Ploymint

As a generation millennials are getting older, but many of us aren’t having babies. According to a Washington Post report published last May, “millennial women are reproducing at the slowest pace of any generation in U.S. history.” The later-in-life family starting isn’t contained to birthrates, it starts with marriage, which millennials are holding off until later in our 20s or early 30s to commit to.According to the Pew Research center, the median age for marriage for both genders is stuck on high: men tend to marry around the age of 29 years-old while women tie the knot on average at the age of 27.

The lower birthrate specifically—the Post reports that “birthrates among women in their 20s [declined]more than 15 percent between 2007 and 2012″—seems tied up in our recent economic turmoil, but plenty of millennials can’t wait any longer. And since millennials as a whole are holding off on having kids, it makes sense that, as a generation, we haven’t thought as closely about what it actually takes, and costs, to rear a little one.

With all of that in mind, we’ve compiled a short list of financial considerations when having a baby that you literally won’t be able to afford to forget.

1. Prepare for and/or research maternity/paternity leave. Paternity and maternity leave is a hot subject in the American workforce. Unlike some of our European counterparts, the United States isn’t quite as lenient with regard to parental leave following the birth of a new baby, especially when it comes to fathers. For this reason, you have to be planning way ahead with regard to maternity/paternity leave. If your company doesn’t offer the benefit, can you afford to quit? If it does, you’ll still have to coordinate the leave with your employer and spouse to make the best use of the time.
2. Start an emergency fund. We should all be saving for emergencies, but new parents especially can be hit with unexpected financial hurdles that are benefited or solved outright by careful planning. An emergency fund might help you survive a few months without work, pay for unexpected medical (and birthing) bills, etc.
3. Make a list of all the hospital/medical expenses. We all know that babies cost money, but it’s easy to forget that having a baby costs a lot of money. Research how your insurance plan deals with delivery expenses and plan accordingly.
4. Prepare for the possibility of an alternate delivery. Over the last decade and a half, the rate of cesarean sections has increased by 50 percent in the United States, and a large number of otherwise healthy babies are delivered in this way, a procedure generally reserved for medical emergencies. While there’s a lively cultural and medical debate to be had about that sharp rise in C-section usage, for expectant parents, it means that you should be emotionally and financially prepared for alternate deliveries. (Hint: it can cost a lot of money.)
5. Plan and budget for childcare. It’s almost hard to believe how much child care can cost, which is why you should be planning (and saving) way ahead for what will likely amount to a several hundred dollar a week expense.
6. Start an education fund. Whether it’s for college or for private school, education costs big bucks, and it’s not the type of expense you can wait until the last minute to tackle.
7. Save and budget for newborn baby necessities including formula, diapers, toys, and clothes.
   Consider that diapers alone might cost new parents in the realm of $50-100 a month. Add on formula, age-appropriate toys and books, clothes that babies seem to grow out of in a few hours, and you’ve got a hard-to-pin-down set of expenses that can’t be overlooked.