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Breastfeeding, Natural and Cheap
Frugal Advantages to Breast Feeding
This article is part of the World Breastfeeding Week Guide Special.
_Related Resources
•_Frugal Baby Food
•_Diapers, Rags and Babies
•_A Baby Cradle Alternative
•_World Breast Feeding Links
_
_From Other Guides
•_World Breastfeeding Week Guide Special
_
Milk substitute (formula) is expensive to buy, messy to make, inconvenient to warm to proper temperature, makes your baby 'spit up' and the method of feeding allows him/her to swallow air, causing stomach aches and, possibly, ear infections and allergies.
At first glance, that seems like a lot of different reasons to breast feed your baby, but it can all be boiled down to within the topic of this site - saving money - and if you're not thoroughly defensive by now (or even if you are), get your calculator, and let's take them one at a time. You can add the expenses as we go, so you can see what can be saved. Or spent.
First, the obvious cost of buying can after can after can of formula. Powdered is a little more frugal than liquid, and powdered substitute milk is expensive. As your baby grows, so does the expense. At the lowest price I could find of about $8.50 a can, you can make about 95 ounces of liquid formula. At four ounces a feeding times 6 feedings a day, that costs over $2.10 for a new born! When your baby gets old enough to eat 12 ounces at a feeding, obviously the cost goes up.
In addition to buying the formula, you must buy several bottles, nipples, caps, lids and so on. 'Bottles' either have to be disposed of (frugal people arise... yet another disposable con job!) or washed and sanitized. Nipples are too hard when you buy them, too soft when you finally throw them out. They must be replaced several times. When a baby begins to teethe, there is always the danger of him biting off a piece of rubber nipple. Wonderful for digestion.
Besides the actual cost of the formula, there is the waste of spilling while mixing. Spoiled formula - and it's recommended that you not save it from feeding to feeding - is totally wasted, unless you have a cat or dog who isn't the least bit picky. I would estimate 10% of the cost of a can of formula is wasted.
Got your calculator warmed up? Let's go on...
Formula doesn't come at the right temperature for baby, so you must warm it somehow. It's not necessary to have a bottle warmer, but they're handy, and an added expense. Otherwise, a microwave, a flow of hot water, or a stove top is necessary (count the energy used to heat a stove, microwave or hot water).
More than one tiny shirt or dress has been relegated to the rag bag for nothing more than 'spit up' stain - formula is notorious for it's creamy off white color that turns... well, an ugly yellow. Most detergents have a hard time removing it completely and dryers set the stain well. Enzymatic soaks help; but they cost. Bleach works; it costs, and if not rinsed out very well, can irritate baby's skin. Buying new clothing works best; it costs most.
The cost is adding up.
Ear infections seem to be the bane of modern society. An old family doctor (gone now, may he rest in peace) told us that most ear aches in infants were caused by the baby lying on it's side with a bottle propped on a pillow. The formula pools behind the ear. If you don't believe it, try lying down and sipping Coke through a straw.
Whether it actually causes earache or not, the feeling is not pleasant. If the earache is a simple earache, it won't cost you more than a sleepless night and whatever it takes to warm a washcloth or olive oil for the ear. Oh, and maybe a day off work.
Since feeding a baby with a bottle has come into vogue, (and this is 'circumstantial evidence') the incidence of true ear infections requiring visits to doctor's offices and antibiotic prescriptions, have gone up. And I'll leave it at that.
If you're having a baby, or even thinking about it, throw out the charts that tell you how much it's going to cost. Cut your costs; be happy. And have a healthy baby, too.
Need I say more?
Breastfeeding, Natural and Cheap
Frugal Advantages to Breast Feeding
This article is part of the World Breastfeeding Week Guide Special.
_Related Resources
•_Frugal Baby Food
•_Diapers, Rags and Babies
•_A Baby Cradle Alternative
•_World Breast Feeding Links
_
_From Other Guides
•_World Breastfeeding Week Guide Special
_
Milk substitute (formula) is expensive to buy, messy to make, inconvenient to warm to proper temperature, makes your baby 'spit up' and the method of feeding allows him/her to swallow air, causing stomach aches and, possibly, ear infections and allergies.
At first glance, that seems like a lot of different reasons to breast feed your baby, but it can all be boiled down to within the topic of this site - saving money - and if you're not thoroughly defensive by now (or even if you are), get your calculator, and let's take them one at a time. You can add the expenses as we go, so you can see what can be saved. Or spent.
First, the obvious cost of buying can after can after can of formula. Powdered is a little more frugal than liquid, and powdered substitute milk is expensive. As your baby grows, so does the expense. At the lowest price I could find of about $8.50 a can, you can make about 95 ounces of liquid formula. At four ounces a feeding times 6 feedings a day, that costs over $2.10 for a new born! When your baby gets old enough to eat 12 ounces at a feeding, obviously the cost goes up.
In addition to buying the formula, you must buy several bottles, nipples, caps, lids and so on. 'Bottles' either have to be disposed of (frugal people arise... yet another disposable con job!) or washed and sanitized. Nipples are too hard when you buy them, too soft when you finally throw them out. They must be replaced several times. When a baby begins to teethe, there is always the danger of him biting off a piece of rubber nipple. Wonderful for digestion.
Besides the actual cost of the formula, there is the waste of spilling while mixing. Spoiled formula - and it's recommended that you not save it from feeding to feeding - is totally wasted, unless you have a cat or dog who isn't the least bit picky. I would estimate 10% of the cost of a can of formula is wasted.
Got your calculator warmed up? Let's go on...
Formula doesn't come at the right temperature for baby, so you must warm it somehow. It's not necessary to have a bottle warmer, but they're handy, and an added expense. Otherwise, a microwave, a flow of hot water, or a stove top is necessary (count the energy used to heat a stove, microwave or hot water).
More than one tiny shirt or dress has been relegated to the rag bag for nothing more than 'spit up' stain - formula is notorious for it's creamy off white color that turns... well, an ugly yellow. Most detergents have a hard time removing it completely and dryers set the stain well. Enzymatic soaks help; but they cost. Bleach works; it costs, and if not rinsed out very well, can irritate baby's skin. Buying new clothing works best; it costs most.
The cost is adding up.
Ear infections seem to be the bane of modern society. An old family doctor (gone now, may he rest in peace) told us that most ear aches in infants were caused by the baby lying on it's side with a bottle propped on a pillow. The formula pools behind the ear. If you don't believe it, try lying down and sipping Coke through a straw.
Whether it actually causes earache or not, the feeling is not pleasant. If the earache is a simple earache, it won't cost you more than a sleepless night and whatever it takes to warm a washcloth or olive oil for the ear. Oh, and maybe a day off work.
Since feeding a baby with a bottle has come into vogue, (and this is 'circumstantial evidence') the incidence of true ear infections requiring visits to doctor's offices and antibiotic prescriptions, have gone up. And I'll leave it at that.
If you're having a baby, or even thinking about it, throw out the charts that tell you how much it's going to cost. Cut your costs; be happy. And have a healthy baby, too.
Need I say more?
