Dr. M's Women and Children First Podcast

Dr. M's Women and Children First Podcast


Money Saving Tips for New Parents (Pedcast)

September 07, 2019

(Image provided by Pixaby)  
Raising an infant is an expensive and daunting task for new parents. Listen to these money saving tips from Doc Smo that might save your family thousands of dollars.

Archived pedcast, originally posted July 10, 2017.



Introduction

Doc Smo here, talking Portable Practical Pediatrics. From the bassinet to the boardroom, if it involves children, we talk about it here. I meet with brand new parents and their new babies on a daily basis. Of course during these visits, we talk about the important topics of safe sleep, flu and pertussis immunizations for family members, the importance of natural light for babies, and the importance of having newborn babies avoid unnecessary exposure to places and situations where they might pick up an infectious disease.  I also make a point to also get around to some tips that have the potential of saving them literally thousands of dollars during their baby's early infancy. I thought my blog audience would enjoy hearing these tips and taking advantage of the same cost savings that my patients families do. Parents of newborns have the daunting task of not only raising their little Johnny or Janie, but also funding their entire childhood. Money is always tight and every dollar saved can be put to use for other family needs. What is the old expression, "A penny saved is a penny earned"? Nothing could be truer so here we go with Doc Smo's money saving suggestions for parents with new babies. You don't  want to miss this pedcast. Musical Intro

Doc Smo's Cost Saving Tips

Tip #1- Breastfeed: Savings=$1000 When you tell people you are pregnant and going to have a baby, one of the first things they often ask is "Are you going to breastfeed?"  Feeding a baby is one of the most fundamental activities of a parent and it turns out that choosing to breastfeed can save you big amounts of cash in the first year.  A breastfeeding advocacy website I found called Kelly Mom, estimates the cost of feeding an infant formula for a year, to be anywhere between $816 for the most inexpensive formulas all the way to $3163 for the most expensive formulas. They found that formula ranged in 2016 cost between 8 to 31 cents/ounce and babies eat a lot of ounces. The cost adds up quickly.  Deciding to breastfeed certainly makes economic sense since that decision conservatively saves most families $1000/year. (Money sound)

Tip #2- Keep that Little Head Round: Savings=$3200 You are probably aware that newborn babies have rapidly growing soft skulls.  Just the pressure of the own skull weight laying on a hard surface can cause a baby's head to deform and become lopsided. Fixing this deformity can be very expensive. You have probably seen babies wearing little helmets that make them look like NFL football players. No, they are not off to the gridiron, they are having their heads reshaped to correct a flattening, a condition called plagiocephaly, that is usually caused by laying on their backs in one position too long. While the helmets are cute with their colorful stickers, they are custom made, medical devices, and are very pricey. You don't want your baby to get anywhere near one of these devices. Their cost ranges anywhere from $2300-$4000.  That's some serious cash!  And the thing is, the need for these helmets is almost always avoidable if parents do some simple things from the get go after their baby is born.  Here is what I tell parents of a newborn on their first visit:

Get aggressive about tummy time, on a safe sleep surface with mom or dad awake and watching of course, starting right after your baby is born; 1 hour a day is minimum. 2 hours a day would be even better. The cost of providing this tummy time?=$0.00. To see how tummy time is done, watch this video I made. https://www.docsmo.com/docsmo-videos/