I’m a mum! | My pregnancy & postpartum finances

I have some big news for you all… After 9 long months, Mrs Mindful with Money is a mum!

Today I’m sharing with you all about my pregnancy and postpartum finances - what we bought, how we saved money on baby expenses, and my sources of income during maternity leave.

I found out I was pregnant in October 2022. My husband and I had been trying since the beginning of the year, and we anticipated it to be a difficult journey. My periods were irregular (#TMI), ovulation kits didn’t help, and everything felt uncertain and unpredictable. So when we found out, we were over the moon! The day after, my GP referred me for my first ultrasound - a dating scan - which informed me that I was eight weeks pregnant.

Within a month, we’d made plans to sell my house and buy a new, larger house for our growing family. In a way, you could count a new house as a baby expense if you live in a smaller house and are planning to buy a new one, like we did pre-baby, but what kind of house you want might be vastly different to what we wanted. If you’re keen to know more about our house selling/buying experience, you can read all about it here.

Early on, our expenses were mainly new maternity clothing for me, and remedies to ease my morning sickness. The nausea I had in my first trimester was terrible, so I spent money on ginger tea, ginger drops, and morning sickness bands (the only thing that slightly helped). As such, expenses were minimal. It wasn’t until my third trimester that we started spending money on baby essentials. Here is everything we purchased:

What we bought as one-off baby expenses

Maternity clothing - I had an ENORMOUS baby bump and quickly outgrew my regular clothes, so maternity clothes made a big difference to my comfort throughout my pregnancy. (According to my midwife, my bump was always the size of a bump 4 weeks further along.) My go-to online store was 3 Bears Maternity, where I spent $839.45 on five dresses, two skirts, one t-shirt, and five pairs of briefs. This is an expense that will be different for everyone - I’ve heard that some people don’t even buy maternity clothing! - but for me, these were a fantastic investment, and hopefully I will be able to use them again.

Edwards & Co Olive Essentials Bundle - This bundle is $2429 online, but we bought it for $1899 from the Baby Expo! So far, we’ve found the capsule and the carry cot to be super useful - especially the carry cot, which we can easily carry upstairs and downstairs at home. Our newborn baby fits in it perfectly and naps in it throughout the day.

SnuzPod 4 - Likewise, we bought this from the Baby Expo for $499 including the bassinet & mattress, mattress protector, and 2 fitted sheets - $549, $42, and $59 respectively, worth $650 altogether. It looks great, works well, and I love the zip-down wall that allows us to keep a close eye on baby while sleeping.

Philips Avent - We bought the Double Electric Breast Pump, Newborn Starter Set (4 bottles, cleaning brush + pacifier) and breast pads for $286.89 from The Autumn Baby Show. These are $599, $69.99 and $14.99 respectively, worth $683.98 altogether, so we saved $397.09 off the regular retail prices. We also bought the Philips Avent Electric Steriliser, $219.99 retail price which we bought with a gift card, and anti-colic bottles from both Philips Avent ($16.50 each) and Dr Browns ($36 for 2). For us, anti-colic bottles are a must-have - they have worked much better than regular bottles for our little one.

Ubbi nappy pail - Normally $149, we bought this for 10% off at $134.10. It works well, fits enough so that it only needs emptying once a week, and comes in different colours. We chose the marble design, which looks beautiful in our home. What’s great is that once we’re done with nappies (years from now), it’ll simply become our bathroom sanitary bin!

Viva La Vulva - I bought ‘Breasties’ - hot and cold therapy packs - and the Perineal Power postpartum ice pack from Babycity when they were each $33.95 - 15% off their usual price of $39.95. I only used the Breasties once, warming them gently and tucking them into my bra when my breasts were painfully engorged; they were very soothing. I never used the Perineal Power pack as I simply put my maternity pads in the fridge/freezer - the cold really helped!

Yona Bed (King Single) and Ecosa Mattress (King Single) - We bought these so I could occasionally sleep in a separate room when my husband goes back to work, just in case baby and I wake him up throughout the night. The Yona Bed was $189, and the Ecosa Mattress was $750 (25% off from its usual retail price of $1000).

Weleda Baby Care - We got the Calendula Nappy Change Cream, Calendula Body Lotion and Calendula Shampoo and Body Wash in this nifty little set for $49.90 from Health 2000, a great deal as these items are $19.90, $29.90 and $20.90 respectively - $70.70 if you were to buy them separately (same sizes!). We were prescribed a moisturiser and nappy change cream by our midwife, so these weren’t all necessarily needed, but work well and smell lovely.

LUXE Baby Nappy Bag & Caddy Pack - This pack includes a nappy backpack, a travel change mat, and a nappy caddy which have all been extremely useful - a worthwhile purchase! We bought this online for $179.99 (buying each separately would add up to $195).

Love to Dream swaddles - We bought two swaddles from The Sleep Store for $134.90 using a gift card. These swaddles have been amazing and so easy to use.

YogaSleep Light to Rise Sleep Trainer, Sound Machine & Night Light - Also from The Sleep Store, we’ve been using this as a clock, night light, and white noise machine. My husband loves it; I prefer to use our brightness-adjustable lamp and Spotify for white noise. It might become more useful when we start using it as a sleep trainer. It’s $99.95 which we also paid using a gift card.

Evie Fabric Rocking Chair - This rocking chair is normally $1099, but we bought it for $824.25 (+ $99 delivery) while it was on sale. It’s huge - bigger than we expected - and very comfortable! It has been the perfect chair for feeding, as well as reading and relaxing.

What we buy regularly as ongoing baby expenses

Formula - We go through around one can of formula per week, with our personal choice being LittleOak Natural Goat Milk Infant Formula. It costs more than your average formula at $48.95 per can, but so far we have bought the 6 can multi-pack for $10 off and used a 10% discount code on top, making each can $42.55 - effectively 13% off. Other formulas currently range from $19.50 (SMA Little Steps) to $48.50 (Karicare, specifically their Goat Milk range) at Countdown.

We didn’t pay for formula for the first 2 weeks as we spent this time in hospital. I had a traumatic birth, and it may have been because of this that my milk never really came in (it’s said that the stress hormones can lead to low prolactin and oxytocin). Our baby was fed formula from day one because I was transferred to the hospital’s High Dependency Unit for the first two days of his life. When I was transferred to the maternity ward, I pumped with my electric breast pump due to his tongue tie, producing breast milk (colostrum) for a few days before the milk dwindled as it transitioned into mature breast milk. This is why, after a brief period of combination feeding (breast milk + formula), we now exclusively formula feed.

Nappies - Depending on the day, we use 4-6 nappies per day, so 28-42 nappies per week. As we’re buying size 2 Huggies nappies that are 2 for $28, with 24 nappies in each pack, this works out to be $16.32 to $24.49 per week.

Poop bags - Optional, but we put every poop diaper into a small waste bag to reduce the smell. This costs us $31.44 for 270 - $0.12 each - and we use 1-2 per day, which is $0.84 to $1.68 per week. The ones we use are actually dog poop bags, which we buy with our 6-weekly Pet Direct order. (There are mint scented ones, too.)

Baby wipes - We’ve used one and a half boxes of Huggies Coconut Oil Baby Wipes Mega Pack (400 wipes) in 6 weeks, with each box costing $20, which works out to be around $3.33 per week.

These work out to be up to $72.05 per week, often less. To state the obvious, these are expenses based on our personal situation (e.g. formula feeding) and at this point in time with a newborn baby - they’ll likely change as he gets older.

What’s amazing is that these ongoing baby expenses are essentially free - covered by the government - as everyone is entitled to the Best Start Tax Credit of $69 per week, regardless of income. More on government-funded financial support below!

Healthcare expenses

Ultrasounds - I had five ultrasounds: dating, nuchal translucency, anatomy, and two growth scans. Each cost between $60 to $110, which were all done with Horizon Radiology except our last one at Mercy Radiology. The service was much better at Horizon Radiology: the sonographer at Horizon would always describe what we were seeing during each part of our scan, and give us photos after, while the sonographer at Mercy stayed quiet during the scan, only confirming everything was okay when we asked, and directed us to see photos via an online portal, which were all blurry.

Prescriptions - I personally had to take three medications upon my discharge from hospital: quinapril and nifedipine for high blood pressure caused by pre-eclampsia, and paracetamol for ongoing pain. My midwife also prescribed me tramadol and celecoxib for severe afterpains. Altogether, these would’ve cost $25 ($5 each) if not subsidised for me, but going forward, prescriptions are now free, as the $5 co-payment for prescription medicines has been scrapped by the government.

Future baby expenses

Wills - My husband and I are planning to write our wills soon, which will be up to $415 per person at Public Trust. However, it’ll be free for us as we have an Assurance Extra life insurance policy with Chubb Life (previously Cigna), and one of the client benefits is up to $1000 for a will.

Baby-proofing the house - We’ve already bought electrical outlet caps but will also need baby gates for the stairs, protection for corners, etc.

Baby monitors - We might get baby monitors eventually, but currently our baby is always with one of us and doesn’t yet sleep in his own room. I love having him in the same room as us and would love to keep it that way for as long as possible! If you’re in the market for baby monitors, my best friend’s tip is to buy security cameras instead.

Ways to save money

Go to baby expos (they are free!) - My husband and I have gone to three baby expos so far, and gained valuable insight from each. The first time we went, we didn’t buy anything at all - we used the opportunity to learn and research baby items and costs. The second time, we bought a few things; the third time, we attended all the seminars and learned about car safety, cloth nappies, bottle feeding, and more.

Even if you don’t spend a cent at the expos, you’ll receive tons of discount codes and exclusive deals via email in the week following, given your ticket is registered!

Sign up for free antenatal classes - We attended both the Pregnancy & Parenting Course and Breastfeeding Course by Te Whatu Ora. These are free, provided by the government. You’ll go over the birthing process, birthing options (e.g. hospital, home or birthing centre), pain relief methods, breastfeeding, and more.

Stock up on essentials early - In the months leading up to your baby’s due date, look out for sales and stock up. We shopped the sales on nappies and baby wipes, as well as maternity pads. I didn’t know about postpartum bleeding and that it lasts for 6 weeks after birth - if I had, I would’ve bought a lot more! I used up to 12 per day in the first two weeks, and less and less as the bleeding reduced. Personally, if I were pregnant again, I would buy as many maternity pads as I can. Even if you stock up on too many maternity pads, they can be used for periods after, so there’s no waste.

Shop after your baby shower - If you’re having a baby shower, it’s wise to shop after the event, as your guests may gift you with baby necessities like baby clothes, baby blankets, etc, so you avoid doubling up. You may also receive gift cards for baby stores. I hosted mine at 35 weeks, and we were fortunate to receive baby blankets, muslin cloths, and bibs, as well as a few gift cards for Babycity, The Sleep Store, The Warehouse, Westfield, and Farmers. The week after the baby shower, we used these to buy our steriliser, swaddles, nappies, and baby wipes.

Say yes to offers of secondhand baby essentials - We said yes to every offer from friends who wanted to give us their secondhand baby clothes and furniture, donating the things we ended up not needing. Thankfully, we now have a cot, an extra bassinet, and lots of baby clothes - you may have noticed baby clothing has not been an expense for us so far! The best thing we were given was the Ingenuity ConvertMe Swing-2-Seat, which our little one seems to enjoy, and which allows us some hands-free time when we are busy.

And of course… Make sure you apply for Paid Parental Leave and Working for Families if you’re eligible!

My 3 sources of income during maternity leave

I applied for Paid Parental Leave and Working for Families (Best Start) early, and was lucky to have both of them approved overnight by IRD - a quick and easy process. The Paid Parental Leave confirmation letter was needed to show to my employer, as they pay me a fortnightly salary top-up to my usual full-time income. For PPL and WFF explained simply, you can check out my recent posts here.

The government has recently increased Paid Parental Leave to $712.17 per week, and I am eligible for the maximum entitlement, so I currently receive fortnightly payments of $997.14 (after tax) from IRD, plus my employer salary top-up. After my 26 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, I will receive the government’s Best Start payment of $69 per week (part of Working for Families Tax Credits) in fortnightly payments of $139 up until my baby is one.

My husband was able to take 8 weeks of parental leave; 5 weeks paid his usual full-time salary, 3 weeks unpaid.

Lastly…

In New Zealand, having a midwife as your Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) is free. This is a midwife who is in charge of caring for you during your pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum. I didn’t pay for the service I received from my midwife, but I would’ve been happy to.

I’ve often heard that finding a midwife in NZ is a difficult process, but I was fortunate that it was a very easy process for me - I went to Find Your Midwife, emailed a midwife from my area, got a reply the next day, and started going to regular appointments soon after. She sent blood test requests for me; prescribed me iron for iron deficiency; and advised me on what to do at 2am the day I woke up with a severe headache and pain at the top of my baby bump; and much more. Of course, she was then at the hospital to help deliver my baby, and continued to come in and check up on me almost daily when I was in hospital for two weeks. Without us needing to ask, she prescribed our baby a free moisturiser (cetomacrogol & glycerol cream) and nappy cream (zinc & castor oil barrier ointment).

The original plan was for me to give birth at the hospital, then transfer to a birthing centre after 6 hours (following a vaginal delivery; longer for an emergency C-section). From 39 weeks + 5 days, I developed pre-eclampsia which led to a life-threatening seizure and severe haemorrhaging requiring three blood transfusions, so I was a patient with higher needs than most, but my midwife stayed patient, helpful, and compassionate throughout it all. So, as a thank you, my husband and I bought her a $100 Prezzy card to show our appreciation.

We’re also very appreciative of all the help we received while we were in hospital for those two weeks - I’d heard that the state of healthcare in NZ was abysmal, but clearly this was not the case.

Firstly, the doctors and nurses at the hospital saved my life - I was told I would’ve died if they hadn’t rushed into the birthing suite when they did! Secondly, the team of midwives helped us tremendously. While in hospital, we had a new midwife assigned to us every 8 hours, and they helped us with preparing formula, sterilising, replenishing nappies & maternity pads, and caring for our newborn baby. When I was finally discharged, two of the midwives helped check that our baby was correctly secured in his capsule. Over the course of two weeks, we met maybe a dozen different midwives! While I didn’t know anything about midwives before, after our experience, I have so much respect and appreciation for the invaluable work they do.

This was my very long way of saying: if you can, budget in a thank you gift for your LMC midwife - the person who will be there for you all 9 months of pregnancy, plus 6 weeks after (until your care is placed under a Well Child Provider; ours is Plunket).

At 7 weeks postpartum…

We are slowly adjusting to the biggest change in our lives. From not knowing if I could even get pregnant, to my traumatic birth, I look at our baby and see a miracle. If I had developed pre-eclampsia any earlier, he would’ve been premature instead of being born on his due date. If I had had my seizure even a few minutes earlier, while our baby was still in me, I was told he might not have survived. So even though we encountered adversity in our journey to starting a family of three, I’m incredibly grateful that we’re all here today, alive and well. It’s incredibly cheesy to say, but my heart has expanded to accommodate the infinite love I have for our gorgeous baby boy.

To those with a baby on the way, I wish you all the best, and hope that this has helped you on your journey to parenthood!

Love,

Sophia | @mindfulwithmoneynz