Frugal Parenting
(featured column)
The
First Year: Save $1200 by Breastfeeding
by Rachel
Keller
For being the
smallest member of the family, a baby can be one of the biggest expenses.
Diapers, baby wipes, formula, and those little jars of baby food devour a
family's budget quicker than the baby puts on weight. Fortunately, through some
simple choices, you can save significant money. More...
One of the easiest ways to save over $1200 during your baby's first year of life
is to choose breastfeeding. Your little one needs nourishment to sustain his
incredible growth, and breast milk is the ideal food to help your baby thrive.
Breast milk is the perfect food for a baby. It's easy to serve: no sterilizing,
measuring, or preparing bottles in the middle of the night. The milk is the
perfect temperature and consistency for your baby. Plus, it is easier to digest
than formula and provides all the necessary nutrients a baby needs and in the
correct amounts. Breast milk is preventive medicine. Babies who are breastfed
have lower risk of ear infections, illness, allergies, obesity, and SIDS (Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome), as well as less tooth decay and diarrhea and a higher
intelligence quotient (IQ).
The baby is not the only one to benefit from breastfeeding. Breastfeeding helps
a mother's uterus return to its normal size more quickly. A nursing mother burns
extra calories just to produce breast milk, thus losing her pregnancy-related
weight more easily. Breastfeeding may also lessen the risk of a woman developing
osteoporosis, as well as breast and ovarian cancer.
Most new mothers plan on breast feeding their baby, but very few continue for
the whole first year. While a few women are truly unable to breast feed due to
physical reasons such as inadequate milk production, others choose not to for
various reasons such as work, mastitis, or physical exhaustion. Work may, but
doesn't have to, hinder breast feeding.
If you plan on returning to work, consider pumping milk to save money and give
your baby the benefits of breast milk for as long as possible. I have a friend
who returned to work when her baby was 12 weeks old. The baby soon preferred the
bottle over the breast. He is nearly 6 months old and although he won't
breastfeed, my friend continues pumping milk daily to give her son the benefits
of breastfeeding.
Even if you stay at home, you may still want to pump milk. Pumping milk allows
you more freedom. You can be away from your baby longer than you would if you
had to nurse. If you want to share feeding responsibilities with other family
members (such as night time feedings), expressing milk affords this opportunity.
Some women have a low milk supply, breast infection, or a premature or
hospitalized baby and find that they must express milk. Pumping milk relieves
some of the pressure of engorgement or sore nipples, providing the mother
comfort and allowing the baby to nurse more easily. Pumping can be used to help
pull or stretch flat or inverted nipples.
You can express your milk with a breast pump or by hand. Manual breast pumps and
battery-powered pumps are the least expensive and recommended for occasional
use, such as a missed feeding, an evening out from the baby or if you're working
part-time. If you plan to return to work full-time or need to pump on a regular
basis, you may wish to rent or buy an electric pump. Double pumps cost more, but
will allow you to pump more quickly--in 10 to 15 minutes.
Allow your milk to become well-established and make certain your baby is nursing
well before you try to introduce a bottle. If you introduce a bottle too soon,
the baby may not want to nurse since sucking from a bottle is easier for the
baby. If you wait too long to introduce a bottle, the baby may refuse the
bottle, especially if he knows you are nearby to feed him. With my fourth child,
I waited too long to introduce a bottle. She refused to eat and waited for
several extra hours until I returned to nurse. If you're returning to work,
consider introducing the bottle at about 4 to 6 weeks. If your baby doesn't take
the bottle from you, have someone else try giving her a bottle.
You can also choose to save breast milk for later use. If you are not going to
use the milk immediately, store in the refrigerator or in a cooler. How long can
you store breast milk? Sources vary in the amount of time you can store milk,
however, the sooner you use the milk the better. Personally, I've never stored
fresh milk in the refrigerator for more than 72 hours and never more than a few
months in the freezer. Medela, in their brochures, recommends no more than 4
hours at room temperature (66-72 degrees F), 24 hours in a cooler with 3 frozen
ice packs, 5-7 days in a 32-39 degree F refrigerator, 3-4 months in a
self-contained refrigerator freezer unit and 6-12 months in a deep freezer at 0
degree F.
I've nursed four of my children for over a year and am currently nursing my
newborn daughter (our fifth child). I've found breastfeeding to be a truly
rewarding experience. My children have been healthy--no ear infections or other
major illnesses. I've saved money by not purchasing formula, antibiotics, or
other costly medicines.
I breastfed exclusively, but did pump milk whenever I had to be away from my
children. Not only were my children able to enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding
even when I was gone for a few days, but I was able to keep up my milk supply so
I could resume nursing when I returned. I also chose to pump milk (many times
hand expressing rather than sterilizing the manual breast pump) to add to the
infant cereal.
Consider breast feeding for at least the first year of your child's life. Not
only will both you and your baby reap health benefits, but you will save an
enormous amount of money. For more help or information on breastfeeding and
pumping and storing milk, contact either your local lactation center, the public
health department, your doctor or nurse, or your hospital's postpartum unit. The
following resources are also helpful:
*IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) www.ilca.org
*La Leche League www.lalecheleague.org
www.lalecheleague.com/bfinfo.html
(includes helpful articles)
*Nursing Mothers Counsel www.nursingmothers.org/
*BNN, Breastfeeding National Network (1-800-TELL-YOU) 24 hours/day, 7 days/week
*Medela www.medela.com/
"Ask the LC" for breastfeeding help. Call1-800-435-8316 about breast
pumps
*Ameda Egnell breast pumps 1-800-323-4060 or 1-800-263-7400 in Canada
Information from the above article was taken from personal experience and from
the following resources:
Carilion Lactation Center brochure (2003)
Medela publication (2003)
Ross Pediatrics publication (2003)
Similac publication (2004)
* * *
Copyright
© 2005 by Rachel Keller. All rights reserved.
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