My experience of most things is that they cost as much as you're willing to pay. I know that ludicrous figures are bandied around for weddings for example, but it depends on the wedding you have. I bought my dress from a charity shop (of course) whereas I know for some people a new dress is what they've dreamed of and a price tag seems inevitable.
Babies are another supposedly costly undertaking. Loss of parental earnings is of course major. Babies need a whole heap of attention that means we can't get paid for working at the same time, though I'm grateful for our welfare state that means child benefit and working family tax credits (currently) exist. My own particular experience of babies is that they didn't really cost anything. The breastfeeding meant feeding them was free and when they started solids it was mainly sharing from my plate :-) my parents did the outlay on the washable nappies which we used both times. And happily we got given oodles of second hand stuff, clothes and toys, we didn't even have to buy Christmas presents as we just stashed in the loft things that other people had done with, and then wrapped them when they were suitable. So looking back (which is of course always through a filtered lens) the only thing we _had_ to buy was a car seat.
Fast forward to having teenagers and it feels somewhat different. Now the amount of food they eat is immense and the range of bathroom products bewildering. No matter how much cash I draw out, it is never enough for the daily requests to cover bus/ train fares, cake ingredients, camps, school trips, etc etc. They actually ask me for very little (neither have requested to go on the 5 day school trips at £999) and I am immensely proud of them and the lives they lead. And since when was it ever about the money? :-)
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