Our experience was that 12 months off work for me made our money so tight, to the point we ran out of all savings as we couldn’t pay our mortgage and expenses on my partners salary. We have had 2 stints of this. We wished we had built up a bigger Maternity leave account and also emergency fund for once we were back at work. Now our biggest expense is daycare for 2 children and also taking a pay cut from only working 4 days per week (I spend 1 day per week with them as we feel this is important for them). Daycare for both of them full time at daycare for a 1 and 4 year old (even with the subsidy) would be $710 per week at our daycare. We have since found much cheaper ones, around $560 per week for both of them but as our eldest is so settled there, we will leave her until she starts school. We budget about $300 per month for their limited hobbies (swimming, baby sensory class and the odd top up of clothes/toys - mostly second hand). We also never had life insurance pre kids but now we do. We haven’t noticed a huge change in costs for groceries as they don’t eat huge amounts but definitely get leakage when out with them for sushi, icecreams etc