One child isn't that expensive...especially early on. They don't get really expensive until they get closer to their teenage years. Almost all working families qualify for a program called WIC. It basically provides you with free formula, juice and infant cereal and then helps with milk, cheese, juice, peanut butter and cereal up until your child is 5 year old. Babies outgrow their clothes quickly, but they aren't that expensive to buy. When you have a child, if you don't have insurance, almost every state has state paid coverage for children and pregnant women. So...the main expense for the first year will be diapers, clothes and the initial purchases of a carseat, crib, stroller, highchair, swing, etc. Those are one time expenses except for the carseat, which you'll need a new one once the child gets a bit older (around 2-3).
Basically...you have time to get on your feet financially before you have to think about a child becoming really expensive.
As a single mother of 4 children, I can say that even without any child support, I managed to do okay. Times have been tight sometimes, but you make do. And most of the time it's been fine.
I'll say this much...once you see and hold the life you created you really won't care how much it's going to cost you. And no one is ever really prepared to have their first child. Babies don't come with an instruction manual or owner's guide. You learn as you go...and it's one of the most rewarding things you can ever experience.
My 5 year old daughter does and says the cutest and funniest things. When she was about 4 we were going into the local Walmart around Christmas and there was a Salvation Army worker outside ringing a bell. She looked right at him, glared and said, "STOP ringing that bell...you are TOO LOUD!" At first I was mortified, but once we got inside I couldn't stop laughing.
People who abort thier children miss out on so much. You knew the risk and knowingly took them. Now you've got to man up to that choice you made. Although you're probably scared to death...you won't regret your child being born the second you see and touch him or her. There's nothing else like it in the world.
