I'd love to see a reasonable breakdown for these cost-to-raise-a-child numbers, because they seem totally crazy to me.
Our daughter is almost 2 years old and she has her own category in YNAB. We track pretty much everything; from car seats to bedding, diapers, baby food, equipment, clothes, toys, gifts and daycare. The only thing not in that category is the original hospital delivery expenses; but that would probably vary based on your health provider.
The grand total as of today is $6185.70 to raise a two-year-old. I see no reason at all why that would increase over the next several years. At that rate, she should cost just over 50 grand by the age of 18.
Why would you leave out delivery costs? It's an expense directly attributable to the child.
I could spend $40k on daycare before the child enters school, however we'll earn $200K. Having the lowest expenses doesn't make things better, sometimes spending money is the right choice. Its a personal decision though, I'm just illustrating that you missed out on $150,000 so that you could have expenses under $50K. For us it was a choice, our families future vs. our families immediate needs.
I also noticed you neglected housing costs, the USDA assumed you provided shelter. They also assumed you used a car to get the mother to the hospital, the child to the doctor etc. which in turns means transportation costs. I highly recommend reading the original document before dismissing it.
"Housing expenses consist of shelter (mortgage payments, property taxes, or rent; maintenance and repairs; and insurance), utilities (gas, electricity, fuel, cell/telephone, and water), and house furnishings and equipment (furniture, floor coverings, major appliances, and small appliances). Mortgage payments included principal and interest payments. Overall, principal payments constituted 15 percent of overall housing expenses" - USDA