Well as mentioned here we did end up at the hospital after a planned home birth because of some minor complications where Wooly Baby wasn't arriving as quickly as the midwives (and me) would have liked. I had previously posted on the costs of home birth, and now can comment on the costs of hospital birth at our local hospital.
Costs:
1. Parking - this was free at our hospital, but I know many hospitals charge for parking.
2. Fuel - Mr W would have spent a few dollars on fuel going back and forth to the hospital. We live 5 minutes away though so I don't estimate it to be more than $10 over 3 days.
3. Food - Because the hospital didn't really feed Mr W except for lunch right after the birth, Mr W ended up buying take out quite a bit, as well as purchasing some fruit and treats (decaf latte and chocolate and fruit juice) for me. The meals were quite big though so I usually shared something with him. Every meal came with fruit, salad, soup, main course, dessert, milk, juice and tea. Well except for breakfast, but it was big too.
4. Cell charges- we called everyone on our cell phones of course which meant we will have some long distance charges. I think I remembered to use the calling card most of the time, but I am pretty sure I got excited I called without it a few times too.
Savings:
We got several freebies, including a knitted hat, diapers, and wipes. That was nice :)
