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how much does formula cost?

937 views 23 replies 14 participants last post by  CaliMommie 
#1 ·
dont get riled up for a debate..im NOT considering it. what i want to know is about how much formula costs for babies (say, within the first year).
im trying to do a financial analysis of the benefits of my staying home vs. working (NO...i will not formula feed if i go back to work..i just want to KNOW how much i would be spending IF i fed my baby the artifical milk).
also, FYI, i fully intend to bf until babe self-weans.
thanks if any of you konw...i am just not a member of any mainstream boards to go ask there.
rach
 
#4 ·
We pay around $23 for Enfamil in the big can and that lasts us about a week. You can get knock off brands like Parents Choice which cost about $14 for a big can, but we ended up making her more bottles so the can only lasted about 5 days. Something about not having as much nutrients so the baby drinks more and more often to feel full.
 
#5 ·
DD was on formula for awhile. It cost us around $40 a week on average. This was a standard brand, not the hypoallergenic stuff or anything. So you figure that in a year you'd spend more than $2000. Makes me
 
#8 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Llyra
DD was on formula for awhile. It cost us around $40 a week on average. This was a standard brand, not the hypoallergenic stuff or anything. So you figure that in a year you'd spend more than $2000. Makes me


Wow. I sure hope my supply will be sufficient and BF will work out for us. I didn't even put FF cost in my budget...
 
#11 ·
Sorry bottle nursing babe in the lap when I posted previously. The $24 a week is for the large can of Enfamil Gentlease due to DS gastro intenstinal issues. Our chiro suggested it for him since BFign was not working. Again if you look up my username you'll see the stories and what we went through. I Pushed to keep him at the breast and I STILL cry about our situation. I sometimes put him at my breast when he's not hungry just to have some closeness. (SHHHH don't tell anyone, I don't want anybody to think I'm weird)
 
#13 ·
afishwithabike- Hugs, We are not always able to do what we know is best. I too formula feed and see no need why you should have to defend yourself. The important thing is your doing whats best for your baby.

One month for us is $24 a can for Enfamil with Iron X 4 weeks= $96
We try to use coupons whenever possible but that still only helps a little.
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Starr
We pay around $23 for Enfamil in the big can and that lasts us about a week. You can get knock off brands like Parents Choice which cost about $14 for a big can, but we ended up making her more bottles so the can only lasted about 5 days. Something about not having as much nutrients so the baby drinks more and more often to feel full.
I really don't want to start any kind of debate or anything, but all brands of formula meet certain standards so there really aren't any "inferior" formulas. In fact, the Wal Mart brand (Parent's Choice) is reported to be one of the best formulations of formula. I'll try to find some published findings on it. My pedi gave me the whole history of formula when I had to be away from my babe for a week (long story) while I had to go out of town unexpectedly.

Anyway, to actually answer the OP, my little man had to be on hypoallergenic formula for a short while and that stuff is $23-$25 a can that lasts about 3 days for us.
 
#15 ·
I'm just going by what my Dr. told me. When we brought Olivia home we had to have her seen by a Dr. within the first few days. She was a little on the bottom scale for weight, but nothing to be worried about. He gave me samples and told me to try these for now to boost up her nutrition and weight and said that once she reached a weight we were comfortable with then maybe we could do the Parents choice brand. Also on the can it says comparable to Enfamil with Iron or Enfamil Lipil, so I just assumed thats the formula they are trying to compare themselves too. Not trying to debate, just telling you what I was told. Interesting how different Dr.'s can have different opinions.
 
#16 ·
My twins are supplemented because of supply problems and they are sensitive to soy and dairy. They are on hypoallergenic formula that is cheapest at Target...at $23 per can. We go through 2-3 cans per week. It sucks on so many levels.


I just discovered that you can buy formula on ebay for deep discounts. Kind of nervous about this though.

Sorry, I don't mean to turn this into a "where to get the best deal on formula" thread, though I think it is obvious that most MDC mamas are not ff by choice.
 
#19 ·
DS2 had medical issues (severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, I've posted about it here quite a bit) & could not digest the fats in breastmilk, and had to be fed a highly specialized formula that had the fats alreadt borken down & it cost $30/can. A can lasted him about 1 1/2 days (we had to concetrate it for more calories than you would normally do). Another formula they tried him on was $50/can & you couldn't buy it in the U.S. it had to be special ordered from Canada! Sp the specialized formulas can be terribly expensive, even when medically necessary. And even if medically necessary insurance won't help with the costs (even with medical docmentation & letters from 4 specialists!) unless the child had PKU. My son was missing all of the exocrine enzymes (4) and they said it wasn'ty medically necessary. But WIC was able to help, thank goodness or we have gone bankrupt trying to feed him!
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliMommie
the specialized formulas can be terribly expensive, even when medically necessary. And even if medically necessary insurance won't help with the costs (even with medical docmentation & letters from 4 specialists!) unless the child had PKU. My son was missing all of the exocrine enzymes (4) and they said it wasn'ty medically necessary.
This kind of thing really gets me. When my dd had to have formula (through a feeding tube no less!) and they were setting us up in the hospital (she'd lost a lot of weight as my supply dropped) I asked about ins paying for the formula--although it was just Enfamil Lipil, nothing special. They looked at me like I had two heads and said "well it's just like part of your normal grocery bill, feeding your baby." Well, I don't think so, if it's a medical necessity. Even more so when the baby needs a specialized formula. Of course, I think insurance should pay for breastpumps too (at least partially) when baby is unable to nurse.
 
#24 ·
Carly~ Our insurance paid for the formula only when he was hospitalized. They did pay for a breastpump so I pumped & then donated 175 ounces to a mama I knew who was medically unable to BF. At least I was able to help someone. I agree with you that when formula is medically necessary insurance should help with the cost. WIC helped, as I said in my PP & since it was a specialized formula I had to have a doctor's note every three months to be able to get it from WIC. It covered about half of DS2's intake, if that.
 
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