0–3 Months: What This Month Costs, What to Buy, What to SkipModel month ~$230/mo model · about 11 diaper changes a day · 24 oz formula/day model. All prices are model examples — run your real numbers in the simulator.
The newborn blur runs on volume: 10–12 diaper changes a day, feeding around the clock, and sizes that expire in weeks. Your only jobs this quarter are a standing consumables supply and radical smallness in every stockpile.
Model month at 0–3 Months
■ Diapers — $79 ■ Feeding (formula model) — varies by family ■ Wipes & basics — $39
Feeding is shown at a formula-model level for scale; breastfed and combo-fed months sit lower on that segment only. Everything else is stubbornly similar — babies are egalitarian that way.
Buy (this stage earns it)
Do not stockpile newborn or size 1 — two weeks maximum, ever.
Hospital take-home supplies are real money: ask before discharge.
Sterilizing matters most in this window — microwave bags are the budget champion.
Register for benefits and insurance deadlines in month one, not 'when things settle'.
What one day of diapers costs at 0–3 Months, by unit price
Store brand, 17¢$1.87/day
Mid-range, 24¢$2.64/day
Small packs, 35¢$3.85/day
Same stage, same baby — the only variable is the pack you reached for.
Skip (this stage punishes it)
A swing or bouncer bought new before knowing your baby's taste.
Newborn-sized clothing beyond a week's rotation — growth is vertical now.
Premium ready-to-feed as the default system (keep a small reserve only).
Your two numbers for this stage
Diaper changes a day: 11 — at a 24¢ model diaper that is $2.64/day, or about $79/month. Keep your real unit price under your written target and this stage is handled. Everything else this quarter is commentary.