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Baby First-Year Expenses (the list and its cost)

Illustrations of baby first-year expenses such as clothes, toys, diapers and milk bottle.

This post is on my baby’s first-year expenses.

To be more accurate, the list of items and money my husband and I spent from pregnancy until our baby is 1-year-old.

Table of Contents

Baby first-year expenses

In one of my earlier posts, I shared that we spent RM13,359 welcoming our precious baby. That figure, RM13,359 is from the positive pregnancy test until my baby is 1 month old.

So, for the first part of this post, I shall cover the money we spent on our baby’s 1-month-old until 12-month-old (1-year-old).

Towards the end of this post, you will find the total expenses we spent on our baby during his first year.

1. Baby first-year feeding expenses

A feeding bottle as part of baby first-year expenses.

Let’s start with feeding expenses, one of my baby’s top expenses.

Even though I breastfeed my baby but that only contributes to about 10% of my baby’s milk consumption. There is a number of reasons but I am not going to elaborate further in this post.

So, 90% of my baby milk consumption is from formula milk. And we gave 2 different types of formula milk to our baby. The second formula milk was introduced when he is 6-month-old due to the high frequency of flu and cough.

When we switched to the formula milk brand, our baby refused to drink the milk. So, we mixed brand 2 with brand 1 which my baby has been consuming all the while. Baby happily finished his milk.

From that day onwards, we use both brands of formula milk. Most importantly, baby immunity seems to improve.

Further details of our baby feeding expenses are as below:

  • formula milk brand 1 (650g x RM59.90 x 42 packs): RM2,515.80
  • formula milk brand 2 (600g x RM78.70 x 12 packs): RM944.40
  • baby calming pacifier set (2 x RM25): RM50
  • baby safe cleanser twin pack (RM 45 x 2): RM90
  • milk bottle cleaner brush (3 x RM10): RM30
  • baby bottle feeding teat (2 x RM21): RM42
  • nipple hole puncher: RM27
  • baby feeding set (cereal bowl, cup, fork and spoon): RM20
  • solid food – local rice for porridge (6 x RM10): RM60
  • solid food – meat extract paste (3 x RM25): RM75
  • cereal puffs (6 x RM10): RM60
  • multivitamin syrup (500ml): RM48
  • subtotal for feeding cost: RM3,962.20

Do take note, the formula milk consumption above is an estimation only.

Because there are times when my baby is reluctant to drink milk for a day or two. And during growth spurts, my baby would drink more milk than usual.

2. Baby first-year expenses on clothing

A pair of baby shoes and a few baby clothes.

As for clothing, we only spend about RM410. That’s because I bought slightly larger size baby clothing when we were preparing for our newborn.

Some of the clothes can even fit my baby until he’s 3 years old.

The followings are what we spent on baby clothing:

  • baby jacket: RM35
  • new cloth set (RM35 x 3): RM105
  • summer cloth set (RM20 x 4): RM80
  • baby pyjamas set (RM20 x 6): RM120
  • baby stocking (RM5 x 8): RM40
  • beanie and hat (RM15 x 2): RM30
  • subtotal for clothing cost: RM410.00

Another reason why we spent less on clothing is that we received a few baby cloth sets as gifts from thoughtful family and friends.

3. Baby first-year hygiene and bath care expenses

Undoubtedly, the diaper is among the top expenses on our baby expenses list. From my estimation, we spent about RM1,000 on diapers for the baby’s first year.

The full list of baby hygiene and bath care expenses is as below:

  • diapers (RM30 x 3 packs x 11 months): RM990
  • baby wipes (RM13.90 x 6): RM83.40
  • baby hygiene wipes (RM10 x 4): RM40
  • diaper rash cream (RM18 x 2): RM36
  • baby powder (RM12 x 4): RM48
  • yu yee oil (RM3.50 x 6): RM21
  • baby shampoo (RM15 x 2): RM30
  • baby bath (RM15 x 4): RM60
  • bath toys: RM10
  • an additional set of baby napkins: RM48
  • mosquito repellent: RM27.50
  • subtotal for hygiene and bath care cost: RM1,393.90

For the diapers, the figure of RM990 is an estimation based on 7 diapers in a day.

And we use medium-range quality with prices between RM28 to RM34 per pack, depending on sales and promotion price.

Actually, we did try with cheaper diapers but it leaks. It is quite troublesome when leaking happened while the baby is sleeping on the baby cot.

So, we ended up with medium-range quality diapers.

4. Baby first-year healthcare expenses (doctor visit and vaccination)

For baby doctor visits, we managed to save money because my ex-employer cover the medical expenses for both my husband and my son.

Based on my records, we spent about RM616 on child specialists and doctor visits:

Specialists and doctor visits

  • 21 Sep 16 – mild sore throat: RM75
  • 5 Nov 16 – flu and cough: RM28
  • 10 Nov 16 – flu and cough: RM60
  • 16 Nov 16 – flu and cough: RM69
  • 4 Jan 17 – flu and cough: RM70
  • 18 Jan 17 – runny nose with high fever: RM93
  • 20 Jan 17 – fever: RM50
  • 2 Feb 17 – flu and cough: RM50
  • 18 Feb 17 – mild infection with fever: RM53
  • 20 Mar 17 – mouth ulcer: RM38
  • 6 May 17 – flu with mild fever: RM30
  • Subtotal for specialist and doctor visits: RM616 (reimbursed as an outpatient medical claim through employer medical benefit)

Since the medical expenses above are paid by my ex-employer, I am not going to include these in my baby’s first-year expenses.

Baby vaccination expenses

As for the vaccination, it is not included in the employer’s medical benefit.

And this is our baby vaccination list with the cost, taken for the first year:

  • Pneumococcal vaccine first dose – RM230
  • Rotavirus vaccine first dose – RM175
  • Pneumococcal vaccine second dose – RM230
  • Rotavirus vaccine second dose – RM175
  • Pneumococcal vaccine third dose – RM230
  • Pneumococcal vaccine forth – RM230
  • Subtotal for baby first-year vaccination cost: RM1,270

For your information, the above vaccination is on top of the free vaccinations provided by Klinik Kesihatan.

5. Baby first-year childcare expenses

A baby surrounded by family members.

When my hubby and me at work, we sent our baby to a nanny staying near our home. The childcare service cost us RM650 per month, from Monday to Friday, 7:30 am until 6:30 pm.

On occasions when I need to work on Saturday, I paid our nanny RM20 for 4 hours of work.

And the expenses list on childcare for the first year is as below:

  • monthly nanny fee during office hours (RM650 x 10 months): RM6,500
  • additional nanny fee during weekends: RM200
  • subtotal for childcare fee: RM6,700

In total, we spent RM6,700 on childcare expenses.

Do take note, we only started to send our baby to the nanny when our baby is 2-month-old. For the first 2 months, I was on maternity leave and I took care of our baby on my own.

6. Baby first-year expenses on toys and learning

A stack of toddler books as part of baby first-year expenses

During the baby’s first year, we didn’t spend a lot of money on toys. Because the baby is still too young for it.

When the baby is about 6-month-old, I started to buy books for him.

So, these are our expenses on toys and learning:

  • teething toys: RM30
  • baby toys: RM240
  • toddler books: RM100
  • baby foam play mat: RM159
  • subtotal for toys and learning expenses: RM529

Besides, we also received some toys and baby gym mats as newborn gifts from family members.

7. Baby first birthday celebration expenses

For our baby’s first birthday celebration, we threw a birthday dinner party for him. And we spent about RM1,829:

  • Buffet dinner party: RM1,749
  • Birthday cake: RM80
  • Subtotal for my baby’s first birthday celebration: RM1,829

8. Miscellaneous expenses

Along the way, there are miscellaneous expenses as below:

  • plastic baby chair: RM110
  • custom-made rattan baby chair: RM200
  • baby walker: RM90
  • food processor: RM180
  • baby net cradle (sarong) x 2 x RM25: RM50
  • an additional pillow and bolster set: RM27
  • subtotal for miscellaneous expenses: RM657

Most probably, the miscellaneous expenses are more than the above. Because I only include the items with a bigger price tag.

Summary of expenses from 1-month-old to 1-year-old

To make it easier, this is the summary of my baby’s first-year expenses with its percentage:

  • feeding: RM3,962.20 (24%)
  • clothing: RM410 (2%)
  • hygiene and bath: RM1,393.90 (8%)
  • healthcare (vaccination only): RM1270 (8%)
  • childcare: RM6700 (40%)
  • toys and learning: RM529 (3%)
  • 1st birthday celebration: RM1829 (11%)
  • miscellaneous expenses: RM657 (4%)
  • subtotal: RM16,751.10

From the above summary, the biggest expenses come from childcare, followed by feeding.

And the total expenses from baby 1-month-old until baby 1-year-old is RM16,751.10.

The total expenses of my baby’s first-year

And now, the total expenses for my baby’s first year is RM30,110.10.

The details are as below:

  • pregnancy until baby 1 month old: RM13,359
  • baby 1-month-old until 12-month-old: RM16,751.10
  • total expenses: RM30,110.10

As for how I got the figure of RM13,359, you can find the details in my older post where I share the cost of welcoming my baby.

Final thoughts

So, what do you think of my baby’s first-year total expenses of RM30,110.10? Is it reasonable? Or expensive?

In my opinion, for the average Malaysian like my husband and me, RM30,110.10 as baby first-year expenses can be quite expensive. But, compared with the amount of money we spent during the 6 years of our infertility journey including a failed IVF, that figure becomes very reasonable.

I consider my husband and me to be cost cautious. As you can see from the details of my expenses, we mostly use medium-range products for our baby.

If we were to use all premium range products and services, the figure can easily reach RM50,000.

And of course, with some newborn cost-saving tips, the figure can be much lower than RM30,110.

Also, do take note the figure is for the first baby. Those with a second baby will agree that they spent much less compared to the first baby.

If you enjoy this post, you might want to read my other post on kid’s expenses:

On a side note, I wish to stress that the purpose of my sharing is for first-time parents to better prepare themselves financially when planning to start a family. This post didn’t mean to discourage a couple from having a baby.

Personally, having my child is the greatest gift and is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Lastly, tell me how much you spent on your baby for his or her first year. A rough figure will do.

Image credits

First image by Mark Baird from Pixabay
Other images from Canva

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