ML Interest Tag: married-couple

My Twins Are 5 & I Don’t Want This Magical Summer to End

By Katy Maher

Photo: I Got a Dumpster Family!

There’s a distance that seems to be widening as they grow a bit older: five and a half years, to be precise. Like I’m watching from afar, not quite so close. They are doing exactly what they should be doing—what we want them to do—they are growing up.

When I watch him playing buddy baseball at school and he waves to me from afar out in the field, my heart grows 84 sizes.

When she sees me during a park district class and she feels miles away across the big gym, she winks and waves and my heart rockets out of my chest to cling to her.

I’m sitting in a play place right now as I type this and my kids are in the other play area next door doing just fine without me hovering. Twins always have a playmate and it is glorious. GLORIOUS. They stick together and watch out for each other (most of the time). I never thought I’d get to the place where I didn’t have to hover. Where they would be big enough.

But here we are.

I honestly don’t even know where they are right now but I know they’re okay. Can you believe that? Then they run over to check in and get some water and are off again.

She calls me over with a wave and a smile and a “Mama come watch!” to have me see what she is working on. The play place has this pretty amazing American Ninja Warrior like course set up and these kids are in heaven.  In the last couple weeks, on exactly the same day, they both made it across the monkey bars for the first time. Every day, for the last school year, they tried. They tried and fell. And fell and fell and fell. They inspire me with their endless ability to fall and get back up again.

But one day recently they didn’t fall. They made it across. Twins, man. On the same day. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. One after the other, they are masters. They are strong and confident and unswayed by the falling. They fall and get back up. My boy got some good blisters on his little hands yesterday and was so so sad to have to miss out for the rest of the time at the playground, but he knows he’ll be back up there again in no time.

That look from across a crowded playground or just across our family room tells me they are crazy about me and they know without a doubt that they are my everything.

When they ask me to teach them how to do a cartwheel, I grin, panic, catch my breath and say, “Okay, next time we are at the park and there is room.” When that time comes and I wonder if I still have a cartwheel in this 45-year-old body, I hold on for dear life and just DO IT. They watch me without blinking. It shows me muscles I didn’t know I still had and it hurts in places I hadn’t given a thought to in years.  And it feels GOOD.  This stretching ourselves. So I keep doing it.

They try it over and over and over. With a wink and a wave, we are in this together. 

That is the difference between babies and little big kids. We are in this together. This teamwork and reasoning.

This is mothering little big kids. 

This is a sweet spot. They want to cuddle and be my babies and yet they want to do everything by themselves. My girl wants to dress herself completely and my boy says, “I want you to do it mama” and I oblige him because they are 5. It won’t be like this forever.

I haven’t wiped a bottom in about two months. They wake up and help each other all the while with their endless banter that I hear as a whisper from downstairs. This morning there wasn’t any extra toilet paper and Bubby had to come down and get more for his sister who was upstairs yelling, “GAH WHERE ARE YOU?” “I AM COMING BEBE”, their old married couple status solidified as we are endlessly entertained at 6 a.m.

This summer before they start all-day kindergarten feels oh-so precious. Like the ending of their little littleness. Every day I want to find something special to mark this passing of time. But perhaps the most important way to mark it is to recognize exactly where we are. Whether sitting on the couch or out on an adventure, we are soaking it all up.

I still cannot believe they are here. We are here. That these babies have somehow gone through being babies and toddlers and are now well on their way to becoming big kids. But not yet. I am still mothering little big kids. And it is delightful.

They hold my hand and give me all kisses and hugs and point me out to say, “That’s our mama!” as they wink and wave and I turn into a ghost and fly right up into the ether from cuteness and love.

Had you asked me five years ago, when they were 6 months old, if I’d ever get to a place where I felt like I could sit on my own and write while they played by themselves happily, safely and contentedly, I would’ve said, YOU MUST BE MAD. But today I know. 

I am here to tell moms of multiples in particular that it gets better. It gets so so so much better. You get to feel like a person who has full use of her own body and hands and the ability to say GO PLAY – meaning by themselves (but oftentimes together which is also great) and you get to do your own thing.

The way she so effortlessly makes friends with other girls – that’s a whole post in itself – it’s beautiful and the sweetest thing when these little girls smile at each other. The way she introduces her brother to other kids around them to make sure he is included because as confident as he is he oftentimes thinks other kids don’t like him. They do not need me to make introductions any longer. They don’t need me to facilitate connection any longer because they are doing it themselves and it is astounding to watch.

This is all equal parts incredibly sad and cause for raucous celebration. All the damn feelings. That whole roots and wings nonsense, you understand.

It seems we may never ever ever escape from the non-stop neediness of two babies all day long and then it becomes quiet for just a few minutes too long and….

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T NEED ME. I don’t know what to do without the chaos. I love the chaos. Kindergarten is going to be hard. For me.

*pauses writing for one second because they want me to watch them jump into the squishy ball pit* AHA! YES!

He winks at me from across the room and I am a puddle. She waves to me from the top of the stairs and I melt.

But as much as I wouldn’t go back to them being babies because MY GOD BABY TWINS ARE NOT FUN, there are things I do miss. I do not miss the double crying so hard all day every day and just counting the seconds until my husband got home from work. I don’t miss losing my cool so often I would often times scare myself with my reaction to them and need to place them in their car-seats out on the balcony of our building (they were plenty safe—safer than around me in those moments) just to walk away and cry and gain my composure again before bringing them back in.

Actually nope. There isn’t really much I miss about them being babies.Twin babies are HARD. But you just do what you need to do and one day you look up and your five year olds are washing the strawberries and pouring the cereal and having conversations about politics like 45 year olds and IT IS GOOD. This is a sweet spot.

There are about five other twin families here today—with toddlers—and they all look at me like, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU ARE SITTING THERE NOT HOVERING and I talk with all of them after my kids run back off to play more and assure them that it gets better. Because it does. One day they too will enjoy their coffee and moments of independence. They will indeed!

I never thought I would say this but it is indeed going awfully fast. I can find solace in the fact that today I am actually sitting in a play place, SITTING in a play place with a coffee and my laptop and I am writing while they are playing on their own. Without my constant attention or fearing for their lives or the safety of others around them.

A little wink meant just for me. Those little hands scanning the room for my face, that light in their eyes as they find it and then wave. I am mothering little big kids now. But as I glance up over my laptop I see a little face—one of my little faces—and with just a little wink or a wave, I know they still need me. And that’s not going away any time soon.

Every day this summer, I am soaking up their littleness. Their amusement and enjoyment of all things little. They LOVE hanging out with me and I have never had so much fun in my life. Today is my favorite. Even on the hard, trying, testing all my patience days, this is a life beyond my wildest dreams and I’m so grateful and in awe of this life and these two kids who show me each day how to be in the moment, be courageous and just have fun. This—this—is my happy, joyous and free.

This post originally appeared on I Got a Dumpster Family!.

Sober, writer, helper, infertile—yet somehow science got me pregnant through IVF. I'm the mama of seven-year-old boy-girl twins at Chicago Public Schools. I have great big gratitude, but that doesn't mean I don't rage. I’m for women.

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When Parents Love Each Other, Kids Fare Better

by Jennifer Swartvagher

Children model their future relationships based on the love they grew up around. Parents tend to put their children first, subsequently putting their own relationship on the back burner. This recent study shows that when spouses share romantic love and affection, their children tend to stay in school longer and marry later in life.  

Research about how the affection between parents shapes their children’s long-term life is not always readily available. This study uses unique data from families in Nepal. The study, co-authored by researchers at the University of Michigan and McGill University in Quebec, was published in the journal Demography.

“In this study, we saw that parents’ emotional connection to each other affects child-rearing so much that it shapes their children’s future,” said co-author and U-M Institute for Social Research researcher William Axinn. “The fact that we found these kinds of things in Nepal moves us a step closer to evidence that these things are universal.”

The study uses data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal. The survey was launched in 1995 and collected information from 151 neighborhoods in the Western Chitwan Valley. Married couples were interviewed simultaneously but separately, and were asked to assess the level of affection they had for their partner. The spouses answered “How much do you love your (husband/wife)? Very much, some, a little, or not at all?”

The researchers then followed the children of these parents for 12 years to document their education and marital behaviors. The researchers found that the children of parents who reported they loved each other either “some” or “very much” stayed in school longer and married later.

“Family isn’t just another institution. It’s not like a school or employer. It is this place where we also have emotions and feelings,” said lead author Sarah Brauner-Otto, director of the Centre on Population Dynamics at McGill University. “Demonstrating and providing evidence that love, this emotional component of family, also has this long impact on children’s lives is really important for understanding the depth of family influence on children.”

According to Axinn, Nepal provides an important backdrop to study how parental relationships affect children’s lives. Historically, marriages in Nepal are arranged by their parents and divorce rates are low. In the 1970s change has been noted with more couples marrying for love. Divorce is still rare, but it is becoming more common. 

Also, education has become more prevalent since the 1970s. In Nepal, children begin attending school at age 5, and complete secondary school after grade 10, when they can take an exam to earn their “School-Leaving Certificate.” Fewer than 3% of ever-married women aged 15-49 had earned an SLC in 1996, while nearly a quarter of women earned an SLC in 2016. Thirty-one percent of men earned SLCs in 2011. By 2016, 36.8% of men had.

The researchers also want to dig into why parental love affects children the way it does. They speculate that when parents show deep affection for each other, they also invest more time and effort into their children, thus leading them to remain in school longer. When a child grows up in a happy, loving environment, they tend to seek out similar relationships for themselves when they get older. . 

The findings still remained constant after researchers considered other factors that influenced a married couple’s relationship and their children’s future. These include caste ethnicity; access to schools; whether the parents had an arranged marriage; the childbearing of the parents; and whether the parents had experience living outside their own families, possibly being influenced by Western ideas of education and courtship.

“The result that these measures of love have independent consequences is also important,” Axinn said. “Love is not irrelevant; variations in parental love do have a consequence.”

Photo courtesy of Photo by Seth Reese on Unsplash

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529 Plan: What You Need to Know Before Enrolling

By Rosemary Lombardy

When raising a family, we do our best to ensure their health, happiness, safety, and security. We strive to provide them with all of the skills, resources, and opportunities they need to grow up to lead a happy, successful, and fullfilling life. In doing this, every mom needs to know how to save for college, which is a very expensive commitment.  The best approach is to start early, as the power of compounding over time is powerful, and was called the eighth wonder of the world by Albert Einstein.

Here are ways to reduce the financial worry, ensure your family’s ability to afford the cost of the degree, and start successfully saving for your child’s future. 

Enroll in a 529 plan. One of the best ways to save for college for your child is a college savings 529 plan. These state sponsored higher education savings accounts grow tax-free if the rules are followed. Each state determines the maximum contributions, eligible investments, and tax advantages. Although there is no tax deduction, distributions are tax-free if used for qualified education expenses of the beneficiary of the account. These expenses include such items as tuition, fees, textbooks, supplies and equipment required for enrollment, and special needs services. Where the student is attending at least half the time and the payments are made directly to the college, they also include room and board costs. Supplies may include a laptop, printer, computer, and internet service. Some expenses that are not qualified include travel, a cellphone, student loan repayment, health insurance provided by the college, or a sports or club membership.

How to get a waiver of the 10% penalty. Non-qualified withdrawals of income from a 529 will be subject to ordinary income tax as well as a 10% penalty to the person who receives the money, which can be either the owner or the beneficiary. The principal portion of the withdrawal will not be subject to tax. For exceptions to the 10% penalty, see below. It is very important to make sure that the withdrawals are used only for qualified expenses to avoid taxes and penalty.

• If a child does not go to college or receives a scholarship, the owner may change the beneficiary to another child or member of the beneficiary’s family. This flexibility makes a 529 plan a very attractive investment.

• If a withdrawal is made from a 529 plan because the beneficiary dies, becomes disabled, or has earned scholarships and doesn’t need the money, the 10 percent penalty may be waived. Income taxes will still apply to the income portion of the amount withdrawn.

Know the most advantagous investment options. The investment options offered include a variety of mutual funds. Aged-based funds are very popular, as the investments are more heavily weighted in stocks with a younger child and are rebalanced to become more heavily weighted in bonds the closer the child gets to college age. To open a 529 plan, you may either make a lump sum investment or set up a monthly bank draft, a great way to save for your child’s future.

Make monthly or annual contributions. There are no income restrictions to making a contribution to a 529 plan. Although there is no annual maximum, contributions per year over $15,000 to a 529 plan will be subject to federal gift tax rules.  Each state has a specific maximum account size, which generally varies between $235,000 and $500,000. You are not required to contribute to your state’s 529 plan but will want to consider state tax advantages when making a decision. Distributions may be used for schools out of state.

• Accelerated gifting of 5 years of contributions may be made to a 529 plan, a total of $75,000 per individual or $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly, without having to file a gift tax return. An important tax benefit, the value of account and its tax-free growth will be excluded from the contributor’s estate for federal estate tax purposes. To avoid having to file a gift tax return, no additional contributions may be made for 5 years if the full accelerated gifting has already been implemented.

• The contributor to a 529 plan is normally the account owner, but not necessarily. For example, a grandparent may fund a 529 plan with a child as owner and a grandchild as beneficiary. The owner of the account will name a successor co-owner and beneficiary, choose the investments, and decide when and how much to distribute.

• Parents, grandparents, relatives and friends who are U.S. citizens or resident aliens and at least 18 years old may open a 529 plan and make contributions. They may also make contributions to 529 plans owned by others. You may want to ask relatives to make a contribution to a 529 plan in lieu of gifts that will eventually be discarded by your child.

Understand the differences between a 529 Plan and a ROTH IRA. The annual contribution amounts are considerably higher for a 529 plan than for the ROTH IRA, which is currently $7,000 per year if under age 50. It is possible to save a much greater amount that will grow tax-free with a 529 plan. The ROTH IRA also has income eligibility restrictions, unlike the 529 plan. Withdrawals may be made tax-free without age or time restriction from a 529 plan if used for qualified education expenses. That is not the case with a ROTH IRA. If the ROTH IRA account holder will be under age 59 ½ when the withdrawals are made, earnings will be subject to ordinary income taxes, a real disadvantage. Only the 10% penalty will be avoided if the withdrawals are used for qualified education expenses in the same year. Earnings may be withdrawn tax-free from a ROTH IRA only if the account has been held for at least 5 years.  In most cases, a 529 plan is a much better way to save for college.

How 529 plans impact financial aid. The 529 plans owned by college students or their parents will reduce need-based aid by a maximum of 5.64% of the current market value. This calculation also affects the parent’ savings, checking and brokerage accounts, real estate other than the primary residence, ETFs, and mutual funds. Withdrawals that are made from a 529 plan held by a non-custodial parent will be assessed as income against financial aid, just like those held by grandparents.

In conclusion, your savings plan should be personalized and specific to your family’s needs and goals for the future. To find the right college savings plan for your specific situation, ask your financial advisor to compare plans for you and to explain the costs, fees, and risks. Prepare a budget to determine a realistic amount that you can set aside regularly for this long-term goal. In addition, make sure that you also regularly fund an account for your own retirement. You are a priority, as well as your children. This is very important to consider when deciding how to allocate your resources.

 

 

 

Rosemary Lombardy is a financial advisor with over 35 years of experience and a domestic abuse survivor. She is the founder of www.breakingbonds.com, a free resource for abused women, and author of Breaking Bonds: How to Divorce an Abuser and Heal - A Survival Guide.

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“Making Babies” Movie Reminds Us How Common Infertility Is & It’s Nothing to Be Ashamed Of

by Keiko Zoll

With movies like Baby Mama, Knocked Up and What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Hollywood has always had some pretty rosy depictions about what it’s like trying to get pregnant. But for one in eight couples—or about 12 percent of married women in America—getting pregnant isn’t so simple…or glamorous. A new indie film, Making Babies, sheds both a comedic and poignant light on what it’s like trying to get pregnant when you can’t.

Written and directed by Josh Huber, Making Babies stars Eliza Coupe and Steve Howey as a young married couple trying to start their family. When things don’t work out, they head to a fertility specialist played by Ed Begly, Jr. The trailer captures so many of the painful—and painfully absurd—moments that come with dealing with infertility.

(FYI: if you’re a parent after infertility, you’re going to need a tissue handy. Making Babies cuts so close to home if you’ve been through it.)

As someone who battled infertility for five years, there’s so much in this trailer I can relate to personally—and honestly, any hopeful mom-to-be will find something that speaks to her, too, in this film. From the late Glenne Headly’s line about, “Maybe you’re just not meant to have a baby right now” to showing the simultaneous joy and jealousy of attending a baby shower for someone else when you can’t conceive, Making Babies looks promising as a compassionate portrayal of what it’s like to experience infertility.

With so many women and couples experiencing infertility, films like Making Babies help erase the stigma associated with it. It also provides two very important reminders to anyone having trouble trying to get pregnant: first, that infertility is nothing to be ashamed of and more importantly—you’re not alone.

Making Babies heads to theaters nationwide on Mar. 29.

—Keiko Zoll

Featured photo: Courtesy of Making Babies via IMDb

 

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How to Enjoy This Valentine’s Day As a New Mother

By Rachael Sablotsky Kish

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and for many breastfeeding mothers—or new moms in general—that means wondering how to celebrate the most romantic day of the year. Should we hire a babysitter or just bring the baby to dinner with us? What should I wear (especially if I’m feeling a little less than stylish these days)? Having just delivered my third child (conveniently right before Valentine’s Day), I’ve learned a few things along the way about balancing a breastfeeding regimen while still finding time to spend with my partner. Here are a few of my sanity-saving tips for all you nursing (and soon-to-be nursing) mothers out there.

Try to Do This:

Embrace the Little Things to Keep the Spark
Life is hectic with a breastfeeding newborn and there’s just no way around it. You are often exhausted from feeding a hungry baby day and night, which can be a real romance killer. Instead of trying to recreate a Valentine’s Day reminiscent of the times you spent together before you started a family, rely on small gestures to display affection. Recreate your first wedding dance as a married couple in the comfort of your living room. Order take out from a restaurant you’ve been dying to try out. Feast on premium chocolates while you luxuriate in your comfiest robe and slippers. Whatever simple things bring you and your spouse joy, do them!

Dinner and a Movie… at Home
Babysitters are hard to come by on Valentine’s Day and are often booked weeks in advance. You may also be completely worn out from keeping up with your breastfeeding schedule along with the day-to-day tasks of running a household, so I find it’s best not to force a Valentine’s Day “occasion.” Cook dinner with your spouse, light some candles, fire up Netflix, and have a romantic evening for two on the couch.

Go with the Flow
There is nothing nursing moms understand more than to expect the unexpected. Even the best-laid preparations can be thrown into a tailspin with a newborn calling the shots, so be ready to go with the flow. Maybe your baby is especially fussy on Valentine’s Day, or a cold strikes during the most inopportune of times. Be ready to laugh off any roadblocks and know that you and your spouse can tackle anything together, including a non-traditional Valentine’s Day celebration.

Try Not to Do This:

Talk About the Kids
This may seem counterintuitive, as your whole life essentially revolves around their daily needs, but the Breastfeeding Resource Center recommends making your best effort to avoid talking about your breastfeeding newborn during your couples Valentine’s Day. Instead, take the time to concentrate on each other as it will give you both a mental break and allow you to reconnect as a couple before you started your family. As a breastfeeding mother, you deserve a night off and your significant other can agree!

Pressure Yourself to Celebrate on Valentine’s Day Itself
With reservations booked weeks in advance, I felt like I was forcing myself to celebrate on Valentine’s Day and felt like more than pressure than I needed. So, I came up with a solution: DON’T! My husband and I often set the occasion to the night after Valentine’s Day to avoid crowds and eliminate some stress out of the holiday.

It’s important to remember that Valentine’s Day doesn’t center around writing a sentimental card, buying flowers and digging into a box of chocolates. Celebrating unconditional love with your significant other, and the family it has grown into, is what the day is really about. So, treat yourself this holiday and take time with your one and only. You’ve earned it!

This post originally appeared on Imalac.
Rachael Sablotsky Kish
Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Rachael Sablotsky Kish is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Imalac, a med-tech company which created Nurture, a hands-free breast massage system for nursing mothers that uses an attachable massage component to replicate hands-on pumping. Kish is a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC), educating and training women on breastfeeding.

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All the Celebrity Babies We Can’t Wait for in 2019

by Karly Wood

It’s been a busy year welcoming tons of new celeb babies into the world—and 2019 is shaping up to be the same. We love celebrating the arrival of adorable babies, and celeb moms and dads are no exception.

We’ve rounded up all the celebs due to expand their families in the New Year so far, and don’t forget to check back often for plenty of new additions!

Carrie Underwood

Country music star Carrie Underwood will be adding to her family with husband Mike Fisher. Son Isaiah will become a big brother to another little boy for the family.

 

The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle

The world has been waiting since the royal couple made their vows and we can rejoice that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are pregnant! The couple is already planning for the arrival of baby by making plans to move to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. No word yet on Markle’s exact due date.

 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

The Karshasian West family announced on Jan. 2 they would be adding to their brood via surrogate. No news on when the newest bundle of joy is set to arrive, but it’s definitely in 2019.

 

Chelsea Clinton

Daughter of former President Bill Clinton took to Twitter to announce that her family is growing. Clinton and husband Marc Mezvinsky will welcome a new baby this summer and will join their daughter and son, Charlotte and Aidan.

 

Mario Lopez & Fam

The Extra star announced via video in early January that he and Mrs. Lopez are expecting a baby! The new brother or sister will join big siblings, Gia and Dominic––due date pending.

 

Kobe & Vanessa Bryant

The retired basketball star announced first thing on New Year’s Day that his family was adding another “mambacita” to their clan. Four girls equals four times the fun!

 

Danielle Fishel & Jensen Karp

The Boy Meets World star wed her husband, Jensen Karp in November and has already announced the future arrival of their first child, a baby boy due in July 2019!

 

Jessica Simpson

Singer and actress Jessica Simpson will welcome her third child with husband, Eric Johnson next year. Simpson has already revealed that baby number three is a girl!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bppjx8nARBF/

Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer and new husband Chris Fisher will welcome their first child together next year! Ever since her announcement, the comedian and actress has been very open about sharing her pregnancy woes of morning sickness and regaling us with all things maternity.

 

April Love Geary & Robin Thicke

The engaged to be married couple welcomed their first daughter together last February, but are ready for round two come March 2019! The baby girl will be Thicke’s third child, and Geary’s second.

 

Bekah Martinez

Bachelor alum Bekah Martinez and boyfriend Grayston Leonard are expecting their first child together in January. While the pair admits the pregnancy came as a surprise, they are both thrilled!

Cheers to all the new babies in the New Year!

––Karly Wood

Featured photo: Marie Claire via Instagram

 

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What Did Kirsten Dunst Name Her Baby? Her Son’s Name Might Be Familiar to Fans

by Erica Loop

This year has seen a boom in celeb births. And with each celeb birth means super chic (or sometimes super huh?) baby names: Kim K chose Chicago, Khloe K went with True, Kylie picked Stormi and musician Pete Wentz and new mama Meagan Camper recently announced the birth of baby girl Marvel Jane. Well now there’s another not-so-common baby name—Kirsten Dunst named her son Ennis.

The actress and her actor fiancé Jesse Plemons recently welcomed their first child, a baby boy. Even though neither of the happy parents has officially dropped the baby’s name, website The Blast reportedly obtained a copy of the birth certificate. According to The Blast, the Dunst and Plemons named their baby boy Ennis Howard Plemons.

So how did the couple pick their baby’s name? Well considering both Dunst and Plemons have been completely quiet about the pregnancy and birth (except for Dunst’s awesomely artsy high fashion bump pic that Rodarte posted on Instagram), it’s not likely that they’ll be making any lengthy baby name statements soon.

But if you want a little background on the name, Ennis is an Irish name meaning “island”—its origin comes from the Gaelic “inis.” Along with the meaning of the name, fans of Fargo might recognize the name as from Season 3 character Ennis Stussy. And of course, Dunst and Plemons met on the set while filming the TV show, playing married couple Peggy and Ed Blumquist during Season 2.

Congrats all around to the new parents!

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: Kirsten Dunst via Instagram

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Apparently Having More Children Makes You More Financially Responsible

by Red Tricycle

It doesn’t take many diaper changes or trips to Target to realize that raising a child ain’t cheap. According to a new report from the United States Department of Agriculture, parents can expect to dish about $13,000 a year to raise a child. A middle-income, married couple with two children is estimated to spend $233,610 to raise a child born in 2015. This figure does not include college tuition.

The report, developed by economists at USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, provided a breakdown of the biggest expenses: housing (29%) and food (18%) come in as the highest money eaters.

What was most interesting? Apparently, having multiple children decreased the monetary amount parents spent per child.

For scale, a family with only one child spent 27% more per child than a household with two children. On the other end, a married couple with three or more children spent 24% less per child compared to two kids, according to the report.

Dr. Lino calls this the “cheaper by the dozen effect.” He states, “as families increase in size, children may share a bedroom, clothing and toys can be reused, and food can be purchased in larger, more economical packages.”

Thank you hand-me-downs and Costco!

To read the full report, click here.

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