Be aware, babies are not good for your budget. We spend quite a bit on our baby as you can see below. We also pay the daycare fee, which is substantial to your income. I have written more about daycare here.
What I have found out is that it makes sense to buy things that are a bit more expensive but last well, are comfortable and can be resold easily retaining still up to half of the value.
I think you can spend much less on the baby but we are a household that has many books and I also want to get her good quality age-appropriate toys that stimulate her development.
We bought three big things this past half a year. First, the car seat. We believe a baby should be transported rear-facing for at least up to 2 years (SOURCE) despite this not being a popular opinion in the Netherlands. We bought a Joie i-Spin E 360 car seat which you can turn around later and turn to face the door to put the baby in. The car seat just arrived and we love it! Second, the baby gates. We live on three floors and need 4 baby gates. We have Babydan Guard Me gates (we paid 150 euros) which we bought second hand by saving about 100 euros. Third, a travel buggy and a running stroller. We got my dream travel buggy Babyzen Yoyo (250 euros, also second hand, about 200 euro's saved) which hopefully will be our companion for many trips abroad when the corona situation enables that. This buggy is by no chance a must but we used to be people who travelled much and mind that we are expats as well so we can't wait to travel with her very soon! The running stroller Thule UG (260 euros) was bought second hand as well. Already since October when she turned a half-year-old, we have been going running together at least once a week. Running is one of my favourite hobbies which I now can combine with caring for my baby.
As in the previous review , these costs will not be included in the categories below as they are one-time investments.
Together with all the average costs, we spend 246 euros per month on the baby (so not including the one-time costs and the daycare fee). Compared to the 215 euros we were spending during the first half a year, it has gone up quite a bit. This is something I didn't predict because we spent quite a bit on breastfeeding first but nothing any more.
So what are the biggest categories of costs?
Clothes - it turns out that I spend almost 100 euros on the clothes of the little M. I have bought her 2 woollen overalls and one woollen jacket, so these are definitely bringing the average up. I do sell (or give away) everything that she is not using any more but I maybe earn back 15-20 euros a month with that. Nevertheless, this spening definitely should not be so high! My goal will be not to spend more than 50 euros per month on that category for the next half a year. We do have a full set of clothes for size 80 and 86 saved up, so I think that this goal should not be a problem. Another goal related to this one is to get her sustainable clothing - so either GOTS certified or at least second hand (so no more Zara or H&M visits!).
Diapers and wipes - we purchased a new (to us) set of Grovia AIO diapers for her and sold the Little Lamb pocket diapers set. She can use these until she is diaper-free, so I don't have any doubt that it will be worth it. The nappy liners though cost quite a bit, so this category will be probably around 5-10 euros per month for the next year.
Books - a category that was minuscule during the last half a year but quite high now. Yes, I buy her books. Yes, maybe many books. Nevertheless, we are a family that reads a lot and I don't think this is necessarily a big sum of money considering that books are something that is very good for her development and the bond between us. I would like to buy more locally - either from Estonian stores or local stores here, or second hand (which is something I have done quite a lot lately with books as well).
Miscellaneous - no idea what all of this has been. Sorry!
Toys - I have bought her some Grimms toys (a rainbow, blocks) and some more toys for open-ended play. This category could be lower but it is not too bad.
Celebration - her first birthday cake and some things for that day. Not so bad for the whole half a year.
Food - she is still eating some of her own baby food and some food from our table. We will try to transition her to eat all the meals with us as soon as possible.
Formula - not so much as I thought it will be, only 9 euros per month! She doesn't drink so much formula for months already (about 200-300 ml per day) and some of it she gets a daycare. She will be going over to normal milk within the following 2 weeks.
Furniture - we bought her two bookshelves.
Memories - we print out her photos every other month.
Bonus - and what has the baby cost us for the first year (counting one time costs, but no pre-birth costs and no daycare): 4450 euros! We have sold most of the things that we are not using any more (but have not kept track of it per category), nevertheless, it stays to be a biiiiig sum of money. I will try to be a bit more careful about it upcoming year :-)