After the initial delight of seeing those two pink lines it starts to sink in the major commitment and financial obligation the addition of child might be to your family. For us, the monetary responsibility for Remy was one we were mindful of but weren’t actually aware of until month seven. During this time medical bill were stacking up, the pressure to get the nursery done was high, and the approach of unpaid FMLA was a daunting fear to our bank accounts. I frequently wondered how my single mother got through it all on her own. Here are some of the before, the during, and the after of what you might want to consider when you find out you’re preggers.

• Doctors’ visits – routinely every four weeks until week 27 when they suggest you come in every 2 weeks. This then changes again at week 36 when you get closer to your due date and the visits become a weekly occurrence. Depending on your health and the type of prenatal testing you’d like done, you must also consider lab and sonogram fees. You must also realize the cost of monthly check-ups for your little one down the road. While insurance covers the brunt of all these expenses, you are most likely still paying some out of pocket bills.
• Nursery décor – this can range from paint, furniture, storage, and any other extras you want to add to make the room a special place for your little one. I would suggest purchasing items along the way (not all at once because that can be frightening), hitting up thrift stores/secondhand stores where you can score gently used baby equipment, furniture, etc. at a great price, and asking family and friends for any items they may no longer need.
• Your Registry – Items on your registries that are major necessities such as the car seat, diapers, bottles, breast pump, etc. that were not gifted to you during baby showers. If you’re lucky this can be a very small list but since our family and friends were on the East Coast this made the celebrations of baby showers very difficult. We had to purchase a majority of our registry, so this was a hefty bill for us.

Do your research for the breast pump! Thankfully my insurance covered the bill for my breast pump and that easily saved us over $300!

• RX – Prenatal vitamins, formula (if necessary), and any other medication needed along the way, such as nausea medicine, an iron supplement, etc. There are also postpartum mommy needs to consider such as nursing bras, pain medication, and after delivery care for your who-ha;)

The experts weren’t exaggerating when they said that babies are expensive. I’m sure I’m leaving out a ton of other costs but these were the major ones that we tackled (and are still tackling) in my household. So for those of you considering expanding your family, I suggest you sit down with your partner, crunch some numbers, and start saving!

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