Hellobee Boards

@starchild: you are totally right about all the time.

For me, I stayed home, so I was the one feeding the baby whether from my breast or formula in a bottle, so that time is spent either way. Not so when you are at work and pumping plus the cleaning of the parts and all the jazz.

I probably spent around $200 to nurse both my kids for 20 ish months each. But like I said, I stay at home.

@alphagam84: IF you do want to give it a shot, the costs to start in the hospital and on maternity leave are minimal- a couple of target nursing tanks. My hospital sent me home with nipple cream and nursing pads, including the gel ones when I asked. I bought other stuff but those were the two basic necessities for me.

@MrsSCB: @QBbride: I used my Brest friend until the last day of nursing with each of my kids, 21 months ish. But it was a hand me down

I EPed (300$ pump + 150+ in extra pump parts/bottles + $100 in nursing bras/tanks + 50 in creams/pads). So around $600.

I also supplemented with formula while EPing and then at 6 months FFed full time.

So best of both money sucking worlds !!

In the end I probably would have just FFed because EPing was really expensive and time consuming. Though I did have all the bottles/parts/pumps when I had Dd2 so it brought the cost of EPing down considerably. I did the same with dd2, EP while supplementing, then switched to formula full time around 5 months.

This is my first time EBF. I have had all of the normal costs (pads, bags, bottles, etc.), as well as lactation consultant care. My first was mostly formula fed, but while we were figuring it out, the biggest things were visits to the lactation consultant, and my daughter's TT procedure. I'd say I spent nearly $1,500 between those things.

Over two babies, I bought two nursing tanks (used during maternity leave only), two nursing bras, Medela symphony tubing, an upgrade to my free pump, some storage bags, and some nursing pads, and extra large bottles to pump into. I think we spent $400-500 on items. I received a boppy, nursing gel, and a free pump as well. I don't know how much extra I ate, particularly in the beginning. I never changed my hours and am salary, so the company ate my pumping time.

We are still considering another and I don't think that we will end up buying anything other than storage bags and possibly disposable nursing pads. I barely leak (mainly when feeding) so the reusable nursing pads work well enough.

@babybunnylove: I rarely was able to freeze. Almost everything I pumped she ate the next day. But, she is two weeks from her turning one, and am using the little bit of stash I have. I don't think she will get breastmilk at daycare starting sometime next week. I am amazed that she isn't on whole milk already. If I do have a third, I will be freezing milk early on, so that I will have the milk towards the end.

There's definitely a lot of cost involved, but it drops dramatically if you have a 2nd child, whereas 2 FF children have double the cost of formula.

Breast pump was free. Nursing bras / tanks were probably $50, but I'm using them again the 2nd time again. Storage bags are $10 per 100 and I probably went through (or will go through) 15 boxes so I'll count that as $150. Extra bottles, pump parts, etc was $25 + a friend gave me a bunch. Hands free nursing bras (x2) were $30 - one was $5 from a friend, one was new. Other supplies I impulsively bought in the beginning (gel soothie pads, the supplies to make my own APNO, etc) was probably $30.

I'm probably forgetting some stuff so I'll call it $300 for nursing 2 kids. So roughly 15% of the cost of formula feeding 2 kids.

Long time reader, but decided to FINALLY make an account to post on this thread. I'm breastfeeding my baby right now and have learned a lot about all of it. I totally agree it's NOT cheap and certainly a privilege. I think one thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the savings of less doctors visits, medications, etc that often come with breastfeeding. Also, I spend a TON of time pumping, but I haven't had to take a single day off work for a sick baby. I've even heard of employers encouraging breastfeeding (uncommon, I know) because then there are fewer lost days at work. "compared to 1,000 infants exclusively breastfed for 3 months, 1,000 infants never breastfed required 2,033 more office visits, 212 more days in the hospital, and 609 more prescriptions in the first year." Here is a link to the article https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3508512/

@babybunnylove: Rather than using the bags I started storing in the bottles and rotating fresh milk through the week so it went something like this, Monday - whatever fresh milk I had pumped before bed Sat and Sun plus some from the freezer, Tuesday milk from Mon, etc, on Friday I would scald and then freeze any milk that I pumped that day plus any left over from the week. I had high lipase which required me to scald the milk before freezing it so I did anything possible not to have to scald very much milk. The lipase wasn’t an issue with fresh milk only the frozen.

I ended up buying two extra sets of the small Medela bottles (had 10 total) and that gave me enough to take some to work each day and have some in the fridge at home. I limited using the bags to only the milk I froze.

I agree with many of the others--it CAN be expensive, but it definitely doesn't have to be.

I was a SAHM and EBF'd with my first. I didn't have any oversupply, and I had been gifted my nursing bras. My only costs were really a couple bottles, the bottle cleaning brush, and disposable nursing pads--maybe $40?

With my second, I was working full-time and had to pump when I returned. I did have access to a private lactation room with kitchenette (no frig though), so I would just hike my shirt up to pump. I spent $176, here's a cost breakdown:
Ameda pump: $0, covered by insurance
Disposable nursing pads: $90, 540-count for the year
Breastmilk bags (100ct): $14
More bottles (3ct): $21
New bottle cleaning brush: $5
Cooler bag for pumped bottles: $9
Ice packs (2ct): $2
Nipple cream: $0, sample provided by hospital
Nursing bras: $0, I re-used the same 3 sleep bras (not hands-free)
Nursing tops: $0, I don't have any nursing-specific clothes
Formula to supplement: $35, got 1 large box from Costco

I stopped pumping when she was 11.5 months old, nursing only at night, so I pumped for a little over 8 months.

I agree with the others that say it can be expensive, but doesn't have to be. I'm nursing my second DD and for both girls the only big cost was a couple of nicer nursing bras. Otherwise, breast pads, storage bags, and new tubing for my machine was all super cheap.

I think the bigger issue is the time suck with pumping. It's worth it to me though.

@Littlebit7: boppies suck, they're so unstable and I have no idea why anyone likes them. My LC used a MBF in her practice, too. I was lent a pretty beat up MBF and gifted a really nice new boppy, and intended to use one on my couch and one in my glider--maybe it was sleep deprivation making me crazy but I remember throwing the boppy across the room in anger and frustration, like, several times. Finally I put it back in its case and sold it for cheap on my list serve.

This inspired me to add my costs up ... I ended up well over $1000 ...

I used the MBF to nurse the first month, the Boppy to nurse the 2nd month, and nothing after that. Used the boppy to prop him up, though, probabaly until 7 months?