We Spent RM33.5k to Have Our First Child [Baby Cost Breakdown]

Yes, that’s right. We – as in my husband and I – spent approximatedly RM33.5k, combined, to have our first child. In this article, I’ll show the full baby cost breakdown.

Now, before you say anything about the amount, I need to first say 2 things:

Baby Cost Breakdown Obligatory Disclaimer

One – Obviously, the amount you spend on your first child will vary depending on your budget and choices. You can absolutely keep the costs much lower – having a child for under RM10k is possible. You can even do it under RM5k if you really want (or have) to. 

Second – I’m not mad at the amount, considering we only spent RM5,247.09 for our wedding. The way I see it, we already saved so much there, and it’s not like we spent on IVF or anything, so why not spend a lil’ more for our child.

So yeah. This article basically lists everything we paid for to have baby Mika, divided in 8 categories: Prenatal Checkups, Delivery & Labour Cost, Supplements, Baby Stuff, Learning Materials, Confinement Care, Religious Obligations and Misc.

Let’s get into it!

#1 – Prenatal Checkups

Cost: RM8,226.50 (private; for approx ~15 prenatal checkups throughout my pregnancy)

Three big reasons why our cost for prenatal checkups was on the higher side:

• No way around it – private healthcare is WAY more expensive than public healthcare. I actually offered to go the public route, but husband insisted on private for the convenience and service
• We opted to do the NICC or non-invasive chromosomes check to check for Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities. This optional test was around RM1500
• I don’t really know how the system works, but we were somehow assigned a visiting doctor instead of a resident doctor. Granted our doctor was excellent but the latter’s fee would have been cheaper

We are lucky that we can afford this expense, but if budget is an issue for you, then deciding on public healthcare would be the first decision to make. You can avoid /significantly reduce this cost and do your prenatal checkups at Klinik Kesihatan – it’s FREE*

*or RM5 if need to refer your case to a specialist, I heard. Still, VERY cheap compared to private

#2 – Delivery & Labour Cost

Cost: RM9,449.20 in total – RM5,657.50 for Delivery and RM3,791.70 for Baby

(Some of you joked that baby Mika saved me money thanks to my unusual birth circumstances, but that was not the case. They may not charge me for the typical delivery costs but they sure did charge me for everything else. Like the casino, the private hospital always wins 🙂

Similar to #1, this expense is cheap if you go through the public health route. It’ll cost as low as under RM50 to as high as a few hundred only, depending on type of care received.

However, if you opt for private like we did, expect the bill to come up to a few thousand ringgit. The ‘cheapest’ delivery and labour cost I’ve heard for private hospital is around RM4-5k, and that’s for normal vaginal birth, no epidural, no complications.

If you decide to go private, it’s not a bad idea to prepare RM15k or so just to be safe, in case of emergency C-section or other complications.

#3 – Supplements

Cost: RM1161.55 for 9 months

Throughout my pregnancy, I had to take supplements for omega-3, calcium, iron, folic acid and more. I also had to drink the milk supplement thing.

I heard (but can’t confirm) that public healthcare would give you free supplements. If someone can verify this info, I’d be very grateful. [Update: verified info! Thanks y’all ❤️]

Obligatory disclaimer: Follow your doctor’s recommendation, don’t simply follow me here.

#4 – Baby Stuff

Note: ‘Baby Stuff’ is a HUGE list so I categorised the items further into: Nursery, Feeding, Gear, Bathing, Clothing, Diapeering. Playtime, For Mom and Travel.

Cost: RM4,621.68 so far – we haven’t bought everything in this list. All-in-all, I estimate the cost for baby-related stuff will hit RM5k+, possibly more.

Most of the items in this list were from baby expos, Shopee finds or thrifted from Carousell, aka reasonable, even cheap in cost. However, I will highlight a couple of items that were pricier because they are higher in quality and more importantly, multi-functional*.

*We live in a 6xx square feet apartment – we don’t have a lot of space

Category: Nursery

Items in this list:

• Crib/cot
• Changing pad
• Diaper bin
• Organiser
• Baby nest
• Changing table

I bought the PreMaman/Hugobaby 2-in-1 standing bath tub with changing table for RM379 (include delivery). It’s pretty good, I like it.

Category: Feeding

Items in this list:

• Bottle drying rack
• Bibs
• Burp cloth
• Formula container
• Steam steriliser
• Bottles
• High chair
• Nursing pillow

For nursing pillow, I opted for the multifunctional Doomoo Buddy, which is a 3-in-1 pregnancy, baby and nursing pillow. I also got the Relax cover, which gives the pillow one more function – a toddler pouf as well.

At around RM450 for both pillow and cover, it’s a bit lot pricey BUT it is a good-quality product and I can get years of use out of it. Worth it for me.

Category: Gear

Items in this list:

• Car seat
• Stroller
• Baby carrier
• White noise machine
• Baby monitor

Note: We bought the Evenflo Pivot Modular Travel System, a 3-in-1 car seat/stroller/baby carrier combo for RM999.

Category: Bathing

Items in this list:

• Baby bathtub
• Hooded towel
• Body wash/shampoo
• Baby lotion
• Washcloths
• Alcohol wipes

Category: Baby clothing

Items in this list:

• 0-3 months clothes
• 3-6 months clothes
• Swaddles
• Barut/Binder
• Baby detergent
• Mittens
• Booties
• Hats
• Bibs

Category: Diapering

Items in this list:

• Newborn diapers
• Small-size diapers
• Baby wipes
• Rash cream/ Nappy cream
• Telon oil
• Diaper mat

Category: Playtime

Items in this list:

• Playgym
• Flash cards
• Rattle toys
• Playpen

Category: For Mom

Items in this list:

• Nursing bras
• Non-slip indoor slippers
• Pantang socks
• Manual breast pump
• Electric breast pump
• Milk collector
• Milk storage bottles
• Menstrual pads
• Breast pads
• Maternity underwear
• Nipple balm

Category: Travel

Items in this list:

• Baby carrier
• Cooler bag
• Ice packs
• Diaper bag
• Travel changing mat

When I first did my research on what a newborn needs, I was so surprised that such a little thing needs this many stuff 🙂

#5 – Learning Materials

Cost: ~RM1500

As first-time parents, we were understandably nervous about caring for a newborn. To prepare for parenthood, we bought:

• An online parenting course
• An offline parenting seminar
• Hypnobirthing sessions
• Lots of books

#6 – Confinement care

Cost: RM6000 for 28 days confinement service (stay-in package)

This is an optional but highly recommended service, especially for first time parents or for people who need extra help with baby and mom care. Personally, this is the best money spent in this whole list!

My cost here is a bit on the high side – 28 days is actually quite long and you can reduce the number of days. According to my confinement lady, 2 weeks or 14 days is the most popular duration and should be enough (cost around RM3000).

Ps – I went with Suraya Mothercare and think the service is great. My CL vouched for Pudina Confinement so that’s another option.

#7 – Religious obligation

Cost: Around RM1500~2500

I’m not sure if people from other religions have a similar obligation (if at all), but Muslims are encouraged to:

• Donate the newborn’s hair weight in gold (shaved on 7/14/21st day; typically between 1-3 grams), and
• Give aqiqah (2 x goats if boy, 1 x if girl)

Of course, you can also organise a majlis aqiqah at additional cost.

#8 – Misc

Cost: RM500 or so

And finally were things that don’t quite fit anywhere else but still included under the overall baby costs. Here are some things we bought:

• Pregnancy test kits
• Maternity-friendly clothes (aka lots of dresses)
• Pregnancy photoshoot

I also bought therapy sessions to talk through the ambivalent feelings I experienced, and went on two international trips to say goodbye to child slash responsibility-free life, but that’s tracked seperately 🙂

Takeaways from this baby cost breakdown

Like I said in the beginning of this article, this baby cost breakdown reflects *our* budget and choices. We spent RM33.5k but it is possible to significantly reduce the cost. One can do that by:

• Choosing public healthcare rather than private
• Sourcing for second-hand and hand-me-down baby stuffs
• Having your spouse/parents help you with confinement care
• Utilising the internet to learn about pregnancy and baby care

That said, after having gone through all this, I personally wouldn’t be comfortable having (another?) child if I don’t have at least RM10k in savings. Not only some random expenses will still crop up, but there is also a ‘safe’ feeling that the amount would provide, and reduces stress/anxiety for the parents.

Anyway, writing this baby cost breakdown article has been fun. Anyone else keep track of their baby costs, from pregnancy until birth? Any finance-related baby tips and tricks you want to share? If yes, share in the comments!