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Reija Eden delivered each of her three children without requiring cesarean sections, pain medications or an epidural.
The 34-year-old mother from Huntington Beach, Calif who owns Reija Eden Jewelry paid about $5,000 for each of her children's births out of pocket, after insurance.
"With pain medication, the costs would have been a lot higher, so luckily I didn't need them, nor did I need a C-section," Eden says.
The cost of having a baby delivered at a hospital can vary wildly depending on how the birth goes. If mothers want an epidural, the hospitals will charge for the medication and for the cost of an anesthesiologist to come to administer it. C-sections are considered major surgery, and costs significantly more than a vaginal delivery.
According to the most recent data provided by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, the average cost of delivering a baby vaginally was $9,617 in the U.S. in 2009, and $15,799 for babies delivered via C-section.
The costs also vary greatly depending on the hospital and state. To determine our state-rankings of the most expensive places to have a baby, we went through the most recent data provided by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and looked at average hospital charges for vaginal and cesarean deliveries.
There was only data available for 35 states, but the sample was large enough for us to see how the cost of having a baby can differ depending on where you live. You can see more about the methodology and the list of states included here.
New Jersey is the most expensive state to have a baby. The average hospital charge for a vaginal delivery in New Jersey is $18,372 — 91 percent higher than the national average. The average C-section in New Jersey costs $26,743, 69 percent higher than the national average.
Of the 35 states we looked at, California ranks second as the most expensive ($14,523 for the average vaginal delivery, $24,777 for C-section), and Florida ranks third ($10,435 for the average vaginal delivery, $18,574 for C-section). At the bottom of the list: Maryland. Hospitals in Maryland charge an average of $5,509 for vaginal deliveries and $6,812 for C-sections — well below the national averages.
Of course, if you have insurance, you won't have to pay these huge sums, and even people without insurance can see discounts on their hospital bills.
"I had a great HMO plan," says Monica Brady, a mother of twins who runs the site Mommy Brain Reports. "My OB vistas and the delivery were 100 percent covered, and I didn't have a co-pay for any of it. My girls were both delivered via C-section, so we were very lucky."
Although parents may not be able to control what hospitals will charge them to deliver their baby, they can control what it costs to have a baby once their little one is home.
"I wanted to keep the costs down by shopping at IKEA for baby furniture, while spending more for items such as a hospital grade breast pump and high quality high chair," Eden says. "The breast pump cost about $500 and the high chair was about $150. Both items lasted to three children so I consider money well spent there.
Since I breastfed all my children, I didn't have to spend money on formula. I chose to spend more money on natural diapers though, and only bought Seventh Generation diapers for our babies. I also spent more money on high quality organic baby food and other organic baby items such as toys, cleaning supplies and laundry detergent to ensure that our children wouldn't be exposed to chemicals at such a young age."
Jessica Katz, who runs the blog Mommy Don't Buy That, says it's perfectly okay to buy used. She suggests buying new car seats, but used strollers, doing toy and clothes trades with friends, and shopping at consignment stores.
"I know you want to dress your kid like a doll, but they outgrow so fast, so find sales," Katz says.
"Buy early," Brady says. "I love finding clothing on clearance. Usually, I'll find the previous season's fashions on clearance, and I'll buy them up a size or two bigger than what my girls wear now. By the time next year rolls around, they're taller and I don't have to make any last minute dashes out to buy a new coat at full price. Also, search around and you'll find a lot of free samples through diaper companies, infant formula companies, and more. Don't hesitate to call [companies'] customer service lines to ask."
This post originally appeared at Bundle.
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Okay, we're half kidding--but fortunately for those women, high-end designers such as Gucci, Lanvin, Versace, Stella McCartney and Burberry have all recently launched or plan to launch clothing lines for kids.
Upscale children's lines started entering the scene about three years ago, but made a surge this season with Fendi showing its collection at its Fifth Avenue store in New York City and Gucci hiring Jennifer Lopez and her twins for its advertising campaign.
The prices for many pieces, which children will likely only wear for one season, border on ridiculous. For example, a Gucci's hooded zip up white quilted down jacket, designed for girls ages 2 to 8, costs $595 dollars.
But as the luxury market makes a slow comeback, the wealthy are willing splurge these items, said the Doneger Group's Creative Director Jamie Ross.
We spoke to her this week about designer baby fashion became such a trend; here's what she had to say.
When did we start seeing designer children's clothes become a trend?
About three years ago, we started to see designer clothes for children enter the market. But the past year, we've seen it enter a good mainstream consciousness. These moms who wear the brands themselves and place their identity in them, and want their children to have matching aesthetics.
Why is expanding to children's wear smart for designers?
The fact that they are building costumers base that young, helps them build customers for life. If a child associates themselves early on with a brand, they have a guaranteed customer later on.
So what are the trends in children's designer fashion?
It's a take away from the grown-up clothes. Especially Gucci, Lanvin, and I'm sure Versace are all taking trends from their adult lines.
Is it cost-effective for designers to create children's lines?
Yes, absolutely. The fact that Fendi had their show at the Fifth Avenue store just generated so much hype for the line and I would say people were more excited for the Lanvin kids line than the woman's. Just generating the buzz helps the designer.
As the luxury market made a small comeback in the past few years, is this how people are spending their money?
For the infant clothes, we're seeing them mostly gifted. The doting grandparents are a large part of the people spending on these lines.
So if the mother of the child is clad from head to toe, is there an etiquette about what type of clothing to buy the child as a gift?
If it's a known fact that a mom leans in the direction of designer, it's probably best to step up to the plate and buy the designer clothes. If you even think how far diaper bags have come, women don't just carry a basic bag anymore.
What designer children's line do you like the most right now?
Looking ahead, Fendi looks good. It's a direct interpretation of their woman's line. The clothes are kid friendly, the prints and colors are just right. They are pushing the envelope forward. The clothes are user-friendly, some of the kids clothes (from other designers) almost look too precious to use. Fendi has utility safari fabrics, others look more washed and comfortable. They have fashion pastels for boys. It looks great, because sometimes compared to the girls, the boys lines can be boring.
Children are the ones wearing these clothes, so do you think it comes with a level of understanding that the clothes will get dirty?
If you're a mom and spending on this, you're prepared to have a good dry cleaner as well.
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