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?

Never needed nipple cream or pads, never used a cover and stopped needing to eat more or wear a proper nursing bra after a few months. I've been very lucky.

I bf dd for 3 years as she refused all food.

3 bras, tube of nipple cream, and initially some disposable breast pads total price somewhere under £70 as opposed to formula at £10 per week at £1560.

I certainly didn't eat anymore than usual so weight fell off me.

I never, ever leaked, so I didn't need pads. I bought two nursing bras, but being small and pert and having a baby that fed very frequently I ended up just not wearing a bra at all. So, no expenses there. I just ate loads instead

Only used pads for a few months every time. Never used nipple cream, Never used muslins. Did not use bibs either until weaning.

Ate more yes but TBH that was a pleasure. Nursing bras yep but you are supposed to buy new ones every 6 months anyway (yeah right ) But I certainly would not have got back into my diddy little 34B bras whether I had BF or not.

I bought one tube of Lansinoh. I only used it for a couple of months and I still have half a tube left.

I didn't need any breast pads.

I bought a couple of Bravado bras. They're great and will be used again if I have another baby.

I bought a pump which was expensive. I didn't use it after a couple of months, but it was an essential up until that point.

As Panzee said, my breastfeeding experience has also cost the NHS a lot of money (I'm still going though)!

I just wanted to say well done for keeping going, you really are doing the best for your baby.

A tube of lansinoh every 3 weeks is an awful lot to be getting through though, and bloody expensive! (petroleum jelly would work just as well).

If its that sore, as a recently certified UNICEF breast feeding peer supporter, I really would urge you to speak to a breast feeding advisor or a lactation consultant. Breastfeeding can be uncomfortable in the beginning, but once established it shouldn't be painful at all.

There are lots of things to consider but having your latch checked would be a good place to start as if its a question of positioning or attachment it's quite simple to make a slight adjustment to how you're feeding.

Good luck xx

Well my DS2 is nearly one and I have used no breast pads, no cream, no bottles, pumps or any extra food, and my feeding bras are left over from DS1.

It's like anything else about having a baby - you can spend as much or as little as you like.

It seems like you're shelling out for the start up costs of breastfeeding, and assuming it stays that way. Past 6 months ish, you won't need expensive breastpads, cheap ones or none at all will do. You won't need nipple cream.

So after a few months breastfeeding costs about 50p a week in breastpads.

Formula has start up costs too - sterliser, bottles, brushes, and it will cost £10 a tin for the duration.

Hhmm...I guess my bf has cost the NHS too! Hadn't even thought about that. I was readmitted to the hospital postnatal ward after a few days, to help troubleshoot our latch (the midwives were brilliant!) Plus I'm taking meds to manage the pain caused by Raynauds. I don't think the drug prescription itself is very expensive, but the GP's time must be. Sounds like I use way more cream than some other posters - wonder if the Raynauds is behind it? In any event, it seems to be helping.

I had three hospital stays, lots of IV antibiotics, lots of breast clinic visits, two operations and three months of daily visits by the district nurse to repack the wound. For two months of that I was formula feeding as well. It cost me as well as the NHS. :o

If you ff from birth, do you not have to buy any new bras or tops? I was a very different size/shape post-pregnancy!

Wow Panzee, that's commitment!

Lily, I don't know about ff from birth, but when I stopped at 3 weeks last time, I was back to my pre -pregnancy size within a few days. Nursing bras do seem to be a bit more expensive than normal ones. Guess the retailers must be scenting an opportunity to make more money!

OP you shouldn't need the Lasinoh for much longer and definitely worth seeing an advisor to check latch. I found out that I was over-using Lasinoh and making it hard for DD to get a good latch and so was actually making things worse for my poor nips!

My BF costs..

2x bras £60
Lasinoh £9.99 Still a fair bit left.
Washable breast pads £4.99 hardly used them
Disposable breast pads £5.50 still have some left 7 months on!

Borrowed a breastpump, but stopped using as I was shit at remembering to do it.
Not counting cost of bottles as would of needed them for ff.

So a total of £80.48. And can all be used again if we have another one.

I've bought 2 or 3 boxes of breast pads. No leakage from about 4 months.
Never needed creams thankfully.
Borrowed a breast pump from a friend but never used it.

I just drink more water I find I am thirsty.

13 months in and we are still happily bf.

Not had to buy bottles, sterilizeer, formula, which means we spend cash on nappies & wipes instead.

Those saying their BF has cost the NHS - are you taking into account what not breastfeeding costs the NHS over the whole population? Not just immediately in terms of eg complications linked to formula feeding in small babies, but also the future costs of asthma, diabetes, obesity, cancers etc.

The NHS could spend far more on promoting BFing and still be better off financially as a result.

To answer the OP I've spent about £150 BFing over 2 babies, the cost of extra food would have been spent in the gym or on exercise classes if I hadn't lost the baby weight that way (I did most of my major eating in the last weeks of pregnancy tbh). Both times I've gotten back into my old clothes quite quickly too so not had to spend much on a post-maternity wardrobe, unlike a couple of friends.

Also I'm unable to drink cow's milk so who knows, we might have had to buy special formula - which I believe is more expensive.

I hire a pump to help with my supply 35 a month
Pads
Bras
Food
Mental energy
Muslins ( I buy big ones to hide baby in)
Etc etc etc

I always need breast pads and am past six months and only expensive ones are bearable - others scratchy!

I never needed pads. Not sure why - I always had a massive supply but they just never leaked and never let down until DS latched on. I bought a huge packet of pads, used two just in case the first time we went out and gave the rest away untouched several months later. I still have the only tube of Lansinoh I ever bought, despite using it very frequently at first - you really do only need the tiniest amount. Incidentally, it saved me from surgery last year. I had a split lip that wouldn't heal for months and was excruciatingly painful: my dentist was talking about referring me to have it surgically repaired and I suddenly thought 'I wonder...'. Slapped on some Lansinoh and it healed completely within 48 hours :)

Sadly, a lot! I really struggled b-feeding both my DCs, though am pleased I persevered for as long as I could. Breastfeeding consultants and advisers, tongue tie snips, feeding bras and creams and potions for my nips cost me a lot. 2x operations for breast abscesses and the resulting overnight stays in hospital and follow up dressings must have been pretty costly to the NHS.

I didn't need breast pads after the first few weeks, and the Gp gave me Lansinoh on prescription (so free).

I did buy four nursing bras - but I would have needed bras anyway, I suppose.

My biggest cost first time round was buying a manual pump that I didn't get on with, then having to hire a hospital grade pump for a few weeks. It did allow me to carry on breastfeeding, I suppose. Petrol costs for driving to the hospital and breastfeeding support groups, days dh had to take off work when I was ill with mastitis, it must have added up to a fair bit.

Second time round I had to hire a hospital grade pump again, and I wasted some money on an expensive bottle teat that was supposed to mimic breastfeeding. I also had to buy nipple shields and breast compresses and more lansinoh. Then I spent a fair bit on a portable electric pump, because we were going on holiday and I couldn't take the hospital one. I managed to overcome the difficulty that meant I needed the pump during the holiday, and never used it again.

All my expenses, both times were within the first eight to ten weeks. After that, I managed to breastfeed for around 2 years each child, without having to buy anything else. But the initial outlay was huge, in my case. I do feel it was worth it in the end, but I know I spent hundreds!

What exactly is "let down"? Is it when you leak? If that is the case it never happened to me.

The letdown is the reflex that releases milk, normally at the start of the feed when the baby's been suckling - though your hormones at the start of your breastfeeding "career" can go a bit overboard, so I used to feel it when any baby was crying at the supermarket, or if I just thought of my baby and smiled!

Some women never feel it (but it is happening if your baby is BFing), some get a tingling sensation, some find it painful - and then of course some leak/some don't. Seems to be quite an individual thing

I used to get the tingling, but the milk only came out when DD was feeding. I never had any leakage at all.

Yes the longer you do it the proportionally cheaper it becomes.
I did spend a lot on an electric pump that wasnt used.
You havent added in the savings on cold remedies etc as bf babies are usually ill less often.
Now i have stopped bf i realise how often they can get ill. And make us ill too :(