Is breastfeeding ever really "free"?

[easterbaby]

I'm bf my 10 week old DS - and pleasantly surprised to be still doing it (I gave up after 3 weeks first time round.) I get that bf offers some benefits in the early days (although I certainly don't think formula milk is as bad as it's cracked up to be.) And I can buy the argument that once established, bf can be easier for mums. But I don't understand how some people advocate bf on the grounds that it's "free".

I can't do without my Lansinoh nipple cream (£10 a pop!) - a tube lasts a few weeks. And I get through a pack of their disposable breastpads (£5.50) every 2 weeks. I've tried reusables and cheaper brands, but they chafed my skin. I'm handwashing and alternating my two Bravado nursing bras - after wasting money on cheaper, uncomfortable bras - and am about to shell out £40 for another. I haven't bothered with a nursing cover as I'm not shy about bf in public - and would just use a muslin if I needed to.

I haven't totted up a direct comparison, but find that I'm not saving as much money as I expected. Especially when you factor extra drinks/snacks when I'm out and about!

What do others think? Anyone got any tips on cutting the costs without cutting the comfort?

I rarely leaked at all - in fact I almost never saw any milk as DS wasn't a puker

Massively cheaper, nipple cream and breast pads aren't needed for long and breast feeding bras soon turned back into ordinary ones. I think I only ever owned two.

I had one fancy top, but that noun led as a maternity top as it was big and baggy and did two PGs and a bit of BFing (DD1 hated feeding and DD2 was brilliant and any top and bra that shoved out the way was fine).

Formula was £7 a tin no points and no discounts (yes I know why now, but by God it made me fume 16 years ago)

My baby is 16 months old and is still bf, never had formula

I only used half a tube of lanisoh and gave the rest to my sister when she had her baby. - about 5 or 10 quid I think it was.
I used washable breast pads , they were comfier, so they just went in the wash. - £5 I think.
I bought 4 breastfeeding bras - total around £100 - one is completely worn out the other three I will reuse for second baby (hopefully they'll fit!) I was back in normal bras at 10 months when she stopped the day feeds.
Breastfeeding made me thirsty not hungry - I don't think I ate more.
A friend gave me some used bottles, a steriliser and a hand pump which I used a bit in the early days. Also lent me a nice book on breastfeeding. Not planning to express second time round unless I have to as it was more faff than helpful.
I never wore any breastfeeding clothes

So around £115 all told.
She has only just started on cows milk so that's another (small) saving we've had.

easterbaby - no cost cutting tips exactly, but it does get easier , and you won't need the cream and the breast pads forever. I think the cost benefits will be seen more over time than in the early days when it's all new and tricky and you might need some kit. You are doing really well. Also I think however you feed your baby new mums can be hungry and need new clothes and bras cause the old ones don't fit yet. There's a nice list of all the benefits of bf at different ages here which I used to look at when I was finding things hard to encourage me.

Have you had your latch checked? I know some people need it but if you are using loads there could be an underlying issue.

as to costs,
I had to buy breast pads but switched to resusables at 4 months or so, but then I didn't have to buy sanitary pads til DS was 15 months. So probably saved money thier.
Bras well I tend to by a couple every 6 months or so.
Food it didn't really change how much I ate but maybe slightly less as I was at home so no take out lunches. Also much less money on booze.
Oh and I didn;t use nay nipple cream. So the tubes of lanolin and other ones got used as body cream in the end so I saved money on buying that.

I didnt spend a penny as no cream, no special bras and no cover.

I agree with you.

You can definitely get Lansinoh on prescription though.

I was off the nipple cream and disposable breast pads by two months (found boots own reusable much comfort but I didn't leak massive amounts).

I've been feeding for nearly two years, my nursing bras are nearly worn out as ate the first lot of clothes I bought with bfing in mind. And I would have needed clothes however I fed ds.

When he is away from me he gets through a pint of cows milk every day, so I'm still saving money there. The only bfing cost really was a twenty pound pump for his first few months at nursery. I'm not sure if I used it enough to justify against the cost of formula but it eased my returning to work guilt

My breastfeeding experience cost the NHS quite a lot of cash.

How much does it cost to ff for 6 months?

curlew - 260 on milk, bottles, steriliser etc

Pretty cheap when you think how much they eat in food!

So, BFing costs for me:
Breast pump, steriliser, bottles etc
BFing bras
BFing cover thing (I know , I didn't use it)
Extra calories for me
Lansinoh (before I knew my GP would prescribe it)
BFing vests

I'm a huge advocate for BFing, but I think that a realistic representation of it should be given (also in tend of how difficult it might be). It isn't free, but I imagine its significantly cheaper than formula (and easier once established etc).

*terms

The cream shouldn't really be needed - if you're in pain without it, then worth getting the latch looked at.

There are reusable pads. If you tend to leak a lot, I've heard good things about silicon pads.

why do you need bfing bras or vests. They sell vests 2 quid in primark so I just wore those and I had 2 maternity bras from my first pregnancy that I then wore for a year of bfing and I have now leant them to my friend and will get them back before I have my third! Didnt buy a steriliser as I just breastfed so no point. It really was 100% free for me, as wouldnt say my food bill was higher either.

Anything can be expensive if you make it that way.

Surely if you don't bf you need to buy new bras anyway? Or do your boobs go back to normal size immediately after birth if you don't? Surely not.

I wish someone had told me expressing was more trouble than it was worth. I expressed loads one time in the hope of a day off - nope, boobs too huge so came home to feed baby anyway! Same with overnight feeds, I was just too uncomfortable so we scrapped the idea. I also expressed loads because I was invited to a child free wedding (which I was very grumpy about) when DD was 5 months old - she drank nothing for 12 hours and drained me when I came home. Hand expressing has always been easier for me than pump, also. (Of course some people need to express when there are problems getting supply established and I have nothing but admiration for them but I hate how it's sold as a bf "necessity".)

It depresses me that there's aisles of "breastfeeding essentials" in the shops, it just seems like moneymaking and not essential at all. Or (more calculatedly) to put people off bf, to make it seem like it's loads of money and hassle, when, once it's established, it should be the opposite.

The biggest breastfeeding essential is a partner/ mates/family who tell you you're doing amazingly well and hold the baby between feeds. That is SO MUCH MORE HELPFUL than kit or people feeding the baby for you.

weebairn you wear your maternity bra you bought thats what I did. Breastfeeding essentials is the same as mothercare baby essentials. They want you to spend 2k on first baby when you get the lot for a 100.

Those who are saying how expensive formula is; I ff DS from birth and I used a tin of formula a week. It cost £10. I didn't see that as expensive especially when i considered that it cost more than that to feed him once he started eating!

I get that the actual breast milk is free but I agree with the OP that there must be other costs involved with bf that are not with ff (bras,pads,cream,extra food etc)

Cost being a deciding factor is something I have never got my head around when people bring it up in the bf v ff debate.

As anything you can choose to spend lots of money.

I've breastfed for 5 yrs & ongoing... So I can't remember how much my reusable breast pads cost - they were from mothercare. Have 3 nursing bras but my shape changed anyway so would have needed new non nursing bras. Was given a pump. Bought some vest tops from primark & cut holes in them to wear underneath tops. Used the same tube of lanisoh with both kids & it isn't empty yet. Including the bras it can't have cost me more than about £70 across two children.

Mind you, that's all assuming my time is free.

Just totting up my bf costs...
10 for 1 tube lansinoh - hardly used after 6 weeks (so won't need for future babies)
5 breast pads - lucky not to leak
20 manual hand pump (then another 20 when I melted it)
15 milk freezer bags
Bottles are a cost for both so not going to count them and as I don't use them regularly I haven't bought a sterilizer.
I didn't really buy any special clothes as already had lots of vest tops, apart from a special dress I got for a christening that I now use when I need to be smart (but I would have wanted a new dress even if formula feeding)
I don't think I'm eating more at home. Cake and coffees out definitely but I do that with my formula feeding friends so all of us fork out on that!
So total cost at 8 months (34 weeks ish) of 70 versus I'm told about 10 per week on formula of 340.
Wow that is quite a saving - I think a shopping trip is justified because I've saved so much and DP can't complain

happylittlebear I agree - both bf and ff costs pale into insignificance compared to my weekly shopping bill now!! DD eats more than I do!!

JanePurdy good point about time. Though, it takes time to feed a baby either way. (Obviously bf much more time consuming in the very early days, but after that.)
Stuck on a rollercoaster - I'm pretty sure I justified a shopping trip at some point with a similar calculation

People keep saying extra food, but in my experience, my ff mates were also eating a lot of cake and so on!

Looking after yourself is rarely free...
And I'm sure mothers who are ff also need some new bras etc as their bodies change, and need to eat a decent amount.

I started doing both. The steriliser and bottles are helpful for bf bottle feeding too, so I can't really count that (and they might last for more than one baby). I have spent money on nursing bras and a few clothes, which haven't been cheap, but I didn't need to. I have bought three tubes of lasinoh, and one is still unopened, I don't use pads anymore either. I have bought some bags for freezing milk, but they weren't expensive. There's no need for expensive vitamins, healthy start ones are free or super cheap.

If I have a second baby, I can imagine that bf will be cheaper because I've already got pretty much everything. There's an initial outlay, but by month four, I don't think I'm paying for much at all - a fiver a month?

1st time round I bought a couple of bits - Lanisoh, some lilypadz and a couple of nursing bras (which I wore until they fell apart 2 years later). I also got an expressing whatsit (which I never got the hang of, and didn't need)

This time round I already have all of that, and haven't bought anything - not even nursing bras because I just can't be doing with having the poor support - I just hoik over a normal bra. Didn't really bother with the lilypadz this time around (just slummed around the house leaking milk for a bit/wore floaty cardigans to cover any accidents when out), and haven't needed the lanisoh at all - so completely free for me for DS2.

Can't say that I've noticed eating more - but then I'm overweight so I have plenty to spare myself.

I think like anything you can make it as expensive as you like or as cheap as you like - and the shops want you to spend!