All of you with children 1 yr and UNDER ?

Formula - about $130 a month.Diapers - $40Baby Food - A couple of dollars a dayLoss of Sleep - PRICELESS. I decorated myself and because we always had time between being informed of a child and being placed with that child, it served me well to make a crib skirt and matching curtains by HAND. Yep, kept me busy and sane and looks adorable!!! Decorating can be done on a shoestring. It's for you anyway. The child needs a mommy and a daddy, not a Ralph Lauren room. Have fun!!! Josie

I have a 16 month old but here are some of my costs now and some that I can recall. Diapers: 84 count for Huggies about $18 Formula: Similac big can around $23 Wipes: Huggies 400 count around $7.50 We were able to our babies room the way we wanted to because we some notice since we did a private adoption with about 4 months notice before our daughter was born.

Ok, so on a months average- How much do diapers run- Im sure it depends on how many the baby USES lol but just an idea

I bet on a month to month basis I spend about $60-80 dollars because I have to fund our caregiver too.

When our baby was still on formula, it cost us $50 for 6 days. He was on Alimentum for acid reflux. I spend about $50-$60 on diapers per month. Huggies jumbo box. I made my own baby food, so it is hard to give a cost estimate on that. We did buy all new furniture when we adopted our first child and was able to use everything when we brought our second baby home. :)

Our daughter started out on Alimentum because of digestive problems and that ran about $60 per week. We go thru 50-60 diapers a week and using Huggies, I spend about 12.00 per week. We use Gerber organic baby food and that's about 2.00 per day. These little boogers sure aren't cheap are they? LOL Absolutely the best money I've ever spent!!

Personally, I'm a big one for second hand stuff. But, we've adopted a lot of times, and being economical is a big deal. I suspect that we went through $40-60 month in diapers....and we didn't do the baby food thing until they were at least 6 months old. Our babies have been on Similac as well as Isomil.....and as we got older and adopted again, we went the Wal-mart brand for the soy formula. (I'm big on soy, for a lot of reasons...) We're hoping to adopt again (and we're both 49)........our little ones are now 3 and 4yrs old; while our oldest are 26 and 24yrs. Hope this helps in some way.... Sincerely, Linny

Oh my gosh! Don't go into debt or try to keep up with your neighbors by doing your kids room. I bought some POOH stickers and put them all over the walls. Everything in there looks great becuase the walls are so fun. I've got plastic drawers for a dresser because my child can look through the drawers and easily open them herself. She can get her own pajamas and pull ups and sometimes even a shirt. :) (she's almost three)... Don't spend the money! Just make it cute in your own way . You'll have plenty of time to spend cash later when they are teenagers. BTW,.... I buy a LOT of almost new stuff at the thrift store and dress K REALLY CUTE all the time for almost nothing....

We did our room with all new stuff. We bought a crib at Big Lots, a changing tabkle at Sears and a rocker at Babies R Us. The rocker was the most expensive ($300, but we had a few gift cards). The crib was about $80 and the changing table $100! Then I probably spent another $100 on 'stuff': sheet, crib skirt, wall hanging, etc. So, all in all, for a brand new room with no hand me dowsn, it cost us about $600! I did not think that was too bad. Now formula, my little one is on the Sam's brand. A can lasts us about 10 days and costs $20. So, $60 per month. Diapers, probably about $50-60 a month also. My suggestion, if babe does not have stomach or digestive problems, try and switch to generic. Sam's is exactly the same at Enfamil! Not sure about food, we are not there yet, but I hope to make a lot of mine to save money.

Wow- thanks for all the info- It gives me more of an insight on things-If we do decide to adopt (0r are able too depending on one coming up) I have looked at a few ideas on my own as far as decorating- My house is decorated in primtive type stuff- I found some really cute gingam sets online at walmart that were not expensive- Im the type I like simplicity- not clutter- so as far as alot of STUFF in the room- I prefer less-Of course there is the basics- must have things but I dont do alot of do-dads sitting around- I love seeing all of you alls info in your siggy line- its very encouraging- We start Foster Parenting Classes next week-Of course this is JUST the first step and we still have many questions and what if's, ect.But Im glad you all are honest and open and not judgemental about DH and I having concerns- Thanks for all your insight I will keep you posted

I'm all about resale shops! Ours usually have some really nice furniture (mostly just cribs and bassinets). I borrowed crib/bassinet from my sister. We painted very old ugly dressers to match the room and put new knobs on- they are SO cute. Other than painting, we just framed some prints and used a few Wallies on the wall. Cute, but didn't break the bank!FIL made 3 shelves, we painted them white. The rest of the decorations are baby gifts/banks/keepsakes/photo frames he received.

We have two babies under 2yo, so we go through a LOT of diapers. Thank GOD for Costco; we buy the Huggies which work out to about 19 cents per diaper and that's about as good as it gets unless you have coupons...for us, that alone has been worth the cost of membership. We did NOT like the Kirkland (Costco's store brand) diapers...too many broken tabs. We love the Kirkland wipes though, and they're considerably less expensive than name brands. We've used Target and Parent's Choice (Wal-Mart) brand formulas, and both boys have done fine on these. Q has some acid reflux, but we've not had to resort to the pre-digested stuff, and he's in the 85th percentile for weight, so he's doing fine on the store brand formula. We do feed mostly organic foods now that both are eating "people food"; I steam organic apples, sweet potatoes, etc. and puree them. I was excited to find Gerber organics, although sometimes Earth's Best is a better buy, depending on the store. Big surprise: Earth's Best cereal was much cheaper at ToysRUs than at the local grocery store. Bottom line is you just have to look around in your own area and find the best places to shop.

When it comes time to buy furniture, don't forget about CRAIGSLIST. I was able to get a beautiful sleigh crib that retailed for over a $1000.00 for only a hundred dollars- and it was in perfect condition. Every once in a while, you can find a real gem in the listings. Also, Foster Babies are usually enrolled in WIC. WIC is a government program that pays for formula & food for babies and young children from poorer familes- Foster children are automatically eligible regardless of the foster parents' financial situation. Call your local WIC office (it's in the same section of the phone book as the Dept of Human Resources and Foster Care listings) and set up an appointment when you bring your new child home. My foster to adopt baby was allowed 6 cans of formula per month thru WIC-(but she was a little piglet and drank about 9 cans). Having WIC pay for most of the formula was a huge help.