The Cost of Raising a Child

The final numbers are in... and I almost fell over in my chair when I saw them. Let me start by saying that we received almost every baby item we needed from our baby shower. So none of the "baby start-up" costs are included in this total, since anything we did buy was purchased during 2006 before Braedyn was born. This total is for the calendar year 2007 - so from when Braedyn was 1 week old through his first birthday.

(drum roll) Our grand total of child costs for Braedyn's first year of life is $12,730. ::gasp:: I mean - ::double gasp:: Holy Moly, can you believe that?

After auditing the figures myself, the total is legit. In fact, it might be a little low because some of Braedyn's prescription costs were included with a different medical category (don't get me started on all the different categories). So, here's our breakdown... and obviously, some of these costs would vary greatly from our family versus someone else's, but it certainly does put things in perspective.

Babysitter: $110 - this was only a few nights, sadly enough.

Birthday Party: $185 - food, supplies, cake

Clothing: $145 - trust me when I tell you that I only shopped clearance racks, and almost every piece of item I purchased for Braedyn costs $3 or less, and most of these clothes are for 12-24 months.

Daycare - $4,610 - and just think, this amount is only for 9 months of the year. Ouch!!

Infant Costs - $3,685 - I'd say over 75% of this amount went to Target. I rarely shopped in Target before Braedyn was born. Now it seems like I'm in that damn store every week, and it's a miracle if I get out of there for under $75. This category includes things like pacifiers, bibs, baby food, and his new car seat when he outgrew the infant one. But the majority of the costs in this category is for diapers and formula.

Medical - $3,920 - Let me preface this category by stating that I believe we have pretty decent insurance, and thank goodness that we do! This includes after-insurance costs for labor & delivery (hospital, OB, anesthesiologist, pediatrician), Braedyn's surgery for ear tubes and adenoidectemy, prescriptions, and $15 co-pay after co-pay after co-pay for sick visits to the pediatrician. ::sigh::

Miscellaneous - $75 - This includes his Leap Frog learning table and Floppy Seat. As you can tell, Ben doesn't like the miscellaneous category, which is why the balance is minimal. If it were up to me, every damn thing would be in miscellaneous.

So there you have it. Raise your hand if you're ready to have a kid. =)~ So, of course, now comes my disclaimer... sure it's expensive raising a child, we all know that. Some of us - who use charts and graphs - just know it in a little bit more detail than others. But seeing Braedyn's smiling face as he's standing up in his crib waiting for Mommy and Daddy to come get him every morning after he wakes up is Priceless - and makes all the expensive costs worth it! Right Ben?... Ben?... Ben?

So I guess our New Year's Resolution - if we had to make one - is to continue on with the endless and unsuccessful search for that money tree that should be growing in our back yard! Oh, and to cut down on medical costs - Ben has proposed the idea of giving birth at home, sans medical team, to save on costs for our next child. He claims he will deliver the baby himself. THIS is coming from the man who once almost passed out after he got a paper cut and saw a trickle of blood. Oh - Dear - Lord... somebody help me, puh-lease!