BUNDLE OF JOY OR JUST A BUNDLE? THAT BOUNCING NEW BABY COULD WIND UP COSTING PARENTS MORE THAN $230,000.

Byline: Barbara Correa Staff Writer

There's nothing like ringing in the new year with a new baby. But along with the predictions about what the child will look like, who they'll become and what they'll achieve, preplanning parents might want to add another category to the forecast: Will this bundle of joy cost a bundle of cash?

Providing the basics - food, shelter, clothing, health care - for your baby could set you back more than $230,000 over the next 17 years. That's based on average annual per-child expenses paid by middle-income households making between about $40,000 and $68,000 a year, according to the Department of Agriculture's annual Expenditures on Children by Families report.

Families making more spend more. Households earning an average $100,000 a year will part with $338,370 to bring up baby - almost enough to buy a median-priced home in Southern California.

And these figures don't include big-ticket outlays, like college tuition. They also represent spending up to age 17. The Department of Agriculture cites a Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Co. survey that found 47 percent of parents in their 50s still support children who are over 21.

``I didn't think I was spending that much,'' said Mary Teresa Fortuna- Kuser, mother of a 1-year-old in Studio City. ``But I'm doing my taxes and I'm categorizing, and it's really quite staggering.''

She said she and her husband spent $400 baby-proofing their condo, about $500 on essential baby gear, and set up a college tuition account, to which they contribute $150 a month. But there are many other minor, niggling expenses that add up.

Preschool applications are $60 per school. Mommy and Me classes can cost $15 to $30 a pop.

``The prospect of having another child is daunting,'' said Fortuna-Kuser.

Colleen Krohe, a part-time Pampered Chef saleswoman and mother of two in Chino Hills, is shelling out $50 a month for Irish dancing school for her 5-year-old daughter. The indulgence is a relatively modest one at this point, but, said Krohe, a veteran Irish dancer herself, if she sticks with it, the hobby could involve travel to Ireland for competitions and $500 costumes. Meanwhile, her daughter has also expressed an interest in ice skating, another potentially costly activity.

But parents are, in general, willing to pay.

``If you want it badly enough for your child, you give up something for yourself,'' said Rachel Farrell, a schoolteacher in Long Beach. She plans to enroll her daughter in preschool through the Jewish Community Center, which runs $800 to $1,000 per semester.

But she saves on baby-sitting, farming it out to family nearby, and has cut out expensive habits like frequent travel.

In some situations, parents are more than willing to spare no expense for their kids.

``By the time someone calls me, they're willing to pay what they need to pay,'' said Angela Parker, a personal trainer specializing in kids and teens, many of whom are battling obesity.

``Physical ed has been reduced to one day a week in public schools, and in private schools it's only two days a week. They've removed jungle gyms and stuff because of safety,'' said Parker, who has seen her business boom since she launched it a year ago. If the child is overweight, she requires at least two sessions a week. In-home sessions are $60 an hour, though she does offer packages.

Parents in Pasadena are paying more than $10,000 a year to put their kids in pre-kindergarten and secure a spot at the Polytechnic School, a private K-12 institution located across the street from Caltech. The school receives about 1,000 total applications a year and accepts just 90 to 100 of those, according to an admissions director.

``We have friends with kids in preschool who pay $175 a month for two days a week, and those are moderate preschools,'' said Betsy Wilbur, a part-time events producer and president of the Pasadena Moms Club.

But, she said, the basic expenses of raising her 2-year-old son have cost about what she expected so far. It's the little things she didn't anticipate that add up.

``It's not just the diapers and food, it's all the other things to make sure he's being stimulated and active.'' She said she'd love to enroll her son in Pasadena Conservatory of Music classes for kids, but at several hundred dollars per session, she's opting instead for South Pasadena Community dance and craft courses, which are $50 for six weeks. ``We definitely don't have a lot of money so we have to be careful,'' she said.

And she's still years away from having to face things like orthodontia (hundreds to thousands), a wedding (average $19,000) and the nine-hundred-pound gorilla of college tuition (average $3,515 a year at California public institutions to $19,710 a year at private colleges).

But luckily, the biggest expenses are paid out gradually, day-in, year-out, so it's easy to forget exactly how much it's costing.

``Everybody knows a child is going to cost money,'' said Monica Lengyel, a mother in Studio City.

Part of that strategy is finding things like free library reading sessions or group park days, that are fun and free. ``You can spend but do it wisely. You have to pick and choose,'' she said.

``There are a lot of hidden expenses ... but you just make it work.''

Barbara Correa, [phone]

barbara.correa(at)dailynews.com

BRINGING UP BABY 

Average annual spending on children aged 0-17 for families making between $40,000 and $67,000.

Housing: $3,250

Food: 1,670

Transportation: 1,350

Clothing: 570

Healthcare: 708

Child care/education: 1,030

Entertainment/misc. 1,075

TOTAL: 9,653

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

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(color) no caption (baby amid New Year's decorations and money)

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

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BRINGING UP BABY (see text)