How much will my baby cost?

ashley rol

I am having a baby in 8 months and I am 15 years old. My parents want me to put it up for adoption which is NOT happening I would NEVER give my kid away for anything. So I have a list of everything I need but I want to know how much it will cost. I am not putting it in daycare I am going to watch it I do online schooling anyways. And I can get a pretty good car seat and stroller and crib for cheap at thrift stores by my house they are gently used that I seen. So that rest of what I would need is blankets, burp cloths, pacifiers, diaper bag, diapers, wipes, baby shampoo, gentle baby bath, baby tub, soft toys, audio monitor, hooded towels, baby oil, baby nail clippers, bouncer, and I can get a very good amount of baby clothes from thrift stores to that are also gently used.
Also tell me if there is anything else I am missing.

Answer
Well you are kind of young to be having a baby but it sounds like you know that you are going to have to be prepared and have listed pretty much everything you need and then some, lol. Also you may want to know that once you are pregnant you become a emancipated minor, which means you basically are considered an adult and your parents can't make you do anything you don't want to do, like giving up your baby so that gives you one less thing to worry about. Now for the baby items, babies aren't cheap but I have had several so I have learned just what is needed and where you can substitute things. Right now is a great time to look at yard sales for baby items, a yard sale may be the better place to look for a car seat b/c you can ask the original owner if it has ever been in a car that had a accident, you don't want one that has. I don't know where you live but in our area the local WIC gives away car seats for free! Brand new ones. Also the sheriffs department gives new ones away too. You just need to give either one a call and they will help you get one. If you haven't went to apply for WIC, you need to do so asap. WIC is for people like yourself, it's very helpful and saves you a ton of money. While you are pregnant they will give you checks for certain healthy foods, like cereal, cheese, milk, eggs, peanut butter, ect. When the baby comes they really save you a ton of money b/c they will give you checks to pay for the baby formula if you are not solely breast feeding and if you are they will continue to give you food and help teach you to breast feed easier and give you a new breast pump. They will also help you to get things you may need, like clothing, crib, and things like that. I would start getting a bag of size one diapers every month so you have a supply when the baby is born. I say size one b/c you get a lot more in the bag than the newborns and they pretty much will fit the baby within a week or two, you can fold the top part down if her/his belly button cord hasn't fallen off yet. I would also get a few bags of newborn for the first week or two.
Do you have any friends or family that recently had a baby? If so I would offer to buy the stuff that doesn't fit their baby anymore and the items they don't use anymore. If they are nice they may just let you have it for free, I know I was always willing to give people things for free if they needed them. I wish that people could personally contact others through here, like email b/c if you are not to far I could pass on a few things, like a car seat and pack and play that is also a bassinet as well as a front pack carrier and a bouncer seat. Even if it had to be shipped I would be willing to do that if you are able to send the shipping cost after you get the stuff, I say after so you know I am not trying to rip you off, lol. Well anyways if you are able to figure out a way to msg me or somehow get me your email or alternate one I will let you know what I have, if you are in the U.S. Don't worry I am not some weirdo, lol, only a mother who knows just how hard it can be when starting out.
As far as overall cost to have a baby? It will be at least a few hundred to get the things that you will need and depending on how much help you get it will continue to cost a lot to raise the baby. Also you need to show your parents that you are trying to be mature, you didn't mention insurance so that is also something you need to make sure you get b/c it costs over $4,000.00 in most areas to deliver a baby. You will be able to get full coverage through programs that are set up for pregnant women who need insurance. WIC can also help you arrange for that too, so basically you first call should be to the WIC office so they can steer you in the right direction, they won't be able to get you on WIC until you get a note from a doctor saying that you are pregnant so if you haven't been to the doctors yet you will need to do that, if you do need the insurance it will usually pay your back bills up to three months so don't worry about the cost of the appointment.

Which video baby monitor is better, the Motorola MBP41 or the MBP43-2?

Garebot900

I am going to buy a video baby monitor for my newborn son and the two I have narrowed it down to are the Motorola MBP41 and the MBP43-2. Other than the obvious inclusion of the second camera, I have not really seen any significant difference in the product minus the slightly larger screen. The MBP41 is $149 at Babies-R-Us and the MBP43-2 is $239. I think the second camera and bigger screen would be a great addition, especially if we decide to have another kid any time soon, but I don't know if the price difference is really worth dropping $100 extra bucks. Share your opinions now!

Answer
The MBP41 - the MBP43-2 is great if you have two young babies, but you don't and by the time your next child is born, your eldest will probably be out of a crib and not in need of a baby monitor.

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How do you get back to horses after having kids?

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horsin1787

I'm a stay at home momma to two wonder kids, but I really miss riding. Just wondering how other horsey moms do it.

Answer
It is not easy to juggle ;-) I have 4 girls, they are 7yo twins, 5yo and 3yo.

I found it particularly hard to get back into riding after my twins. I was fine for the initial 3 months and bought a new dressage horse and was even back having lessons.

Unfortunately one had a brain haemorrhage and I was not able to ride for virtually 2 years. We live on our own large property and my horses are at home with me. However I have no family support near by (we are in a rural area) or anyone that can watch my children for me to ride.

Once I had made my decision to get back in the saddle on a regular basis, I needed to find a way to make it work without inconveniencing my husband too much as he is busy on the farm.

I took one of the paddocks right beside my house and turned it into an arena. This way I was close enough to the house that the baby monitor worked. I have one with a LCD screen and sound, so I never missed anything and could literally get off the horse and into the house in the time it would take someone to get up the stairs. A 2 hour nap was plenty of time to ride.

I built a child proof pool fence play area between my house and arena. I could watch them play while I was riding and they could sit there if they wished and watch me riding. A great way to desensitize a horse to trampolines and other child noises ;-)

As the girls got older it certainly got easier when they were going to school. Although I still have one at home during the day, one child is easier for hubby to take in the tractor or for me to arrange to ride on days he is doing work he can have a toddler with him in safety.

I'm counting down to next year because she will be in preschool and I will be able to have regular set lesson days (unless kids are sick).

~ My main way of being out with the horses with only one child (way too hard with twins) is to get the 3yo involved also. If I'm leading horses I throw her on top of the quietest one (with a helmet), she comes with me to rug and unrug twice a day and when my older girls are riding I put her on the Shetland so she is apart of the action also.

You have not said how old your children are? If they are older then get some lessons for them also, it is lovely to ride with your children. If they are younger and you don't have someone to mind them, then leave them in the pram at the gate. I spent many hours at the gate of the dressage arena while my mum was riding.

My mum rode with all 3 of us kids and never missed a beat in competition (eventing). Dad was a truck driver so he did not mind us much. She either had us in the pram at the gate or on the front of the saddle with quieter horses. We were all 5 years apart, so she got one child off to school and then had the next one arrive ;-)

If your riding at a lesson school, I would seriously ask the people if they had someone available to watch your children while you had a 30 minute lesson. You pay the staff member for their time, it should only be their hourly wage and would not be much. Any smart business person would do this on a fortnightly or monthly basis until your kids are at school. They get business and have not lost money if you have paid the staff member. Worth a shot!

If you don't have support and are riding at a place that wont allow you to have the child on site. Don't forget about community based programs for child care. There are a few around that will offer parents respite care for people with multiple children, children with disabilities or single parents. I don't know if any of those fit your situation, but it is worth looking what is available in your area.

Last but not least, ask hubby for some "me" time. I'm happier when I'm physically active and riding. It keeps me strong physically and mentally. The benefits run right through the family home when your feeling good about yourself and fulfilled.

Good luck ;-)

Does anyone know where I could find a double baby monitor?

Auntie M

I need to find a double baby monitor for my sisters new house. She has 2 babies (16 month and 3 month) and needs a double monitor. What I mean is 2 receivers and 2 speakers that all work together so she can put a receiver in each of the babies rooms and 1 speaker upstairs and one downstairs. If anyone knows where I could find one online or in a store that would be great thanks :)

Answer
As far as I have been able to find, there is no such thing. You can't have two transmitters because they use the same radio frequencies - the signals interfere with each other so you just get static on the receiver. Same thing applies if you try buying two different sets of monitors - one for each baby - because ALL baby monitors share the same narrow range of frequencies due to government regulation of the radio frequencies.

My solution is to have one conventional baby monitor with 2 receivers (for one kid) and one intercom set for the other kid. The intercoms I'm using are a 3-piece set I bought from radio shack. They plug into the wall and will work 2-ways. You set the one in the baby's room to "lock" and turn the other ones on and it works just like a baby monitor. Since the baby monitor is wireless and the intercoms send the signal through the electrical wires of the house, the signals don't interfere with each other.

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How do my husband and I agree on handling nighttime waking of baby?

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Chrystal M

My husband decided last night at 3:00 a.m. that he was "tired of this sh*t" and turned our 10-month-old daughter's baby monitor off. I was furious. To me, that's making nighttime wakings totally my responsibility.

I already work 60-65 hours per week and have her with me at my business (own my own business). He says "it's time she slept through the night". Fine. I wish she would.

Right now she's teething and miserable and up 2-3 times a night for all of 5-7 minutes a time. Big deal, right? Well it's not a big deal unless you're the one doing it every night. Add that to having her all day at work and usually being the one feeding her dinner & bathing her. My husband gets home from work and helps a lot around the house but well after baby's bedtime so he rarely sees her during the week.

What in the world can we do to agree on this situation? How do I get him to understand he's putting it ALL on me.
I don't think you understand my question or maybe I didn't explain well: How do we agree on this -- I think we still need to respond to her cries. He thinks she's old enough to "cry it out" even if she is teething. I can't let her just lay there and cry, and now he wants to turn the monitor off. We HAVE to come to an understanding.

He's a wonderful help around the house, so please don't call him a lazy jerk who doesn't help. He does. His work schedule makes it hard for him to do things during the week with the baby.

How can we agree on how to handle her nighttime wakings, especially right now -- while she's teething?

I guess what I'm asking is this: When is it appropriate to let her cry it out? I think never. He thinks now. Alternatively, how do we get her to sleep through the night?

So many of our friends with babies younger than ours already have them sleeping through the night -- or they're lying to us and telling us they are :(

Answer
When my wife and I were both working we alternated nights. Now I stay home with the kids and I get up with our 10 month old every night, every time he gets up. I'm a little sleepy during the day but she has a lot more concentrating to do at work, than me at home.

I'll tell ya, up until a month and half ago, the 10 month old was miserable. Not going to sleep, up all night, then the doc taught me "the trick" and I could not be more thankful. When he is getting sleepy, he goes right in the crib, even if he is still awake. Then if he wakes up at all, I go in, put the pacifier back in, soothe him for a minute (just til he's not crying) and leave...wait a minute...if he's still fussing do it again...wait two minutes, and so on. It took about a week and a half, but now he goes right to sleep and rarely wakes up at night, it he does it is just long enough for me to put the pacifier back in.

Does anyone know of a cordless child monitor that keeps up with 4 children?

melrudolph

I need something that I carry so I can hear them at all times. We have a few "friends" that I need to keep a close eye (or ear) on! I guess I'm looking for a base for me. One that I can push a button to talk to all four kids. And four recievers that are always on. If their's are on at all times, they won't have to figure out how to communicate with me; I'll always hear them anyway. Thanks!

Answer
Ignore the first two posters...

I, am 19 and have 3 older sisters... You need to monitor you're children and a cell isn't going to do it.

I don't know of any monitors that can monitor 4 different channels at once... Fischer Price has many cordless monitors that can monitor 2 at a time, you can check out their website for that, or even go to your local gadgets store and ask there.

I think you are looking for 2 way radios though so that you can talk back. I have no help there other than there are some baby monitors with a talk back botton on the baby's end, that might help. Babys R'us usually can help you with that.

britany

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