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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Anyone not spent a penny on breastfeeding kit?

27 replies

bunglecat77 · 12/10/2013 13:23

At my antenatal classes, the teacher said that one advantage of breastfeeding is that it's completely free. Great, I thought. Four months in, I'm starting to question this. So far I've bought:
Breast pads
Lansinoh
Nursing bras x 4 in two sizes
Extra vests and T-shirts I can feed in more easily than my old clothes
A secondhand pump
Bottles and teats for expressing
Sterilising tablets
Vitamin D tablets
And maybe most expensive of all... 20% more food to fuel all that milk production.

I should probably say I'm in favour of BF, even though I don't enjoy it much.

But could anyone really do it totally for free?!

OP posts:

noblegiraffe · 12/10/2013 13:29

It was a lot cheaper second time around as I didn't buy bottles, pump etc (useless first time) and I had suitable clothes but I still needed breast pads and nursing bras. And cake.

Pagwatch · 12/10/2013 13:30

I breastfed 3 children and only bought breast pads and nursing bras.
I am pretty sure I didn't eat loads.

FriendlyElephant · 12/10/2013 14:10

I did buy breast pads, nursing bras, lansinoh, pump etc... Seven months on and I never needed the breast pads, only wear the nursing bras to bed because they're comfier than underwired, and have only used the pump a couple of times. The lansinoh was absolutely essential, but only for the first week or so, I still have most of the tube left. I suppose everyone wants to be prepared for every eventuality but for me, once we got into the swing of it it really is just a matter of sitting down and scooping a boob out.

petalsandstars · 12/10/2013 15:44

Yep a couple of bf bras, breast pads, lanisoh for first couple of weeks. Nothing else. Use the 3 vest tops from last time under a normal top to cover tummy. Washing frequently anyway.

noblegiraffe · 12/10/2013 16:09

I suppose even if you weren't breastfeeding you'd be buying new bras anyway.

mrsmartin1984 · 12/10/2013 18:22

Got new bras, vest tops and nipple cream. Which were worth while

Wish I never brought pump, bottles and sheilds. Waste of money

It's certainly cheaper then formula

MinesAPintOfTea · 12/10/2013 18:30

Will I boughtlanoish to start with, then breast pads (about 50p/week), t-shirts and nursing bras, but after over a year of bfing these have had a fair wearing and a manual breast pump with 2 bottle for the first few times I left ds. I saved on San pro, bottles and formula and am pretty sure my outlay of about £30 was less than ff costs.

Pistillate · 12/10/2013 18:42

Was given the breast pump
Was given the steriliser
Had to buy bottles and about 10 sorts of teats til I found one that suited

Oh hang on a minute.... That stuff was all for expressing and bottle feeding once I had gone back to work.

Actual breast feeding... I bought kammilosan and one pack of breast pads. I think that comes to under a fiver, so I'm happy with that.

Sunnysummer · 12/10/2013 18:44

Vast tops and/or bras, nipple cream and breast pads (I got the washable ones) would be non-negotiable for me, but the rest is pretty optional, right? Maybe not the food, but being home means being able to save money by slow cooking, making own lunch etc. Besides, I had a bit of pregnancy padding left to help out :-)

BonaDea · 12/10/2013 18:48

I used loads of lansinoh and pads to start and now don't use any.

I bought and expensive pump and steriliser which I've used a fair bit to be fair. Could have just used steriliser fluid tho as not doing it enough for steaming to be worth it.

To be honest my major expense was the most worthwhile - good nursing bras from bravissimo. Other than those and several vests for under tops I could have pretty much done without the rest of the crap!

The point is still valid tho - so much cheaper than ff.

Purplehonesty · 12/10/2013 18:51

I think that in total I must have spent hundreds if pounds on bras and breastpads as I needed the pads for about nine months with both of them as I had so much milk!
I found only

miffybun73 · 12/10/2013 18:53

I bought breast pads, nursing bras and 1 tube of Lansinoh (didn't need it after the first few months)

Didn't buy a pump or any bottles.

Purplehonesty · 12/10/2013 18:54

...Lasinoh pads were any good and they were £6 a box I think
The bras were so I felt a bit prettier with my new boobs tho really. I could have used the old ones but I liked hot milk bras.
I was given a pump and never used a bottle with either of them so the steriliser I bought was used for weaning stuff.
Saved a fortune in formula and bottles tho I'm sure. I wonder how much it actually costs to ff a baby til they are one say?

gamerchick · 12/10/2013 18:54

I didn't bother
. Breast pads were needed for a bit.. nipped cream I found went hand in hand with thrush. The one kid I didn't use it on didn't get it and neither did I. I just had baggy tops and normal bras.. of they fit right then it was fine. I only used a pump because it was interesting and helped if I was away from baby for some reason.

You only need 500 extra calories a day which isn't much but of course you're a slave to hungrys

jasminerose · 12/10/2013 18:55

Didnt buy anything and didnt buy any maternity or breastfeeding clothes. I like my normal clothes so just wore those.

looseleaf · 12/10/2013 18:58

I have just finished breastfeeding after 5 years in total and certainly didnt need breast pads , a pump or anything other than nursing bras but normal bras would have needed replacing anyway?
The only other thing I did was keep up my supply of vest tops to feed discreetly (I'd pull normal top up and vest top down so no breast exposed) and I always have best tops anyway.
I did need to eat more but eat v healthily and economically (eg we make meat stews go further by adding veg/ lentils etc)

jasminerose · 12/10/2013 19:00

Whats different from a nursing bra to a bra? Do you actually need them?

CecilyP · 12/10/2013 19:00

Obviously cheaper than FF but definitely not completely free. I used breastpads almost the entire time and nursing bras had to be bought in the first place then washed so frequently they wore out really quickly. It is very hard to say if you really have to eat more yourself and, if you do, it would be very hard to quantify the actual cost of this.

hettienne · 12/10/2013 19:02

I bought Lanisoh (still have most of a tube left 3 years later - mostly used as lip balm!)

A couple of breastfeeding bras (guess I would have needed new bras anyway though?)

Reusable breastpads

Some new clothes (again - guess I would have had to buy more clothes anyway as I was/am bigger post-pregnancy)

Didn't notice needing to eat a huge amount more tbh - at least didn't notice our food bills increasing.

battyralphie · 12/10/2013 19:06

I didnt buy any clothes and never needed a breast pad as I just never leaked. I had massive problems breastfeeding ds 1 but could use asome equipment from the hospital. One problem that I never had though was sore nipples so that bfing never cost me anything.

ShowOfBloodyStumps · 12/10/2013 19:06

I have a few nursing bras but they were second hand. I do think nursing bras are essential. Pulling up/down a normal bra would be really difficult, particularly in public.

I only needed breastpads for a couple of weeks each time. One tube of nipple cream. That's it.

I don't eat that much more tbh. I'm thirstier but the fat stores from the end of pregnancy sustained the first 6 months and now I'm probably only eating a wee bit more than I was before.

I bf dd for 3.4yrs and ds is 2.1 and going strong. I've spent about £20 total.

ChunkyPickle · 12/10/2013 19:07

I haven't bought anything for DS2 - although I admit that I still had my Lilypadz from DS1.

Otherwise, I already have vests - for warmth, and hiding the gap while pregnant, I'm rubbish at, and to lazy to express, I'm pale as the driven snow so I'm not bothering with vitamin D, and I'm not eating any more than normal (at least I don't think I am - I don't feel hungry more than usual) and I can't be bothered with feeding bras this time round - I just hoik the enormous boob out of a normal bra with the strap slipped down my shoulder.

MinesAPintOfTea · 12/10/2013 19:08

Jasminerose nursing bras ate stretchier and have parts that unhook so you can feed comfortably. You well need new bras and I strongly recommend nursing bras for the first year at least.

jasminerose · 12/10/2013 19:09

I bfed for 10 months but dont get why it would be difficult taking your bra down whatever bra you wear. Is a nursing bra just one without underwire?

jasminerose · 12/10/2013 19:10

xpost. I have never seen them. Didnt know about vitamin d either?

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