[Pipercub]

With my daughter, I found that I was spending apx $14 a week on formula, $15 a week on diapers (we used LUVS; Pampers or Huggies would be more expensive - but if you sign up on their websites they will send you coupons for $2-$3 just about every month). Once she started "solids" (jar baby food), we gave her one jar of vegi/meat each day and supplimented with mashed up versions of real food (meaning the rest of her food was what we ate, but mashed up - bananas, apple sauce, yogurt, etc.) So since we only used a jar a day, probably just $4 a week on that. A box of the baby rice cereal mixed with water, yogurt, apple juice or formula lasts a good long while too and only costs about $3 a box. I was always religious about putting on diaper cream (zinc oxide) with every diaper change to prevent any diaper rash, so we spent about $3 a week on the cream. (A lot of people just use the cream when their baby has a rash, so that was just personal preference.) Baby lotions and bath stuff last a good long while, so it wasn't a weekly recurring expense. All in all, I'd say we probably spent about $140 or so a month on the "big" stuff.

We got a ton of clothes from grandma (first grandbaby) and also a lot from garage sales for CHEAP (like twenty-five cents an outfit). Our daughter changed sizes apx every three months until she was about 15 months old. (She is above average height; wore three-four year old clothes at age 2) Once I realized that all I really needed were a couple pairs of pants and shirts (we LOVE the sweatpants) and just a few nice "going out" outfits, I didn't spend so much on clothes. At one time, I figured she had so many clothes that we'd be lucky if she wore each outfit once! She really needed far less clothes than we thought she would.

Hope this helps!

~Piper
Happy Mama to Liliana Grace (Sept 2002)
Signing with agency to adopt Susanna Joy on May 6th!