To start a thread about boots not giving "points" for formula

[Kab13]

Saw someone complaining about how she had breasted for 10 months and went into boots to buy some formula and couldn't collect points on her boots card because boots don't allow it (when buying formula for under 2's I believe).
I'm breastfed for 12 months then moved onto formula & it never really bothered me that boots didn't give points out for buying formula for children under two.
I kind of get it but can't help but feel if you really struggled to breast feed and chose to move on to formula for whatever reason this could make a new mum feel ridiculously guilty (even more than she did before)
What about mums that CANT breast feed? I do think it's a little unfair on them... Someone who worked at boots commented on this lady's status saying that they can not promote formula use (give rewards for buying it) by LAW. Really ?

Breastmilk is free Chunderella.

So far on this thread we've had formula compared to tobacco, the lottery and mobile phone top ups. And THAT is the message it sends. Feeding your baby is the same as using luxurious and often damaging products, you shit mum you.

It might not be the intention but it's the message alright. Loud and clear.

A better comparison is medicine. Boots don't give points on medicines.

Boots points are not a lifestyle judgement. It is a customer reward card. Let's get some perspective.

thats the biggest pile of sanctimonious pap i've ever heard.

i did both, and trust me, i'd have much rather paid in time and carried on breastfeeding than the money value of the formula!

Personally I preferred paying £10 a week on formula and having more time. Probably makes me a selfish parent but meh.

Well yes it does actually.. considering breastfeeding cost me nothing and formula feeding did!

Promotion of formula is really bloody effective - however it's done: points on loyalty cards, 'mum and baby clubs', leaflets, tv sponsorship etc etc.

98% of mothers use formula at some point in the first year. Most mothers are using it within a few weeks of birth, including breastfeeding mothers.

Norway has banned ALL formula advertising, including that for follow on and growing up milks.

98% of women in Norway leave hospital breastfeeding and are still going at 6 months compared to less than half that in the UK.

We should be following Norway's lead.

"I guess everyone has the right to define their own time as worthless."

What a nasty comment.

Time spent feeding a baby is always valuable and important, no matter how the baby is fed.

If I hadn't breastfed, what difference would it have made to the amount of time I had? Absolutely bog all because the baby would still have needed feeding, it would have taken the same amount of time and even if someone else had been feeding them, it would have amounted to fuck all time anyway.

Personally I preferred paying £10 a week on formula and having more time

lol. I guess you had one of those magic babies that fed themselves then and bottles that didn't need preparing.

Nope, no magic baby, but the bottle prep was not only very short, but also shared woth dh, and feeds were shared with dh. I have a six week old whose feeds are 15/20 mins long, every three hours between 9am and 9pm with one feed in between. So 1hr 30mins - 2 hrs on feeding within a 24 hour period. I prep bottles twice a day, a process which takes up maximum another 40mins a day. So I spend 2hrs 40 mins a day feeding and prepping. And I split a lot of that with dh. My DD was the same.

I find FFing takes up very little of my time. I dont say this to promote it, but to justify why (for me), it is worth paying £10 a week and having the extra time. I know no BFing mums who spend less than 2hrs 40mins a day feeding. Most it is significantly more and (crucially) they cant split any of that time with anyone else.

After the first few weeks I found that I wasn't spending much time breast feeding at all. No prep and baby fed 5mins at a time. When I was out and about with a ff friend her dd spent a lot longer finishing a bottle than mine did breast feeding. I expect my dd fed more often (although maybe not post 7months), so it's not clear cut. Also, I could mumsnet/relax while feeding.
I agree with the splitting the feeds with other people part though. I don't mind doing all the feeds but I can see how it wouldn't work for everybody.

None of this changes the fact that more advertising and "promotions" would actually drive up the cost of formula over time though.

it would have taken just the same amount of time. Having completely FF one, and initially BF the second, before mixing and then going completely FF.

You can waffle about 'time is money' all you like. I'm talking purely monetary terms.

I'm not interested in what you feel you've discussed at length, i don't happen to agree with that point of view and i don't happen to agree with the fact the law means i couldn't use my staff discount on formula milk, which is what i posted about.

Think - are you aware that babies don't continue to breastfeed like newborns as they grow?

I did 5 years of breastfeeding while working, studying, and caring for three children. I never found it constraining after the very early days. But I am one of those people who can chew gum and walk at the same time. ;-)

What's the argument about feeding time being a cost? Presumably it is a comparable amount of time however you feed? It's a moot point.

You couldn't have a staff discount because it would be a promotion, before you know it there would be cow and gate club and members would have a discount. It's all about controlling capitalist companies who are duty bound to maximise profits. It's nothing to do with making individual people feel bad about their choice.

Chunderella in that case surely everything you do that you don't get 'paid' for us worthless? Breastfeeding is free on monetary cost. Some people need the paraphernalia but it's not essential. That's what is meant and you know it so not sure why you've brought self worth into it

because she wants a starring slot on Sanctimommy.

But Chunderella no one pays me for being a parent, nor you, it doesn't make my parenting worthless though.

When people say 'BFing is free' they mean it doesn't cost money, compared to say £10 a week for formula. Why are you trying to twist that by saying time isn't free? Which btw as another poster pointed out, BFing sessions get shorter whilst bottle feeding sessions don't tend to.