After having my daughter, I made the decision to breastfeed.
Initially, I thought I would breastfeed because it would save money on baby
formula. Over time, I knew breastfeeding would keep my baby healthy. She
definitely is a healthy, happy baby, weighing in at or above the 97th
percentile. She also doesn’t get sick as often as her brothers and they were
formula fed. Formula is so expensive, especially in the village. I was browsing
the baby food aisle at our local AC store and noticed that the price for one
small baby formula was $25 plus tax. One can of formula lasts about a week so
you would have to buy 4-5 cans a month. That’s $100-$125 a month. So for one
year, you can look to spend about $1,250-$1,500 on formula.
Breastfeeding takes a lot of time and energy. If your baby doesn’t latch on, like mine then you have to get used to the breast pump. You have to try out different breast pumps to see which one is most effective. With my insurance I got the Medela double electric pump for only $40 (only had to pay 10% out of pocket). I can’t believe how expensive those machines can be. If I didn’t have insurance I wouldn’t waste my money on an electric pump. I hardly used mine because there were so many parts and it was so loud. It just seemed like more work than the manual pump.
The hospital gave me a Medela manual breast pump and I used that for the first few months. It was terribly slow and I ended up getting mastitis twice: once in October on our trip to Seattle and once in December on our trip to Honolulu. I was terrified because I didn’t know which hospitals would accept my insurance and I didn’t know where to go. I’m so small-town; so used to having the local clinic be minutes away. On both trips I had to Google healthcare centers and see if they accepted my insurance. I was literally in tears while searching online for a place to get treated. I had a high fever, chills, no energy, a killer headache, and cracked, bleeding nipples. I did not want to take time to search for a hospital. I had a serious case of culture shock during these illnesses.
My insurance ended up covering the cost of treatment in Seattle, but not in Honolulu. I ended up paying $250 out of pocket to get seen at this questionable clinic that was located in an old building on the second floor in what seemed like an apartment. When I saw the place I wanted to run the other way, but I just couldn’t. I had walked 20 minutes to get there and I had no energy and was in so much pain. I could not fathom trying to find another place. Well, I ended up getting a shot in my hip and had to call a cab to get to the nearest pharmacy to pick up oral antibiotics. It hurt to walk so having to wait in line for 20 minutes was not on my top things to do that day. Mastitis is one of the worst things I’ve experienced pain-wise, besides child birth, so suffice to say our trips were less than exciting. Each time I got sick we spent a day indoors waiting for my antibiotics to kick in.
When my manual breast pump broke, I cried. I thought, “Oh my gosh! My life is over. I’m going to get mastitis again and my milk supply is going to tank.” I was texting friends and acquaintances to see if they had an extra manual pump I could buy. I couldn’t do the electric pump. I just can’t imagine carrying that big clunker to work everyday and sitting in the shared public bathroom pumping with a loud machine so I had to get another manual pump. My friends didn’t have anything. I began searching my electric pump bags and I lucked out. My electric pump came with a manual pump. This manual pump ended up being far more efficient than my Medela breast pump. I could pump milk in 20 minutes rather than 30! It was a life-send!
Breastfeeding has been quite the journey. I lost sleep. I got sick. I spent quite a bit of money on supplies and medical treatment. I spent about 3 hours daily, pumping breast milk for my baby. Initially, I chose to breastfeed for the wrong reason, but my decision ended up being much more than I expected. When I got mastitis the second time, my husband told me I should just quite breastfeeding. He didn’t like seeing me in so much pain. I told him that if I got mastitis one more time I would quit. It has been four months since and I haven’t gotten it again. I plan on expressing breast milk for 4 more months. I can’t tell you how excited I am to get my body, time, and sleep back.
Here’s an approximate
cost of what I spent on breastfeeding for 8 months:
Electric breast pumps-2 ($200)
Manual breast pumps-3 ($90-$120)
Milk Storage bags ($50)
Mastitis-2X ($250)
Lansinoh ($30)
Breast pads ($60)
Nursing Bras ($200)
Time- 3 hours a day
Lack of sleep (waking up at 2:30 am and 6 am to pump)
Cracked, sore, bleeding nipples
Change in diet (baby allergies-no dairy, blueberries, nuts)
No medications
