Monthly formula costs?

[Nope2024]

I'm still pregnant, but just trying to do some budgeting for when the time comes.

I intend to exclusively breastfeed (if all goes well) but baby will be in nursery at 10 months so figure we'd switch to formula around 6-8 months in to make things easier.

I'm trying to work out if child benefit (£25ish a week) would cover formula for a week. I'm a ftm and have no idea how much babies actually feed so please be kind!

While I'm here, does anyone know I'd be able to send baby to nursery with frozen breast milk for them to feed? Just in case Operation Formula doesn't quite work out...

I don't know about formula, but I just wanted to say that (a) yes, you can send breastmilk in to nursery - we didn't send it frozen, but in a cool bag in the bottles it was going to be given in, for them to put straight into the fridge, and (b) the baby may not need to drink much if any breastmilk during the nursery day anyway. Some are eating loads of solids by then and not that interested in bottles at nursery when they see the other babies having food, and some switch to feeding more in the mornings and evenings with you at home. From memory, DS1 started nursery part-time before he was one and drank the milk a couple of times, then didn't want it, so we eventually gave up sending it. DS2 also started around 11 months and had a few glugs of milk, then waited till I picked him up and downed it in the car park. So we stopped sending it after a couple of weeks and just gave him a big breastfeed when he got home.

A week yes. I use average 1 tin per week and they’re £12. Depending on what brand / kind you use - 25 sounds like two tins so that gives you one from home and one for nursery.

Not sure about your breastmilk question but I can’t see how nurseries could have safe freezing facilities for multiple children though - logistical nightmare IMO.

As above, but it also depends on your nursery. The nursery we used when DD was a baby provided formula, and you could request a particular brand, so you wouldn’t have needed to send it.

We also sent chilled breastmilk to nursery rather than frozen, but that could be milk I'd thawed in the fridge at home. Like a PP, we only did it for a short time – DD1 was slightly older when she started due to lockdowns, and DD2 was a purist who didn't want milk if it wasn't direct from the source.

I'd also say that if breastfeeding is going well, please don't put yourself under pressure to switch to formula at 6-8 months. Sure, get daddy to try a bottle a day for a bit of flexibility if that works for you, but once breastfeeding is established, it's easy, convenient, cheap, etc. If that's where you are at 6-8 months, enjoy it (and use the child benefit for a baby class you'd enjoy or clothes/toys/nappies/whatever). A ten month old baby really will adjust at nursery, whether that's expressed breastmilk, formula milk, or more solids – and they'll often adjust much faster than they would at home because it's a different place, different people, and they see the other babies doing it.

I use roughly 1 tub a week at almost 10 months old. DS formula requirements are dropping though, and he's leaving a fair bit of his daytime bottles unfinished. So I'm going to start reducing the ounces even further. Meaning a tub will probably start to last 10 days. So yes, your £25 a week is more than enough! For reference, I use cow & gate which is just under £10 a tub. Stopped BF at 5 months as supply disappeared.
Also as mentioned above, most nurseries will be well versed with giving breastmilk in bottles so you might not have to delve into the formula world at all if you don't want to. The EYFS regulations support this so I'm sure most nurseries comply.

Yes you can send expressed milk to nursery. You might find at 10 months depending on how many hours they are at nursery and how weaning is going they might be fine with food and water whilst there, that was the age mine started eating solids well. Mine were only having three milk feeds a day at that age. I tried my oldest on formula at 8 months but she just wouldn't take it and both of mine were bottle refusers; we tried everything with my oldest (so did the childminder) but she wouldn't have expressed milk or formula from a bottle or cup but would drink water from a cup.

Absolutely combination feed if you want to (easier to introduce a bottle earlier if so!); but as everyone else says, your baby may not even need formula at nursery by then. If you feed at drop off and pick up, they will probably be fine with water and food while you are at work. I used to sit in the nursery comfy chair and breastfeed at pick up time, or in the car. And at 12 months you can give them whole milk if they need a drink in the day.

Be aware that your baby may refuse formula from you if you are BF but be quite happy taking a bottle from eg your partner or their nursery key worker.

We used cow and gate and it's £9.28. we probably use a tin in around a week to 10 days so I would say yes its more than enough

at 3 months my baby’s going through around 2 tins a week which equals £32 as he has comfort milk which is 16 a tin☺️every baby’s different though so yours might have more or less

My daughter's nursery provides milk

Yes you can definitely send in bottles of breastmilk to nursery - I’d be very surprised if you found one that didn’t allow this. If breastfeeding goes well for you I wouldn’t switch to formula just because of the nursery issue.
I went back to work when my first DD was 10 months too and she was just having one bottle during the day by then . So breastfeed in the morning before going then one bottle in nursery and one feed before bed. She would have water in a cup at nursery with meals and snacks.
If you use formula they would probably still only need one bottle a day during nursery by 10 months so won’t cost much.

Thank you so much, everyone! So glad I asked here. 😊 I haven't looked into weaning yet (my brain is pretty much at capacity!) so actually a bit clueless where that's concerned. These replies have been so helpful!!

You can send breast milk into nursery but don’t rely on it for free milk. Expressing can be really hard even if breast feeding is successful. I never managed to get more than a couple of ounces in one go, despite the hours of trying. Also, don’t leave it until 6 months to introduce a bottle if you’re going to rely on it. Some bf babies will refuse them completely if they’re not introduced early enough and have to go straight from boob to cup.

Just as a cautionary tale...
Not all breastfed babies will accept a bottle at all. Introducing one early helps (though people will tell you to wait) but even if you introduce it straight away there are no guarantees.

By 5 days, my baby had rejected bottles. She was a frequent feeder, struggled to put on weight, and if it wasn't for the flexibility of WFH with my mum looking after baby and bringing her to me for feeds, I wouldn't have been able to work until much later than 10m.

I'm not saying don't breastfeed, just be aware that whatever plans you have, baby may have their own views.

My daughter was transitioned on to formula at 10 months after I had to stop breastfeeding for my health. She was in nursery and had 2 5oz bottles whilst there. She was slow to wean so didn't eat a great deal but we were doing food first. So she only had a bottle before each of her two naps. At 13 months she dropped to one nap so only had 1 5oz bottle at nursery.
Not sure on costs sorry, my daughter was on prescription formula.

My first was formula fed and we used about a tin and a half or just about in a week.

I would not worry at all about switching to formula if you want to bf. You don’t need to do it.

My bf one started nursery at 10 months. He just had a cup of cow’s milk at nursery, which is perfectly fine as a snack at 10 months. He bf before and after and ate food. No cost at all because nursery provides milk as part of snack and meal times anyway.

Thanks! I'm obviously not sure how things are going to go yet but I'm a bit of an over thinker 🥴 My DH works funny hours so it's likely to just be me doing feeds after his 2 weeks are up, so imagine sticking baby to breast will be slightly less faff than bottles at 3am! Have been a bit too intimidated to buy a pump yet and cost of the electric ones has put me off slightly, so will see how I feel after the first few days and pray baby is open to new experiences re: bottles!

My babies wouldn’t take bottles or drink formula

i just started nursery with 10 month old

he has a feed just at drop off and when I pick him up

he has water in the day and eats proper meals ! He’s fine without milk

I did send in formula to see if he’d take it but he wouldn’t

gave them Some breast milk and he wouldn’t drink that either

i got a electric pump off vinted for under a tenner .I am switching to bottles at 6 months so these past few months been pumping and stocking the freezer. That way he will on frozen milk for a little while before i move onto formula