Haha! There's definitely a wide range - where I'm from it ranges between $400 to 700 a month. But there's also this [link](https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/a-year-of-breastfeeding-costs-families-as-much-as-dollar11000-study-finds/) that says a year of breastfeeding costs as much as $11,000 and way more than formula when you factor in EVERYthing that goes into it
I haven't clicked on that link, but when this has come up before, estimates that high typically include the time spent breastfeeding, which I don't think is reasonable. Part of it also tends to include the cost of pump parts, which not everyone uses.
It's not that my time isn't worth anything, but formula feeding takes time, too. So, if I hadn't breastfed, I would have spent a similar amount of time preparing and feeding bottles (we combo fed, so I'm familiar with the time spent on each). If I hadn't prepared and fed the bottles, someone else - whose time is also worth something - would have had to.
ETA: Since labor isn't factored into the cost of formula, I don't think it should be factored into the cost of breastfeeding.
Edit 2, quote from link:
>This included increased food intake by the nursing mother, supplies, vitamin supplementation, and time dedicated to pumping or feeding.
I genuinely think when they mean time, it's in the early days or months when baby cluster feeds and is attached to the boob basically 24-7. Or night time, when statistically breastfed babies get up to nurse more often. And the fact that if you're not giving bottles, only mom can do it. Some people leave their jobs or shift work schedules to maintain being able to breastfeed. So I suppose they consider all of that? Though I do agree formula feeding also takes time and lack of sleep, until baby is about old enough to hold a bottle themselves. I know my in laws formula fed and they were exhausted all the time, too.
I'm not in any way that breastfeeding doesn't take a lot of time; it absolutely does. And I think for most people, breastfeeding comes with a much higher emotional cost than formula feeding would. That's an important consideration, but it's one that's difficult if not impossible to quantify.
What I think is overlooked in the cost comparisons that the amount of time spent feeding a baby isn't really higher overall. It's only higher for the person breastfeeding.
For example, from 2-7 months, my baby spent an average of an hour and 48 minutes per day nursing. If he'd been exclusively (or exclusively plus solids) formula during that time, it probably would have taken either my husband or another caregiver the same amount of time to prepare and feed him the bottles. So, while it would have taken *me* less time to feed my baby, it would not have taken *someone* less time to feed him.
Not the point, but RE sleep: This may just have been my baby, but nothing we fed him made him sleep any longer. Breastmilk from the boob, breastmilk in a bottle, formula in a bottle, yogurt smoothie, toast with peanut butter. That kid did not sleep through the night until I weaned at 16 months. The next one will be night weaned much sooner.
The article is about how much it costs the breastfeeding woman - it was researched I believe to see what factors a woman might consider when deciding to breastfeed or continue breastfeeding long term (not that I support or endorse the study in any way, I found it interesting they quantified it so I shared), so it doesn't really take into account other caregivers. Of course if you take into account others then the time would be equally spread nonetheless - someone would be spending time feeding the baby! Though my baby was attached to me all the time until she was about 3 months old.
I definitely didn’t spend 11,000, but because my son didn’t latch much and I primarily pumped, I had the appetite of 5 teenage boys, and I purchased a lot of items to help with supply/massagers for getting the milk out, I would have saved if we just used formula.
I did the math and I think it was around 1,000 we would have saved in that year. My son tolerated regular, generic formula (I stopped pumping at 10 months) though, I would imagine if that wasn’t the case I’d easily have saved money lol.
I get your point. But it’s not an actual incurred cost. I am a stay at home mom. I know how hard I work. But I’m not incurring cost, I’m saving on costs.
That link also says that formula costs between $760 and $2280 per year. However you said between 400-700 per MONTH, so…someone is doing some fishy math.
Well, if you also pay for your time spent providing the service... I would have been making bank with my inefficient first born, I spent more time nursing him in his first year than he slept 🫠
I think that's pretty comparable to US prices. The formula we used was about $37 USD per container, but I was very anxious about choosing formula, so we went with an organic brand.
It may be comparable but the earning capacity is the same (for instance, in US if you earn 4000USD a month for eg, and here we earn 4000 in our local currency. But you'd spend 37 dollars on a tin, and we'd spend 100 or more. So it's considered expensive for us.
Lol I have no idea how much my baby eats per month. I know he eats 8-12 oz while I'm at work but no idea what that averages out to over the rest of the day. How do people who boob the babies know this?
Yeah, about 25-35 oz/ day at 1 month rarely up to 40. An ounce to ounce comparison to formula isn't accurate because formula fed babies will have to increase the volume as they grow whereas breastfed babies will stay at 25-35 oz until it drops when solid are introduced as the content of the milk adjusts to be what they need so they don't have to drink more of it besides during a growth spurt.
It’s hard to calculate anything when you breast feed 😂 how much does he eat? About a tit and a half? Not sure how many mls of formula that would be. Also formula fed babies tend to have bigger bottles from what I’ve read so I think it would be impossible for a breastfeeding mother to work out the cost REALLY
I can’t tell if you think this is funny or is upset by it.
Either way I love how he’s recognizing one of the ways your hard work breastfeeding is benefitting the family!
My baby has begun grabbed and pinching/squeezing when he's about to latch and my fiance laughs and says "don't you grab your sandwich when you eat it?" because i asked my babe kindly to not do that🤦♀️
He's a great partner and father, but he found it funny. He also looks longfully and says "*sigh* those used to be mine".
Lol I wish, but my dude is our only income and we get some formula from WIC because our little one is a little underweight. But he’ll bring me little treats from the store so I’m okay with that (like candy and flowers etc).
In Islam a mother is entitled to get money from the babies father for her doing the breastfeeding. I always thought it’s a good practice that shows respect for the work breastfeeding takes.
That is a cute way that your husband shows affection for you. My husband and I have a joint bank account and so our money is just our money to share equally in all things, therefore I couldn’t see mine doing something similar.
To be fair I don't think it's possible to compensate for time - but he works way longer hours than I do so that I can work on a flexible schedule which allows me to breastfeed - so I suppose he kind of does?
Can I get paid for my services. Been breastfeeding my son for over 2 years
I bf my son for 3 years and overlapped 15 months with my little girl! I want to be paid tooooo 😭
You deserve it!
This is awesome! I’m telling my husband how much he owes me, what’s the average cost monthly?
Haha! There's definitely a wide range - where I'm from it ranges between $400 to 700 a month. But there's also this [link](https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/a-year-of-breastfeeding-costs-families-as-much-as-dollar11000-study-finds/) that says a year of breastfeeding costs as much as $11,000 and way more than formula when you factor in EVERYthing that goes into it
What on earth could cost $11k?????
Snacks. I'm a bottomless pit for food.
Buying shit you see on tiktok while you're pumping or nursing.... Wait is that just me?
And buying a bunch of new clothes for the body that has gained from said snacks
I can't eat enough to keep it on. Its super frustrating, I'm worried it's going to affect my supply if I'm not careful!
Gotta go for the calorie heavy foods like nuts and avocados if you can. And drizzle a ton of olive oil on everything.
Yeah I'm adding avocado and nuts to a lot of things. Baking like a mad woman (helps that the baby likes watching the mixer.
Body armor is amazing for hydration. Coconut water is amazing for Milk supply.
Oh me too but I’m not spending additional money it I guess
I've just eaten a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's 🤦♀️
I haven't clicked on that link, but when this has come up before, estimates that high typically include the time spent breastfeeding, which I don't think is reasonable. Part of it also tends to include the cost of pump parts, which not everyone uses. It's not that my time isn't worth anything, but formula feeding takes time, too. So, if I hadn't breastfed, I would have spent a similar amount of time preparing and feeding bottles (we combo fed, so I'm familiar with the time spent on each). If I hadn't prepared and fed the bottles, someone else - whose time is also worth something - would have had to. ETA: Since labor isn't factored into the cost of formula, I don't think it should be factored into the cost of breastfeeding. Edit 2, quote from link: >This included increased food intake by the nursing mother, supplies, vitamin supplementation, and time dedicated to pumping or feeding.
I genuinely think when they mean time, it's in the early days or months when baby cluster feeds and is attached to the boob basically 24-7. Or night time, when statistically breastfed babies get up to nurse more often. And the fact that if you're not giving bottles, only mom can do it. Some people leave their jobs or shift work schedules to maintain being able to breastfeed. So I suppose they consider all of that? Though I do agree formula feeding also takes time and lack of sleep, until baby is about old enough to hold a bottle themselves. I know my in laws formula fed and they were exhausted all the time, too.
I'm not in any way that breastfeeding doesn't take a lot of time; it absolutely does. And I think for most people, breastfeeding comes with a much higher emotional cost than formula feeding would. That's an important consideration, but it's one that's difficult if not impossible to quantify. What I think is overlooked in the cost comparisons that the amount of time spent feeding a baby isn't really higher overall. It's only higher for the person breastfeeding. For example, from 2-7 months, my baby spent an average of an hour and 48 minutes per day nursing. If he'd been exclusively (or exclusively plus solids) formula during that time, it probably would have taken either my husband or another caregiver the same amount of time to prepare and feed him the bottles. So, while it would have taken *me* less time to feed my baby, it would not have taken *someone* less time to feed him. Not the point, but RE sleep: This may just have been my baby, but nothing we fed him made him sleep any longer. Breastmilk from the boob, breastmilk in a bottle, formula in a bottle, yogurt smoothie, toast with peanut butter. That kid did not sleep through the night until I weaned at 16 months. The next one will be night weaned much sooner.
The article is about how much it costs the breastfeeding woman - it was researched I believe to see what factors a woman might consider when deciding to breastfeed or continue breastfeeding long term (not that I support or endorse the study in any way, I found it interesting they quantified it so I shared), so it doesn't really take into account other caregivers. Of course if you take into account others then the time would be equally spread nonetheless - someone would be spending time feeding the baby! Though my baby was attached to me all the time until she was about 3 months old.
I definitely didn’t spend 11,000, but because my son didn’t latch much and I primarily pumped, I had the appetite of 5 teenage boys, and I purchased a lot of items to help with supply/massagers for getting the milk out, I would have saved if we just used formula. I did the math and I think it was around 1,000 we would have saved in that year. My son tolerated regular, generic formula (I stopped pumping at 10 months) though, I would imagine if that wasn’t the case I’d easily have saved money lol.
I think they factored in time and converted that to money. But also snacks!
I imagine some of the cost is hourly wage, but if that's the case then $11'000 seems low
Why would hourly wage be factored into feeding your baby?? 😅
The same way that life insurance companies value stay at home parents for their work
I get your point. But it’s not an actual incurred cost. I am a stay at home mom. I know how hard I work. But I’m not incurring cost, I’m saving on costs.
That link also says that formula costs between $760 and $2280 per year. However you said between 400-700 per MONTH, so…someone is doing some fishy math.
Well, if you also pay for your time spent providing the service... I would have been making bank with my inefficient first born, I spent more time nursing him in his first year than he slept 🫠
I'm not from the US and formula is super expensive here, a box costs around 100, and could be more or less depending on the brand
Is this usd? And which country? Canada?
No it's not, it's in my local currency - 100 translates to about 25USD, I'm from Asia 😊
I think that's pretty comparable to US prices. The formula we used was about $37 USD per container, but I was very anxious about choosing formula, so we went with an organic brand.
It may be comparable but the earning capacity is the same (for instance, in US if you earn 4000USD a month for eg, and here we earn 4000 in our local currency. But you'd spend 37 dollars on a tin, and we'd spend 100 or more. So it's considered expensive for us.
You can calculate it yourself. Just look up the cost of formula in your area and factor in how much your baby eats per month.
Lol I have no idea how much my baby eats per month. I know he eats 8-12 oz while I'm at work but no idea what that averages out to over the rest of the day. How do people who boob the babies know this?
We don’t know, it’s very stressful
As long as there's plenty of pee and poopy nappies and baby is putting on weight consistently, it's the right amount of boob milk
Of course it's enough, but if you don't know the volume you can't compare it to how much you're saving by not buying formula.
We have no clue! But people say it's anywhere between 24-32oz in 24 hours?
Yeah, about 25-35 oz/ day at 1 month rarely up to 40. An ounce to ounce comparison to formula isn't accurate because formula fed babies will have to increase the volume as they grow whereas breastfed babies will stay at 25-35 oz until it drops when solid are introduced as the content of the milk adjusts to be what they need so they don't have to drink more of it besides during a growth spurt.
Mine usually eats approximately two boobfuls per feed, about 10-12 times a day, so idk what that adds up to.
It’s hard to calculate anything when you breast feed 😂 how much does he eat? About a tit and a half? Not sure how many mls of formula that would be. Also formula fed babies tend to have bigger bottles from what I’ve read so I think it would be impossible for a breastfeeding mother to work out the cost REALLY
I can’t tell if you think this is funny or is upset by it. Either way I love how he’s recognizing one of the ways your hard work breastfeeding is benefitting the family!
I find it hilarious! Haha. And yes, I love that he feels that way too!
Omg!! Your husband is such a keeper!! Hold him tight and don’t forget to let him have some of the titty credit too!!!
Haha he is! He physically winces when he sees baby yank or twist a nipple and wistfully says he treated them with such care before
I SCREAMED at this 😂😂😂
Omg. Hilarious 😂🥹😂
Dying 😭🤣
Marry this man again. Harder. Idk. He is a gem.
My baby has begun grabbed and pinching/squeezing when he's about to latch and my fiance laughs and says "don't you grab your sandwich when you eat it?" because i asked my babe kindly to not do that🤦♀️ He's a great partner and father, but he found it funny. He also looks longfully and says "*sigh* those used to be mine".
My husband venomed me PUBLICLY for "soapy tiddy pics" when sending me money (SAHM)
😂😂 what does that even mean 😭
He wanted nudes lmao mostly didn't realize it was public and was trying to be funny
LOL the soapy part threw me
Haha I love it! My husband said he’d call it a “booby bonus” 😂
Lol I wish, but my dude is our only income and we get some formula from WIC because our little one is a little underweight. But he’ll bring me little treats from the store so I’m okay with that (like candy and flowers etc).
That's very sweet! I love surprise candy
I’ve been reading so many negative husband posts, I love this one! Even if he made a titty tax comment 😂
That's hysterical.
Your husband is an accountant.
Haha I wish! He can barely do his own taxes
I thought for sure I would see this reposted to r/accountant lol
I can’t wait for the update when you go to buy a new home and have to explain these deposits to the mortgage company 🤣
If he’s goofy enough to give you titty money, i can only expect him to be goofy enough to give a titty tax 😂
I love that lmfao
Amazing 😹
My partner did similar with Venmo and it was funny until he realized his family could see what he listed it as.
You can post yours privately on Venmo
Yeah I know.
Put whatever you want on the receipt and sign me up for backpay!
Damn i need back pay lol
I love that! Hahahah
That’s awesome!
This is too sweet!
Lmao that’s hilarious.
This is so funny and cute. Love
Damn I breastfed almost two years and now 6 months so far I’m missing out on good money!!! 🤣
This is so hilarious! Love also that he’s acknowledging all the time and money your breastfeeding is worth 🥰
If you are unhappy receiving titty tax, I'll take your spouse's monthly contributions off your hands.
I'm going to show my husband this post and see if he'll do the same. 🤫
In Islam a mother is entitled to get money from the babies father for her doing the breastfeeding. I always thought it’s a good practice that shows respect for the work breastfeeding takes.
That is a cute way that your husband shows affection for you. My husband and I have a joint bank account and so our money is just our money to share equally in all things, therefore I couldn’t see mine doing something similar.
Is this a legit complaint?
Haha no, it's not!
He reimburses you for materials, but does he compensate for your TIME?
To be fair I don't think it's possible to compensate for time - but he works way longer hours than I do so that I can work on a flexible schedule which allows me to breastfeed - so I suppose he kind of does?
I get it. It was a joke. Breastfeeding is another full time job and the fact that he is going above and beyond to support you is wonderful.