While babycenter.com's cost calculator estimated that it should cost us around $9,000 to raise our child for the first year, I think that is a gross over-estimate for us.
For my husband and me, the only real costs so far are that he hasn't been working part time (which honestly didn't earn a ton of moolah anyhow), the fact that I chose to take 3 months off, diapers & wipes, and the occasional babysitter (which is sometimes free). Samson's birth was covered by my insurance. My husband does daycare, my breastpump was a gently-used hand-me-down (which means Samson's food has been free thus far), and everything else was a gift.
It is amazing how the Lord has provided. Family, friends and even a bunch of people I had never met came to fill our needs with baskets-full of clothes, baby gear, blankets, and everything we have needed. I even had to give some away, because there wasn't room to store it. I wrote right around One hundred thank-you notes to all the people who gave gifts for my baby. This has really allowed me to spend some money on more of the "want" items rather than more of the "need" items.
If I hadn't taken those extra weeks off work, and if I hadn't bought those "want" baby items, I think we would easily get away with spending under $1,000 on Samson's first six months.
P.S. If you are reading this and wondering where your thank-you is, I promise its on the way!
No comments:
Post a Comment