*disclaimer* As man I am not equipped with milk makers. This rant only poses my opinion, purely from a cost perspective.
I am not going to look up the actual costs because I have no idea how much a container of formula powder lasts!
Let us analyze the costs of nursing vs. bottles. My Brother's wife bottle fed, My wife nurses. My wife's breasts are not only visually appealing, but God gave them to her for free! The bottles, while you may get a bunch of them as shower gifts, you will undoubtedly not like them and have to buy a different more expensive brand and more nipples. The SIL had to have the bottles that are angled and with a grippy surface so the infant can hold the bottle by itself. My wife's nipples wipe clean in the shower, the bottle nipples must be boiled. Boiling my wife's *censored* is not a good idea.
While boiling those bottles and nipples, there will come a time when you step away, probably to tend to the baby, and when you return you will smell burning rubber and notice that the water is all gone. This scientific experiment in evaporation, will cost you the price of a few nipples, a bottle or two, and maybe a new pot. My brother had to get the new pot. My wife has yet to have to replace either of her *censored*. Minor cost added to the brother's total for electricity for his stove and very little cost for the water. My wife was going to take that shower anyway, so no cost for me.
Then they have to buy the formula, my wife makes hers all day long (comment from wife: All night long too!) They have to add water, ok my wife drinks water too so we will not count this against them. I will however note that drinking this water keeps my wife healthy, and putting the water in the bottle does nothing for my SIL. This formula is expensive and they always seemed to run out meaning my brother had to spend gas money in the middle of the night to get more. If I wake up in the middle of the night I get my baby, hand him or her to the wife and hold the flashlight while she attaches our baby to her *censored*, then I go back to sleep.
Go out to the mall, my wife will never forget her breasts, nor will they ever need to be thrown out because the milk was left in them too long and you are afraid that even boiling them (again the bottles not the breasts) will not make them reusable. Her *censored* may leak, and her shirt will get cleaned when she washes it anyway, if the bottle leaks, it may ruin everything else in the pack, like my peanut butter sandwich, or worse the older kid's snacks.
Once the infant is older they will, and I guarantee this, use the bottle as a means of distributing the formula to the floor. This will inspire them to make a Picasso-like image on the carpet that will need to be deep cleaned if it is not noticed right away and blotted up. The odds of my wife painting like Picasso with her *censored*- not likely at best.
I will never find one of my wife's *censored* with old milk in it lying under the bed or behind the bookcase, ever. The child will never have to be scolded for throwing one of her *censored* and knocking something valuable over.
My wife feels a special bond with the child while she is the sole source of life. My SIL puts the baby down with a pillow on its belly to help prop up the bottle and reads a magazine on the couch next to the cute little guy or girl. Not much bonding there.
And last but not least, once the child is off the bottle, which may take a while as they are used to carrying it around with them, the bottles go back to taking up space until they are needed again. My wife's *censored*, well I get them back!
The post has been censored at the wife's request - twice. How do I feel about this? I am *censored* and *censored, censored* that the *censored* word *censored* can not be used in this *censored* blog!! Oh yeah *censored*
Bottles vs. Breast milk...no contest.
March 16th, 2006 at 07:22 am
March 16th, 2006 at 02:30 pm
March 16th, 2006 at 06:04 pm
March 16th, 2006 at 07:05 pm
March 18th, 2006 at 06:24 am
March 18th, 2006 at 08:31 am
March 18th, 2006 at 01:02 pm
March 18th, 2006 at 04:07 pm
March 18th, 2006 at 06:52 pm
March 18th, 2006 at 08:10 pm
March 19th, 2006 at 07:05 am
Keep mixing the humor with money...........can't have too much of that!
March 19th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
You get out of more baby work! Ha Ha!
Nina's mom
(who breastfed all three daughters, ages 26, 25 and 18)
March 20th, 2006 at 08:18 pm
I honestly am not sure what kind of baby-mom I would be if I couldn't breastfeed. I really don't think I'd be as good of a mom. The feel good hormones coupled with the ease of comforting baby and not having to mess with measuring, mixing, heating, sterilyzing, etc - priceless.
March 20th, 2006 at 08:35 pm
March 21st, 2006 at 06:53 pm
March 22nd, 2006 at 06:42 am
Based on my experience as a breast feeding mother and as a grandma ( bottle feedeing using the mother's expressed milk), I have a couple of observations: First, there is absolutely no need to sterilize either bottles or nipples, and no one I know does it. Second, formula now comes thorough pre-mixed- just pour it out of the can. It's a bit more exensive, but life is too short to try to measure out formula while holding a screaming infant.
That having been said, I think breast feeding was and is great - which is not to say that there weren't times when it was painful or frustrating. One of the problems is that only Mom knows how much the child is getting, and everyone else is eager to toss in their observations based on no knowledge whatsoever.
No need to go over all of the desirable aspects of breastfeeding like immunities and bonding. The bonding issue is a two-way street. Many mothers find that breast feeding helps them to bond with their child, especially after a difficult birth.
From a father's perspective: If Mom breastfeeds, then Dad doesn't have to get up in the middle of the night to feed the kid.
Lastly, a little perspective. When my kids were born, it was SERIOUSLY contended that the reason people took up and stuck with smoking was that they had been bottle fed instead of breast fed. The theory was that the bottle flowed so easily that the c hild did not have to suck strongly enough to satisfy its sucking instinct. Cigarettes, therefore, were thought to be a substitute for breast feeding. HONEST! And people believed it.
March 23rd, 2006 at 05:27 am
ps: as an added benefit dirty diapers of breastfed babies have an almost pleasant smell...you definately need to take the trash out a lot more with a formula fed little one!!
March 23rd, 2006 at 08:37 am
lets just face the facts. breastfeeding is better. everyone knows it. formula feeding is the 4th best choice for feeding a baby according to the world health organization.
you offer truth, insight and a lot of humor!
March 23rd, 2006 at 09:00 am
this would be exactly what my husband wrote- but add in there- breastmilk puke comes out easily with a shout wipe or other laundry pen, but the formula puke i have seen, well- i threw the shirt away.
i breastfed my two kids because i like sleep. and what is easier than rolling over and feeding your kid, while all parties drift off to sleep? it's a wonderful thing.
March 23rd, 2006 at 09:18 am
As for the bottlefeeders that will come and tell you that you're making them feel guilty waaaaaa, and that you paint a bad picture of bottlefeeding are just feeling guilty for making the wrong 'choice' about using formula. And then the will go on to say that they had a *cough* medical *cough* issue that stopped them from breastfeeding. blah blah blah, excuses excuses.
Breastfeeding is not a choice, it's a birthright.
March 23rd, 2006 at 09:35 am
March 23rd, 2006 at 09:44 am
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:01 am
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:21 am
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:24 am
Another plus for breasfeeding is that the antibodies are transferred from mom to the baby, so they are less sensitive to infectious diseases...
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:25 am
I just want to say in response to some of the comments that "breast is best". I know it's a popular phrase, but saying that "breast is best" implies that formula-feeding is totally sufficient but if you want to do something even better, you can breastfeed! The truth is that breastfeeding is the baseline, it's what babies are designed to eat. If you choose to formula-feed, you are giving your baby something inferior. It isn't a matter of "formula is okay but breast is best" - it's a matter of "breastmilk is the default and formula is inferior and barely adequate". Yes, babies can thrive on formula, but they are doing so *in spite* of the formula, not because of it.
My heart goes out to women who legitimately can't breastfeed; even in very pro-breastfeeding societies like Sweden we see a 97% breastfeeding rate, so there are a few percent of women who are unable to breastfeed. I feel truly sad about that and I wish there were more milk banks so that everyone could give their baby breastmilk, even if it wasn't their own. (And yes, I donated my breastmilk to two babies who needed it, so I walked the walk as well as talking the talk.) I also feel sad for all the women who could breastfeed and who tried their best, but they weren't given sufficient information and/or support to make the breastfeeding relationship work. They didn't fail - we as a society failed *them* by not providing the support they needed. Sometimes formula is necessary, and I hope those women don't feel guilty if they are forced to formula-feed.
But women who are perfectly capable of breastfeeding, who make a conscious choice not to - I have no respect for that, and I hope every time they look at their baby they are aware that they have *chosen* to give their child something inferior, something that raises their child's risk of death and/or illness and something that doesn't develop their child's brain to the extent that breastmilk does. I hope they do feel guilt about making a conscious choice to feed their child formula, because maybe then they won't make that same choice with future children.
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:59 am
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:39 am
And, those formula feeders that are so offended should STFU already. They're just upset because everything you say is true. Even my mom who couldn't breastfeed agrees.
-Erin
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:46 am
Brestfeeding is NORMAL!
March 23rd, 2006 at 01:20 pm
Don't forget to factor in the costs of future medical care for mom and babies as well. Women who breastfeed greatly reduce their chances of developing many types of cancer, and the children will be much healthier. Less diabetes, obesity, ear infections, asthmas, allergies, etc. Breastmilk isn't quite a panacea, but it's pretty damn close.
March 23rd, 2006 at 02:46 pm
I am breastfeeding my second child who is now a toddler and only hope he will breastfeed as long as my daughter did. Its their birthright!
March 23rd, 2006 at 04:30 pm
March 23rd, 2006 at 05:06 pm
March 23rd, 2006 at 06:05 pm
A bottle of expressed breast milk, so Mommy could get some away time, and because I wanted some one on one bonding time.
I really liked the comment about the child thriving *in spite* not because of the choice. I feel that way about a lot of the things some parents do. They can show you how a good portion of children in a given situation end up normal or above average, and I always wonder how much more above average that child could have been in a different situation.
March 23rd, 2006 at 06:28 pm
To the woman who seems to think that there are no medical reasons why anyone would ever not be able to breastfeed (two month's prematurity and my own health in my case)...wouldn't it be karmatic if it were to happen to you and you could eat your words.
March 23rd, 2006 at 07:01 pm
March 23rd, 2006 at 07:08 pm
Good article!
March 23rd, 2006 at 08:32 pm
I'm a proud breastfeeding mother! Good for you for being so supportive of your wife doing the VERY BEST for your baby!
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:49 pm
March 24th, 2006 at 01:22 am
Those FFers who have a problem with such a tame article need to look at why they're letting the guilt out instead of attacking you, quite honestly.
Breastfeeding is normal and natural and we shouldn't have to keep saying it until they get it. It's not our fault that they refuse to understand that formula is not a choice that any baby would make.
It's a sad state in society when it's the people doing the right thing that get shamed, and have to fight so hard for the same rights those who 'chose' not to do the right thing already have.
Trust me, your article was QUITE tame in comparison to many I've read. I can't believe people would be offended enough to work up the ire to post about the offense when there is so much more brutal only a couple of clicks away.
March 24th, 2006 at 05:12 am
March 24th, 2006 at 05:33 am
March 24th, 2006 at 06:56 am
March 24th, 2006 at 07:04 am
March 24th, 2006 at 08:30 am
March 24th, 2006 at 11:37 am
Someone mentioned not needing to mix formula, just buy premade... well that is even more expensive than powedered formula so her comment actually proved your point and not hers. LOL
March 24th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
March 24th, 2006 at 05:01 pm
March 24th, 2006 at 05:44 pm
March 24th, 2006 at 10:23 pm
I am one of those women who doesn't make enough milk, and I have tried everything. A low milk supply doesn't mean that you can't breastfeed. I may have to supplement, but we do this while nursing with the aid of a Lact-Aid. My 3 1/2 year old son think all babies nurse. My 18 mo. daughter is till nursing away - with my issues and some of her own that took 6 months for her to be able to nurse 100% of the time. She is such a comfort burser now that I don't see her stopping for a long time
March 24th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Yes, there are some people who just can not breastfeed. However, I don't think any of us who nurse have any bad feelings about that. I resent the people who are too danged selfish to try.
I happen to know several people who didn't breastfeed only because they didn't want their boobs to sag, or thought that they were only for the husband.. hmm.. Who the heck cares if the husband has to share the boobs while you're breastfeeding? It's not a decision to be made lightly- it's your babies HEALTH!!!
March 25th, 2006 at 07:08 am
March 25th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Sarah
March 25th, 2006 at 11:10 am
March 25th, 2006 at 11:44 pm
March 27th, 2006 at 11:25 am
March 30th, 2006 at 09:09 am
I don't see anything offensive here seeing as how it's a simple fact of life that bottle feeding DOES cost more than breastfeeding.
April 1st, 2006 at 10:47 am
However, I do take great offense at Noel's comment: "And then the will go on to say that they had a *cough* medical *cough* issue that stopped them from breastfeeding. blah blah blah, excuses excuses."
Noel,
some women DO have medical issues. After exclusively breastfeeding my new baby for 3 months, I developed a 75ml infected galactocele that abcessed and required surgery. Over two weeks later, the 2 inch incision is refusing to heal and sprays milk everywhere. At the insistance of 2 surgeons, my ob, and husband, and the support of my two lcs, I am faced with having to formula feed. Many women do try everything to breastfeed, and are tramatized over not being able to. Comments such as yours are hurtful, ignorant, insensitive, and give breastfeeding mothers a bad reputation of being intolerant and arrogant.
April 2nd, 2006 at 03:24 pm
Hh
April 4th, 2006 at 04:42 pm
April 22nd, 2006 at 03:46 am
May 15th, 2006 at 11:48 am
Happy Mother's Day!
September 11th, 2006 at 09:53 pm
And don't worry about the bottlefeeders, you're just stating the truth!
September 12th, 2006 at 06:17 am
Nursing mom of an 18 month old and another one on the way!
September 12th, 2006 at 06:17 am
Nursing mom of an 18 month old and another one on the way!
September 12th, 2006 at 09:24 am
August 6th, 2007 at 12:09 am
February 15th, 2008 at 12:39 am
February 15th, 2008 at 12:45 am
My nearly 1 yr. old son was born three months early weighing 1 lb, 14 oz. He was so tiny that I could cup my hands over him and completely cover him. He was born by an emergency c-section due to my severe pre-eclampsia. I was in the hospital for six days following his birth and he spent 71 days in the NICU. He was just too little to nurse until he was about 4 weeks shy of his due date.
I started pumping within hours of his birth. I pumped three times a day for two months, day and night until he could start nursing. He was still under five pounds when he came home from the hospital. The doctors said he needed every other feed breast alternating with a bottle of pumped milk with HBM fortifier added to it for the extra calories. I knew that ANY bottle feeding would undermine my effort to breast feed him, which was already a difficult struggle. So, as soon as it appeared he was gaining weight, I got his pediatrician to agree to quit the bottles.
It took months to get everything working smoothly but I'm so glad he and I stuck with it. Now he loves his 'nursies' and my preemie never had to have formula. If he needs comforting or is hungry I can just whip out a boob and take care of him.
For a micro preemie like my son, breast milk can literally be the difference between life and death. It can keep the baby from getting sick. Preemies are very fragile for their first year and any illness and quickly become very serious. Each year many, many preemies die from illnesses. We also saved on doctor bills by not having to take him to the doctor for being sick all the time. And believe me, we had plenty of doctor bills so any savings was wonderful.
incidentally, along with breastfeeding, cloth diapering and making your own baby food are a lot cheaper too.
Also, My DH and I both work and he also goes to school so I'm not a SAHM with nothing to do but sit around and nurse the baby and wash diapers.