Baby Dumpling's Poppa

Expenses When New Baby Arrives

The comment left by a reader to my blog got me and my wife talking about some of the increases we encountered since the baby arrived.  Some we expected and some we knew but really didn't take into account until they arrived.  Here are a few of those increases and some ideas about how to offset those costs.

There are a lot of things that should be included when trying to estimate the cost of the additional family member.  I just got my first full water and electric bill after the baby arrived.  Due to the extra laundry, water consumption has gone up.  Because it's winter, the house must be kept warmer than I like so the cost for heating (electricity) has also gone up.  Both of these increases amount to about $40 per month, you should take these things into consideration when working on the monthly budget.  I also learned that there is a special laundry soap for baby stuff and it's not cheap.
You can offset the cost of some things by using discount coupons, sign up for as many free samples as you can.  My wife was able to get a few cans of formula for free.  We don't use formula usually so we'll most likely donate it.  Last week my wife was able to get a coupon for a case of diapers from someone who didn't need it at Cosco.  If possible ask friends and neighbors to give you the baby stuff coupons they don't need or use.  Make sure you make extra space for those things you get on sale.  If you know you're going to need it and you can get it on sale and use a coupon then take full advantage.  Word of warning when it comes to diapers, don't buy more than what your baby is going to use for the particular stage they're in.  Remember babies grow and the diaper that fits this week may not fit next week.  We've returned a few cases of diapers once we realized that Baby Dumpling was going to out grow them before we would use them and got the next size up.  You really never want to run out of diapers, because then you are stuck paying full price at the closest grocery store at 2 a.m.  Additional things you could do to offset the increases is, "GO Green."  I'm not talking about going with cloth diapers, even though it's said to be cheaper than disposables, but I'm not sure if the people who say that include the extra water, electricity and soap in their estimated cost.  What I'm talking about is using the energy efficient light bulbs, water saving things on your faucets and shower heads.  During the winter you can use those additional window insulation kits, hot water heater blankets and things like that.  I've been doing a lot of these things for over 10 years and I'm still looking for new ways to save.  There are a lot of ways to save money just by doing a few simple things and with gas prices staying above $3, a dozen eggs costing over $2, a case of diapers almost $30 same with 1 can of formula, you really need think about ways to offset these costs.

Baby Almost 3 Months Old

While holding Baby Dumpling I realized how much she's grown and how much has happened since she was born.  She weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces at birth and it was real easy to carry her around.  I could do a lot of things while holding the baby.  I was even getting pretty good at making a mess on the kitchen floor and cleaning it up while she was in my arm (at that time I only need 1 to hold her).  It's no longer possible to hold the baby and make a mess let a lone clean it up.  I remember when my wife complained that after feeding Baby Dumpling would still be hungry.  I just kept telling my wife the same thing everyone else said, "if the baby is gaining weight, going pee/poop then everything is fine."  Now I realize that my wife was correct.  She wasn't producing enough milk to keep up with the baby's growth.  At 2 months Baby Dumpling weighed in at 11 pounds 8 ounces, and grew from 18.5 inches at birth to 22 inches.  My wife is now producing enough milk.  When she used the breast pump and complained the baby wasn't getting enough to eat she was able to pump about 3 ounces for 2 breasts.  Now she pumps 3-4 ounces per breast and Baby Dumpling empties both at 1 feeding.  We did notice a lot of the clothes and diapers were getting too small and we still had some that were still in the packages.  We had a few cases of diapers that were also not opened.  So we decided to return the stuff that we could and get the next size up.  I checked web sites about baby weight gain and growth.  The one site I found that put things into easy to understand English, meaning the didn't constantly refer to the percentile.  It gave actual numbers that I can relate too.  At birth babies often loose weight, then about 3 weeks later the start exceed the birth weight.  The average baby gains about 5.5-8.5 ounces per week until they reach 4 months.  On the high end, that works out to about 2.125 pounds or 68 ounces per month.  That means on the high end Baby Dumpling should be roughly 10 pounds 15 ounces at 2 months, but in reality she's 11 pounds 8 ounces. So maybe my Baby Dumpling is overweight by about half a pound, that's o.k. she's just a baby.  But then I looked at the growth chart and it says that a baby will grow about 1 inch every month.  If Baby Dumpling grew 1 inch per month she would be 20.5 inches.  But she's 1.5 inches bigger than that.  The site says that this will slow once babies reach 4 months of age.  Maybe Baby Dumpling's growth will slow, but I have a feeling the bassinet that I planned for her to sleep in until she's a year old won't last that long and same for the car seat.

I am amazed that just a short time ago she was so tiny and now she's much bigger.  Parents are right when they say we need to enjoy each moment with the baby, because they grow so fast.  This is very true.  Baby Dumpling is now smiling, starting to make baby talk, and appears to be learning how to giggle.  She likes television although we don't encourage it.  One night my wife noticed the baby turning her head to look at the TV and every time my wife adjusted the baby so she couldn't look at it, the baby would turn or rotate her head so she can see it.  Last night while my wife was holding her and talking to me I noticed the baby watching TV.  I said to my wife the baby is watching TV again, so my wife put her hand between Baby Dumplings eyes and the TV but the baby moved her head first up, then down so she could see.  It might be time to move the TV out of the baby room before she learns how to work the remote, and try to get her more interested in the toys.

Discharged 24 Hours After Baby is Born

When Baby Dumpling was born she had to go right away to the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) because she was running a high fever.  At that time it was terrible, my wife felt it was some how her fault the baby was born with a fever.  She also missed being with the baby during the first hours, day of the baby's new life.  Although the hospital staff was really great, they told my wife the next day she could spend all her time there with the baby and when they needed to do their stuff they would call her back to her room.  Baby Dumpling spent almost 2 days in NICU then just over 1 day in the pediatric ward.  Although my wife was discharged the day before Baby Dumpling the hospital staff set up a bed so my wife could stay with the baby.  Before I knew that was the plan I asked the nurse if there would be a problem with my wife staying, or if we could just sleep in the waiting room.  The nurse told me that if my wife didn't want to stay with the baby that would be a problem.  The bed was already set up and the hospital did expect my wife and/or me, to stay in the baby's room.  The next morning the nurse ordered breakfast for my wife.  That was a great situation.  I think more hospitals should do that.  In my opinion it can reduce the stress and burden upon the nursing staff because the parents can do things like feed, change and rock the baby to sleep.  It seems like a win-win for both parents and hospitals.  The day Baby dumpling was discharged we attended a new baby class.  There was only 1 other mother there and she just had her baby at 11:30 the night before.  This new mother was so confused about many things, quite similar to my wife and me the day after our baby was born.  She was wondering why she wasn't producing anything for the baby to eat, I know milk doesn't come for a few days after the baby is born but there is something (I don't know the name) and this new mom wasn't producing any of it.  She was worried about this, just like we were when it first happened.  The new mom didn't know exactly how to swaddle the baby, wasn't experienced at changing diapers.  She said her husband was sleeping because both of them were up all night with the crying baby.  She apparently got a lot of stitches and needed to sit on a pillow.  There were so many questions this new mom of 9 hours had and not much time to get the answers.  She was scheduled to be discharged along with her new baby early that afternoon.  Where I live after a normal birth, both mother and child are discharged 24 hours after birth.  My wife and I were lucky because our insurance said 48 hours, and although Federal Law says 48 hours this state says only 24 is needed.  24 hours should mean 24 hours, but the way it's counted is something like this:  If the baby is born on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. that counts as Saturday and both mother and baby can be discharged on Sunday, and the hospitals usually discharge early in the afternoon.  That's considered 24 hours or the next day.  For a long time after we got Baby Dumpling home, my wife couldn't understand why the new mom was being sent home with her new baby so soon after the birth.  To her, and to me, it just doesn't make sense. If the new mom wants to go home that soon then it's o.k.  But this new mom really didn't.  She was scared because she didn't know how to do many things that are needed for the proper care of a new born baby.  She didn't have any known complications so she was scheduled for discharge.  Sometimes I think of Baby Dumplings fever as being a blessing in disguise.  We got an extra day and that has really helped us a lot.  How can a woman be expected to have a baby then immediately start caring for the baby without any time to rest and recuperate?  Maybe the law should be changed from 24 to 48-72 hours, or if days are being counted then call it 2-3 days.  24 hours for recovery, 24-48 hours for additional training on the care of a new born.  This would cut down on a lot of problems and a lot of extra expense the insurance companies have.  I feel that because my wife and I had the extra time to ask questions, then have an expert teach us one on one with our real live baby, we were much more prepared to be new parents when we got home.