Anyone who says breastfeeding is cheaper than formula is full of it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EPer here with the 2 freezers. I guess I didn't have to buy 2 freezers but where would I have put my 2000oz+ of frozen milk? I ask in all seriousness.

My peds didn't have an LC on staff. I was desperate to see an LC b/c I wanted to nurse and was in terrible pain. My baby had just been discharged from a hospital stay due to jaundice/weight loss and I needed someone to come out stat. Maybe that's why the LC charged so much. I don't know.

If you read my post, I said that formula feeding would more expensive in the long run. It's just that if you EP, like I did, it's not free by any means. My post was half-tongue-in-cheek.

I 100% formula fed my first child. If I hadn't intended on breastfeeding, which we could not do, I wouldn't have bought the co-sleeper or the recliner. I rocked my first child in a creaky old wooden rocker that killed my back and my husband's butt (or mine) ended up breaking through the wicker. I bought the nursing pillow in anticipation of nursing and I used it for a week.

You simply do not need to pump or store that much milk at any given time. You ABSOLUTELY do not need to store that much milk. Store as much milk as you can fit in your freezer and then just don't keep storing it. I really really don't get it. I BF my child for 18 months and pumped at work for 1 year and REALLLLLY don't get it.

You don't get it because you were able to nurse your child for 18 months. As an EPer, my child didn't get fed unless I pumped. Now whether you could argue that I bought into the whole breastmilk thing too much is up for debate. But b/c I felt I failed at nursing, I was determined to provide breastmilk for one year. Once I went back to work, I pumped 4 times a day and made 40oz. My child ate up to 32oz a day, sometimes more, at his max, but often I had a lot to freeze. Two deep freezers allowed me to start weaning from the pump at 9 months and provide only breastmilk to my kid to 14 months. That's not a bad trade-off, is it?

[Anonymous]

I've had two kids, one totally BF and the other mostly FF due to reflux and other issues. FF was way more expensive, and we didn't even need the hypoallergenic Nutramigen or whatever it was that was literally worth its weight in gold. But then again, I did almost a full year of BF with "only" one electric pump and a cheapo hand pump, plus a couple of $15 nursing bras for Target. Which I still wear on occasion!, so I consider the costs pretty well amortized. Compare that against at least $50/wk in formula costs for my fat reflux boy, which continued for well over a year. (Don't even get me started on the costs of Prevacid etc!)

Honestly this is a pretty ridiculous case of one-up-manship, since budgets for this stuff are clearly linked to income more than absolute exigency. Nothing about newborns is free, but if you are truly indigent, BF is a cheaper way to go, if you're using cash flow as a measure. If it's about the opportunity cost of your time, as a PP or two pointed out, BF takes a huge toll, especially for women who don't have the option to SAHM or pump at the office.

[Anonymous]

The Lansinoh pump you can buy at Target is exactly the same as the Ameda pump--just has different branding. $130. Bought about 8 bottles and nipples; breast pads; milk baggies. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just for frame of reference, I've EBF 3 kids and below are my thoughts on what is actually needed when you EBF. All b/c a person spends more doesn't mean it is "more expensive":

Anonymous wrote:I'm the EPer from above. While I'm sure formula was more expensive in the long run, here were my breast milk costs:

$300 home visit from LC before I decided to EP [Don't need a home visit - I went to an LC once for $90 and then had some free phone consultations]
hospital pump rental for 9 months [don't need]
Medela Harmony hand pump for work back up [don't need]
Medela Freestyle (yes, I had 3 pumps b/c when you EP, you're pumping A LOT) [this is the only pump I needed. I left my Medela PIS at work. Didn't pump at home b/c I was with the baby all the time so nursed, didn't pump.]
2 nursing bras
1 My Brest Friend- useless since couldn't nurse [now this is why it was so expensive for you. you were exclusively pumping and not nursing. I used pillows just fine...]
1 recliner- not useless, but purchased for nursing purposes [not related at all to nursing]
1 Arms' Reach Co-Sleeper- not totally useless but again, purchased for overnight nursing sessions [not related at all to nursing]
1 nursing cover [got this for about $10]
2 deep freezers b/c I had a lot of frozen milk [this is so totally not needed]
20 or more Dr. Brown's bottles [have no idea why you'd need so many bottles]
At least 14 Ameda/Medela bottles[same comment as above]
Bags and bags and bags for freezing milk
Various membranes/flanges for two brands of pumps [not sure why you needed to buy so many of these]
10 sets of organic nursing pads [nwhy so many]

Not trying to be difficult here, but just wanted to point out that many of these costs are unnecessary if you are on a budget.

Spoken like someone who has NO IDEA what it's like to struggle with low supply, poor latch, etc. etc.

[Anonymous]

This is a funny thread considering how HHI of 200k makes you lower-middle class on DCUM!

LC visits, antibiotics for mastitis, doctor's visits for mastitis, probiotics to counter antibiotics (as suggested by the LC), two bras for my F cup boobs brought us to $500 alone. (Insurance paid for doctor's visit and antibiotics, but still, it is a cost of breastfeeding). $300 for a pump. $100 for miscellaneous bottles, bags, nursing pillow, lansinoh. . I EPed for four months and then stopped.

At ten months, my daughter is totally formula fed. Three boxes of enfamil from costco (45/ea) gets us through the month, with some to spare. 40/box. $1,440 per year.

One full year of enfamil: 1440.

Assuming no additional costs from breastfeeding, other than what I listed above - 900 for BFing.

Formula is more expensive, but not by much. And as an EPer, spending 3 hours a day pumping or doing pumping related activities as opposed to spending that time with my kid (or doing something for myself)...financially, it would make no sense to pump instead of give formula. Some people who have an easy time BFing and never see an LC or use antibiotics and don't work certainly assume that BFing is cheaper, but everyone is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EPer here with the 2 freezers. I guess I didn't have to buy 2 freezers but where would I have put my 2000oz+ of frozen milk? I ask in all seriousness.

My peds didn't have an LC on staff. I was desperate to see an LC b/c I wanted to nurse and was in terrible pain. My baby had just been discharged from a hospital stay due to jaundice/weight loss and I needed someone to come out stat. Maybe that's why the LC charged so much. I don't know.

If you read my post, I said that formula feeding would more expensive in the long run. It's just that if you EP, like I did, it's not free by any means. My post was half-tongue-in-cheek.

I 100% formula fed my first child. If I hadn't intended on breastfeeding, which we could not do, I wouldn't have bought the co-sleeper or the recliner. I rocked my first child in a creaky old wooden rocker that killed my back and my husband's butt (or mine) ended up breaking through the wicker. I bought the nursing pillow in anticipation of nursing and I used it for a week.

You simply do not need to pump or store that much milk at any given time. You ABSOLUTELY do not need to store that much milk. Store as much milk as you can fit in your freezer and then just don't keep storing it. I really really don't get it. I BF my child for 18 months and pumped at work for 1 year and REALLLLLY don't get it.

You don't get it because you were able to nurse your child for 18 months. As an EPer, my child didn't get fed unless I pumped. Now whether you could argue that I bought into the whole breastmilk thing too much is up for debate. But b/c I felt I failed at nursing, I was determined to provide breastmilk for one year. Once I went back to work, I pumped 4 times a day and made 40oz. My child ate up to 32oz a day, sometimes more, at his max, but often I had a lot to freeze. Two deep freezers allowed me to start weaning from the pump at 9 months and provide only breastmilk to my kid to 14 months. That's not a bad trade-off, is it?

No its not a bad trade off, and I certainly don't mean to sound insensitive since I could BF, but I still still respectively don't think that storing THAT much extra milk is a necessity for anyone - it seems like its just the way you chose to do it. I pumped for approximately 12 months - most of that time it was 3 times a day. If I had added a pumping session and stored all that extra milk in purchased freezers I could have stopped pumping 3 months earlier as well. You chose to pump a bunch extra so that you could get ahead and then stop early, which I absolutely applaud, but again its not necessary. You could have just kept pumping for a few more months and then not needed the storage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just for frame of reference, I've EBF 3 kids and below are my thoughts on what is actually needed when you EBF. All b/c a person spends more doesn't mean it is "more expensive":

Anonymous wrote:I'm the EPer from above. While I'm sure formula was more expensive in the long run, here were my breast milk costs:

$300 home visit from LC before I decided to EP [Don't need a home visit - I went to an LC once for $90 and then had some free phone consultations]
hospital pump rental for 9 months [don't need]
Medela Harmony hand pump for work back up [don't need]
Medela Freestyle (yes, I had 3 pumps b/c when you EP, you're pumping A LOT) [this is the only pump I needed. I left my Medela PIS at work. Didn't pump at home b/c I was with the baby all the time so nursed, didn't pump.]
2 nursing bras
1 My Brest Friend- useless since couldn't nurse [now this is why it was so expensive for you. you were exclusively pumping and not nursing. I used pillows just fine...]
1 recliner- not useless, but purchased for nursing purposes [not related at all to nursing]
1 Arms' Reach Co-Sleeper- not totally useless but again, purchased for overnight nursing sessions [not related at all to nursing]
1 nursing cover [got this for about $10]
2 deep freezers b/c I had a lot of frozen milk [this is so totally not needed]
20 or more Dr. Brown's bottles [have no idea why you'd need so many bottles]
At least 14 Ameda/Medela bottles[same comment as above]
Bags and bags and bags for freezing milk
Various membranes/flanges for two brands of pumps [not sure why you needed to buy so many of these]
10 sets of organic nursing pads [nwhy so many]

Not trying to be difficult here, but just wanted to point out that many of these costs are unnecessary if you are on a budget.

Spoken like someone who has NO IDEA what it's like to struggle with low supply, poor latch, etc. etc.

You still don't need all that crap.

[Anonymous]

This is just a weird and frankly oddly whiny post. I've ep, bf and ff due to medical issues. Ff is definitely more expensive. Bf can have some costs associated depending on how you do it...but it's not inherently crazy expensive unless you make it crazy expensive. It's like saying walking is insanely expensive...sure, if you get special shoes, orthotics, heart monitor, iPod, expensive clothes, bras, training, etc. You might need or want all that special stuff but not everyone does therefore it's silly to say bf is more expensive and anyone who says otherwise is full of it. Having a kid isn't free of costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just for frame of reference, I've EBF 3 kids and below are my thoughts on what is actually needed when you EBF. All b/c a person spends more doesn't mean it is "more expensive":

Anonymous wrote:I'm the EPer from above. While I'm sure formula was more expensive in the long run, here were my breast milk costs:

$300 home visit from LC before I decided to EP [Don't need a home visit - I went to an LC once for $90 and then had some free phone consultations]
hospital pump rental for 9 months [don't need]
Medela Harmony hand pump for work back up [don't need]
Medela Freestyle (yes, I had 3 pumps b/c when you EP, you're pumping A LOT) [this is the only pump I needed. I left my Medela PIS at work. Didn't pump at home b/c I was with the baby all the time so nursed, didn't pump.]
2 nursing bras
1 My Brest Friend- useless since couldn't nurse [now this is why it was so expensive for you. you were exclusively pumping and not nursing. I used pillows just fine...]
1 recliner- not useless, but purchased for nursing purposes [not related at all to nursing]
1 Arms' Reach Co-Sleeper- not totally useless but again, purchased for overnight nursing sessions [not related at all to nursing]
1 nursing cover [got this for about $10]
2 deep freezers b/c I had a lot of frozen milk [this is so totally not needed]
20 or more Dr. Brown's bottles [have no idea why you'd need so many bottles]
At least 14 Ameda/Medela bottles[same comment as above]
Bags and bags and bags for freezing milk
Various membranes/flanges for two brands of pumps [not sure why you needed to buy so many of these]
10 sets of organic nursing pads [nwhy so many]

Not trying to be difficult here, but just wanted to point out that many of these costs are unnecessary if you are on a budget.

Spoken like someone who has NO IDEA what it's like to struggle with low supply, poor latch, etc. etc.

I'm the poster you quoted. Trust me, I've had my share of breastfeeding problems. Can you tell me exactly which part of my post offended you? And which part of the list would be different if you had low supple or poor latch other than maybe the LC visit? You still don't need 3 pumps or 50 bottles or 2 deep freezers or 10 sets of nursing pads or any of that. So instead of insulting me and assuming I have no experience with any breastfeeding problems, why don't you tell me how any of those problems would require you to buy all that stuff you don't need?

[Anonymous]

I had lots of bf issues including no latch, delayed/low supply, infections/pain, etc and had multiple visits w lc, tried every herb, every device, pump, bottle, storage system, etc, everything out there...but I'm afraid I have to agree w others that say this doesn't mean that bf is more expensive. it was an expensive process because I insisted on making it work and I have the means to try all this stuff... that doesn't mean bf itself is expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had lots of bf issues including no latch, delayed/low supply, infections/pain, etc and had multiple visits w lc, tried every herb, every device, pump, bottle, storage system, etc, everything out there...but I'm afraid I have to agree w others that say this doesn't mean that bf is more expensive. it was an expensive process because I insisted on making it work and I have the means to try all this stuff... that doesn't mean bf itself is expensive.

I think that the point is not whether Bf is actually more expensive than FF, but rather that when you have trouble with BF, there are tremendous hidden costs that take you by surprise, and these costs quickly add up. I am not a frivolous person, but I spent over $1000 to BF. Costs included over $150 for the generic version of diflucan b/c I had to be on it for longer than my insurance would cover. It also included a very expensive LC because with my first child I saw multiple less expensive LCs and they just couldn't address my BF pain. If you have copays for office visits and prescriptions, then each bout of mastitis can easily cost $30-50. I'm not talking about buying a recliner or a freezer, I'm talking about the cost of minimal amt of care to make BF work for me.

What I'm saying is that these hidden costs take many of us by surprise, and when you are already struggling with BF and maybe struggling with whether or not you can continue to BF, they can increase the feeling that there is something "wrong" with you b/c so many people told you that BF is so much cheaper than formula. For the PP who posted that if you are "truly indigent" that you don't need all of this expensive stuff, I have to point out what we all know: In this country poor women don't breastfeed, or at least only a very small percentage of them don't. So I think we need to take seriously the cost barriers to BF.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I meant only a small percentage of poor women breastfeed for 3 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had lots of bf issues including no latch, delayed/low supply, infections/pain, etc and had multiple visits w lc, tried every herb, every device, pump, bottle, storage system, etc, everything out there...but I'm afraid I have to agree w others that say this doesn't mean that bf is more expensive. it was an expensive process because I insisted on making it work and I have the means to try all this stuff... that doesn't mean bf itself is expensive.

I think that the point is not whether Bf is actually more expensive than FF, but rather that when you have trouble with BF, there are tremendous hidden costs that take you by surprise, and these costs quickly add up. I am not a frivolous person, but I spent over $1000 to BF. Costs included over $150 for the generic version of diflucan b/c I had to be on it for longer than my insurance would cover. It also included a very expensive LC because with my first child I saw multiple less expensive LCs and they just couldn't address my BF pain. If you have copays for office visits and prescriptions, then each bout of mastitis can easily cost $30-50. I'm not talking about buying a recliner or a freezer, I'm talking about the cost of minimal amt of care to make BF work for me.

What I'm saying is that these hidden costs take many of us by surprise, and when you are already struggling with BF and maybe struggling with whether or not you can continue to BF, they can increase the feeling that there is something "wrong" with you b/c so many people told you that BF is so much cheaper than formula. For the PP who posted that if you are "truly indigent" that you don't need all of this expensive stuff, I have to point out what we all know: In this country poor women don't breastfeed, or at least only a very small percentage of them don't. So I think we need to take seriously the cost barriers to BF.

You hit the nail on the head. Anyone who pretends that there are no financial strains associated with breastfeeding does a disservice to those promoting breastfeeding. Maybe if we acknowledged the expenses, we lower-income women would have better luck getting financial assistance. WIC covers a breast pump; does it cover nursing pads and nipple cream? And nursing bras? I had a G cup and my bras were not cheap. A regular underwire bra, for many women, leads to clogged ducts...and mastitis.

From a cost perspective - costco formula for a year is probably cheaper than breastfeeding, unless you have 100% smooth sailing from the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had lots of bf issues including no latch, delayed/low supply, infections/pain, etc and had multiple visits w lc, tried every herb, every device, pump, bottle, storage system, etc, everything out there...but I'm afraid I have to agree w others that say this doesn't mean that bf is more expensive. it was an expensive process because I insisted on making it work and I have the means to try all this stuff... that doesn't mean bf itself is expensive.

I think that the point is not whether Bf is actually more expensive than FF, but rather that when you have trouble with BF, there are tremendous hidden costs that take you by surprise, and these costs quickly add up. I am not a frivolous person, but I spent over $1000 to BF. Costs included over $150 for the generic version of diflucan b/c I had to be on it for longer than my insurance would cover. It also included a very expensive LC because with my first child I saw multiple less expensive LCs and they just couldn't address my BF pain. If you have copays for office visits and prescriptions, then each bout of mastitis can easily cost $30-50. I'm not talking about buying a recliner or a freezer, I'm talking about the cost of minimal amt of care to make BF work for me.

What I'm saying is that these hidden costs take many of us by surprise, and when you are already struggling with BF and maybe struggling with whether or not you can continue to BF, they can increase the feeling that there is something "wrong" with you b/c so many people told you that BF is so much cheaper than formula. For the PP who posted that if you are "truly indigent" that you don't need all of this expensive stuff, I have to point out what we all know: In this country poor women don't breastfeed, or at least only a very small percentage of them don't. So I think we need to take seriously the cost barriers to BF.

Totally agree with this, and this was my experience, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had lots of bf issues including no latch, delayed/low supply, infections/pain, etc and had multiple visits w lc, tried every herb, every device, pump, bottle, storage system, etc, everything out there...but I'm afraid I have to agree w others that say this doesn't mean that bf is more expensive. it was an expensive process because I insisted on making it work and I have the means to try all this stuff... that doesn't mean bf itself is expensive.

I think that the point is not whether Bf is actually more expensive than FF, but rather that when you have trouble with BF, there are tremendous hidden costs that take you by surprise, and these costs quickly add up. I am not a frivolous person, but I spent over $1000 to BF. Costs included over $150 for the generic version of diflucan b/c I had to be on it for longer than my insurance would cover. It also included a very expensive LC because with my first child I saw multiple less expensive LCs and they just couldn't address my BF pain. If you have copays for office visits and prescriptions, then each bout of mastitis can easily cost $30-50. I'm not talking about buying a recliner or a freezer, I'm talking about the cost of minimal amt of care to make BF work for me.

What I'm saying is that these hidden costs take many of us by surprise, and when you are already struggling with BF and maybe struggling with whether or not you can continue to BF, they can increase the feeling that there is something "wrong" with you b/c so many people told you that BF is so much cheaper than formula. For the PP who posted that if you are "truly indigent" that you don't need all of this expensive stuff, I have to point out what we all know: In this country poor women don't breastfeed, or at least only a very small percentage of them don't. So I think we need to take seriously the cost barriers to BF.

Totally agree with this, and this was my experience, too.

I agree too. I think the conversation just got a little off track when people started claiming they NEEDED to purchase multiple large home appliances and regular in-home lactation support in order to make it happen. Not everyone understands the difference between needs and convenience.