I wouldn't turn down any hand-me-downs. Chances are that they were worn and washed once or twice. My son just flew through the sizes. 

I found Boots' own brand bottles and sterilisers to be better than some of the big brands. They were less leaky, you could buy variety of teats for them and they were also compatible with other brand teats. For example, I had to buy a set of Avent teats for my son's Boots bottle after he bit off the top of the teat on holidays. 

We never used a changing table. I had an Ikea changing mat on top of the chest of drawers when he was tiny but once they start moving and turning, changing tables are really dangerous. You wouldn't believe how quick babies can be to roll over or flick themselves. Also, we used a baby bath for a few months only. It was another waste as he grew out of it in no time. I could have washed him in the ordinary bath or a kitchen sink (as older generation of mothers used to) just as easily.

Don't over stock. You will get so many gifts and don't feel embarrased to ask people for specific items. One thing I wouldnt have done without is AngelCare baby monitor. It's expensive but absolutely brilliant as it monitors child's breathing and heartbeat as well.


----------



## Purple (20 Jan 2012)

If family/friends are bying clothes for the baby ask them to get things for older age sizes, otherwise you'll end up with loads of stuff for 1-3 months and 3-6 months and nothing after that.


----------



## MissRibena (20 Jan 2012)

Wow - this is brilliant.  Thanks a million everyone


----------



## Firefly (20 Jan 2012)

*Pennys sell the best bibs*. Get the ones with a circle velcro pad - they come in packs of 3 I think and are dead cheap....most of the other ones keep coming apart.

When the kids are old enough to eat solids get them eating at the table the same time as ye and eating the same things as ye. This really helps to normalise eating and also cuts down on the work/expense.


----------



## Firefly (20 Jan 2012)

Yachtie said:


> So are the prams. Expensive and usable for only a short period of time. If I'd known, I would have bought a pushchair which reclines fully and a newborn car seat separately. Now I am stuck with hardly used pram which cost in excess of €700. We haven't used in ages and I bought an 'umbrella' stroller in Tesco for €20.00 and have been using it for about a year now.


 
A big +1 to that. We have rarely used ours. The McClaren is the business though and is light and portable. 

One thing you might consider too is getting a travel cot in case you're going anywhere over night. They fold up into a rectangular box and are light enough.


----------



## Delboy (20 Jan 2012)

Firefly said:


> A big +1 to that. We have rarely used ours. The McClaren is the business though and is light and portable.
> 
> One thing you might consider too is getting a travel cot in case you're going anywhere over night. They fold up into a rectangular box and are light enough.



handy allright but a nightmare to fold up and put back in their cover when done with them....no matter how many times I use the damn thing, I still never close it properly 1st time!

Baby Bath- disagree with earlier poster...we still use ours over a year later. saves having to fill the bath every time plus when they're younger, the smaller bath is easier for them to cope with


----------



## luna (21 Jan 2012)

Delboy said:


> handy allright but a nightmare to fold up and put back in their cover when done with them....no matter how many times I use the damn thing, I still never close it properly 1st time!
> 
> Baby Bath- disagree with earlier poster...we still use ours over a year later. saves having to fill the bath every time plus when they're younger, the smaller bath is easier for them to cope with


 

I found the travel cot great, when not used as a cot when we were away, for storing toys at home and also as a playpen when mine were little.

And I also found the baby bath so inportant when they were under 12 months. Babies are so small and need holding in the bath - stooping over a big bath, after a pregnancy that messed up my hips and lower back, would have been awful. 

But I disagree with the no-soothers post. My two had soothers for their first 18 months but use was restricted after the 6 month mark to cot-only as much as possible. It wasn't a problem taking them away - done and dusted in 2 nights! 
And guess what... not breastfeeding for the first 3 days/weeks/months/(years!!!) does not mean your child is automatically going to be the dunce of the class/crippled with asthma/tortured with middle ear infections!

More important than anything else, in my mind, is to try to enjoy your baby as much as possible and don't beat yourself up. 
I stressed so much about doing everything right/by the book with my first born that I really did not enjoy the first 4 months. If your method works for you and your home life then go with it and take no notice of the "helpful" others who seem to have expert advice on everything. 

Best of luck.


----------



## Hillsalt (21 Jan 2012)

There is an excellent Irish parenting website with a message forum www.rollercoaster.ie which covers all aspects of having a baby to bringing up teenagers. 

Good luck with the pregnancy.


----------



## Firefly (27 Jan 2012)

luna said:


> And I also found the baby bath so inportant when they were under 12 months. Babies are so small and need holding in the bath - stooping over a big bath, after a pregnancy that messed up my hips and lower back, would have been awful.


 
We used the kitchen sink...the photos are class!


----------



## callybags (27 Jan 2012)

Firefly said:


> We used the kitchen sink...the photos are class!


 
My mother tried this with me many years ago.

She left me for a short while on the draining board and when she got back I had eaten half a box of Daz


----------



## MissRibena (27 Jan 2012)

LOL - i was a kitchen sink baby myself and have the pics to prove it.


----------



## Vanilla (27 Jan 2012)

Congratulations MissRibena, great news!

We too received lots of hand-me-downs from various brothers/sisters so the early years cost very little. In fact we seem to have accumulated huge amounts of baby products/toys/clothes etc without any actual money changing hands! There were some sighs of relief amongst family members as their spare rooms emptied and ours became full, though.

Only tip I'd give would be not about money at all...but will mean your child will sleep so listen carefully: *Put the baby down awake.

*It's so easy when they're born to cuddle them in your arms and let them fall asleep- you will do it, your husband will, relatives will- but don't let them! Always put the baby down awake- this will teach them to fall asleep by themselves and not rely on being in your arms to sleep. This in turn will mean that when they go through the rhythm of sleep and wake up during the night that they can go back to sleep again by themselves without you needing to pick them up every forty minutes. 

We did not know this for our first child, which cost us over a year of sleep. We knew it for our second who never had a problem sleeping. You may forget this when your beautiful baby is born so be careful!


----------



## rosey (27 Jan 2012)

Would not worry too much about the extra costs- as posters said apart from few big items in the first few months a baby is not expensive- plus you are not going out really at all- so savings there!
Childcare really is the big expense when the time comes....
Something I would say and reading the posts here it is obvious- all couples will find as they go along that certain systems or ways of doing things work for them and I would say try not to feel under pressure to do things a certain way if it doesn't feel right for you.
We didn't use a soother but more because baby wasn't interested in it really so we didn't encourage it- for others it is a life saver- again do what works for your family.
We were given a changing table and thought it was brilliant- fitted behind the door in sitting room so kept baskets with nappies,vests etc downstairs.Would highly recommend it-(of course you dont leave baby unattended) but then others think differently!
Ditto- baby bath- baby of 2 still often uses it-and she is tall!- handier than filling up big bath- less intimidating for little baby.
Most useless item- was nappy bin- much better just to put straight outside asap!
We liked pram as it was winter time- also used it downstairs for baby naps when baby small.But others think differently.
It is really hard to say because different ways suits different people
A previous poster mentioned horror story of baby sleeping in parents' bed- I breastfed and as baby got older she often slept in our bed- she is now 2 and regularly sleeps in our bed- it's not a horror at all- we love it!- to see her lovely little face first thing in the morn- it's only a precious few years as far as we are concerned- but others think this is somehow a horror! so don't be afraid to do what feels right for you...it's a wonderful time..enjoy it all


----------



## Hillsalt (27 Jan 2012)

Vanilla said:


> Congratulations MissRibena, great news!
> 
> We too received lots of hand-me-downs from various brothers/sisters so the early years cost very little. In fact we seem to have accumulated huge amounts of baby products/toys/clothes etc without any actual money changing hands! There were some sighs of relief amongst family members as their spare rooms emptied and ours became full, though.
> 
> ...



Agreed Vanilla. 

One of my kids was born premature and spent many weeks in hospital. When he came home, he slept 12 hours per night from 7pm to 7am. The reason for this is that the nurses were so busy, that they couldn't possible cuddle him to sleep so he gave up trying.


----------

