{"id":10354,"date":"2021-02-15T10:37:49","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T15:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/10354\/unexpected-costs-of-having-baby\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T12:56:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:56:32","slug":"unexpected-costs-of-having-baby","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/10354\/unexpected-costs-of-having-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential costs to consider when preparing for baby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You\u2019ve registered for all the essentials, had a spectacular baby shower, and stocked a closet full of diapers. But as the bills start coming in, you realize having a baby comes at a higher price than you thought. Here are some costs that might be higher than you\u2019d expected:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Home improvement:<\/strong>\u00a0Creating a safe and welcoming space for a new baby means changing and reimagining your home. You might need to turn a room, such as a home office, into a nursery or rearrange the space you have to make room for your growing family. Some changes can be simple and easy, like installing basic safety equipment such as outlet covers, cabinet latches, and baby gates. However, other changes may require you to invest some of your budget to ensure your little one has a comfortable, cozy, safe space.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Medical expenses:<\/strong>\u00a0Be sure to check with your insurance provider to see what your plan covers for both your birth and your baby\u2019s first year. Although preventative care for babies is usually covered (things like well visits and vaccines), costs for sick visits can really add up, and children usually have their own deductible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Unpaid leave:<\/strong>\u00a0You might transition into a single-income family after delivery, depending on where you live, your company\u2019s policy and your own comfort with taking time off. You may be surprised to find benefits only cover a small percentage of your typical income or that you have more paid options than you expected! Explore all of your choices for medical leave, any state-sponsored benefits, use of vacation time and unpaid options. This allows you to plan ahead and save.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Feeding expenses:<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019d think breastfeeding would be the one free item on\u00a0Baby\u2019s list of needs, but your time is worth money! And if you\u2019re not around to nurse, you\u2019ll need a breast pump, bottles, milk storage bags, and\/or formula.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Childcare:<\/strong>\u00a0If you go back to work or just want a one-on-one date night with your partner, you\u2019ll probably need to pay a babysitter or childcare program to watch after your little one. Do you know what the going rate is in your area? Don\u2019t get caught imagining it\u2019s what your neighbor pays her daycare or the same as when you babysat in high school. This will be an ongoing expense that requires some serious budgeting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/10340\/packing-a-hospital-bag\/\">Packing a delivery bag<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/104369\/baby-care-in-the-first-week-the-not-so-basics\/\">Baby care in the first week: the (not so) basics<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So you know about the cribs, and diapers, and food, but have you thought about health insurance? Or a baby-carrier? Or a Gucci onesie? Okay, so maybe you don&#8217;t need the Gucci onesie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":233107,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ovia_author_name":"","ovia_author_prefix":"","ovia_author_image":"","ovia_content_type_id":"175","ovia_product_mode":"3","ovia_days_from_signup":"","ovia_days_from_lmp":"200","ovia_days_from_baby_birth":"","ovia_days_from_enroll":"","ovia_health_module_days_from":"","ovia_article_for_email_days_from":"","ovia_health_module":"","ovia_legacy_id2":"","ovia_ttc":"","ovia_article_subtype":"","ovia_health_symptom":"","ovia_partner_id":"","ovia_partner_custom_group":"","ovia_legacy_category":"6","ovia_legacy_category2":"","ovia_content_url_id":"10354","ovia_include_share_buttons":"","ovia_fertility_goal":"","ovia_secondary_module":"","ovia_trimester":"","ovia_child_age":"","ovia_share_image":"","ovia_more_menu_image":"","ovia_button1_url":"","ovia_days_from_postpartum":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"fert-category":[],"preg-category":[84,77,74],"parent-category":[],"fert-tag":[],"preg-tag":[],"parent-tag":[],"class_list":["post-10354","article","type-article","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","preg-category-baby-gear","preg-category-bringing-baby-home","preg-category-life-during-pregnancy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Essential costs to consider when preparing for baby - Ovia Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So you know about the cribs, and diapers, and food, but have you thought about health insurance? Or a baby-carrier? Or a Gucci onesie? Okay, so maybe you don&#039;t need the Gucci onesie.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/10354\/unexpected-costs-of-having-baby\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Essential costs to consider when preparing for baby - Ovia Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So you know about the cribs, and diapers, and food, but have you thought about health insurance? Or a baby-carrier? Or a Gucci onesie? 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