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Breastfeeding would have been cheaper, but not by that much.
We were given formula for WIC for free every month and usually only had to buy 1 extra can at $23 per can per month. I estimate FF cost us less than $500 (including bottles) in the first year.
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my first baby was FF and my second was BF.
i think FF was more expensive.
a lot of the breastfeeding supplies i got for 2.0 were covered by my FSA, including hospital grade pump rental fee ($90/month), my new Medela Freestyle ($350ish), and all related supplies (shells, pads, lanolin). i also scored a lot of BF'ing supplies from the hospital. i also think that while BF'ing supplies can add up, a lot of them aren't really necessities to being able to BF (e.g. nursing tanks).
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@winniebee: Diapers and wipes, too! I have very little incentive to be a crunchy momma LOL
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For me it was probably about even. DD was BF/supplemented with formula, DS has been only BF
with DD: I bought a pump, nursing bras (would have needed new bras after pregnancy anyways), extra pump parts, supplements
with DS: I bought a different pump, nursing bras (was bigger PP this time around), extra pump parts, supplements
Since I went back to work around 8w, I had to buy bottles so that is a cost that occurred despite the feeding method used. My sister can get formula from her work so I didn't buy any formula for DD.
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Breastfeeding is cheaper for us. Only costs associated with it for me were nursing bras (only got the cheap ones) and nursing pads. I got given sil's breastpump which she never used and I no longer pump. Haven't had to use formula at all so far although we do have some in the cupboard from when lo was clusterfeeding at 3 weeks and I was worried she wasn't getting any milk.
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Luckily, we haven't had many problems with BF so I know it was cheaper.
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Very interesting thread!
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Breast feeding for sure! Free pump, hospital parts, hand me down bottles and boppy- breast feeding works out to be cheap for us.
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Definitely bfing. I received 2 pumps as gifts (nothing fancy, but i only pump the odd time to relieve engorgement). I'm on a years mat leave so no work-stress components. Bought 3 nursing bras at 19$ each, a tube of lanolin (5$?) that I used probably 6 times, and the only ongoing cost is pads, but there again I've only spent maybe 40$ over 8 months on those.
FF would be a can every week or so and even at 14$ that would add up quickly. We've always done a mix but primarily bf - I'd say 90-95% bfing, 5-10% formula....currently go through a can a month ? Or so.
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@highwire: we went through everything you did as far as bFing AND now we formula feed so we paid both. On top of that: LO was MSPI for 4m so that formula is double the price...FML!
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Breastfeeding is cheaper for me.
Double electric pump - free from insurance co.
Storage bags - free from insurance co.
Storage bottles (extra) - free from sister
Nursing bras - $60, but I bought them and needed them during pregnancy anyway
Hands free bra - 40?
Lanolin, booby tubes, etc. - free - shower gifts
Hooter Hider - $12 via Amazon sale
Boppy - $20 via Mashalls clearance
Supplements (MMP, brewers yeast, etc) - $30 -
Breastfeeding is cheaper for us. I bought a manual pump tp help build my supply early on, an extra boppy cover (pillow was a hand me down), some super cheap nursing bras (Zulily) and tanks (Walmart), breast pads (cheapest reusable I could find + some disposables), and a nursing cover. I also bought lanolin, but in 3.5 months have not needed it. I didn't spend much, but could have spent even less. If I really had to, I could do without the boppy (use regular pillows or nothing), the cover (blankets or nothing), and the tanks. I needed new bras in pregnancy anyway, so that would've been an expense regardless. I am thankful it has gone well so far.
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hmm let me add up what i spent on breastfeeding:
simple wishes hands-free bra ($35)
medela PISA ($250)
boppy ($39)
mother love nipple cream ($9)
honeysuckle breastmilk storage bags - 100 count ($20)
first years breastmilk organizer ($16)
dr. brown bottles ($20)total = $389
FORMULA
baby's only organic formula - pack of 3 ($35)... i'm assuming if i needed 6 cans per month for a year... it would total to be $840 on formula alone without including all the bottle gear.breastfeeding is cheaper for me! and the second time around, i got my breastpump for free.
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I am a sahm, so breastfeeding is cheaper for me. It costs nothing, I do have a pump which I had from when DS was little but I think I have used it once?
Bottle feeding is a nightmare to me, all those bottles and things to sterilise as well as the formula to buy. I want to avoid bottle feeding if possible.
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I think BFing would have been cheaper but I had resorted to pumping exclusively and the time it took was crazy. Maybe if I'd gotten the handsfree pump though! I have gone through three brands of bottles, and the cost of formula changes based on LO's age, cheapest at first and then most expensive around 5 months and has dropped a little since LO is on solids too and she dropped some oz (which ped says is ok.) Still I think FFing is more expensive, but worth it.
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Definitely breastfeeding! I'm not sure of the cost of formula as I've never bought any, but BF'ing has cost so little, it's definitely the winner.
Single manual pump -$80
One mini tube of Lanolin -$6
One box of unopened breast pads (never needed them) - $10I started wearing nursing bras whilst pregnant, so I don't count those as a BF'ing cost. Bottles and liners we would have needed anyway, and would probably have had a lot more than the three bottles we currently have (but never use). And the boppy was a gift that I definitely could have done without but used as it was there.
So altogether, BF'ing has cost us less than $100 and we are almost 10 months in. Next time, we won't have the expense of the pump, and hopefully I won't need the nursing pads again, so maybe we'll be able to get by on $6 or so for BF'ing!
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Breastfeeding was cheaper for us. I calculated out how much formula DD would have need for her first year and it came out to $1350 for Similac Advanced (though it would have been more expensive for us since she had lots of allergies that made her eczema flair up and I was on an elimination diet for many months, so she would have needed special formula).
Pump and parts: $250 but gifted by my sister
Spare Bottles / Parts: $50
2 Hands free pumping bra: $60
Storage bags/camis/nursing bras: $50
Mother's Milk Tea / More Milk Plus: $50
Boppy / pads / lanolin: gifted
Total: $210
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