formula cost for twins?

kimarino13

I am trying to put a budget together and am wondering what to expect as far as formula costs (powder, not pre-made) for twins if we end up going the EFF route.  I know it depends on the type of formula and how much they eat, so I am really just looking for ballpark figures here ($200 a month?  $500 a month?).  I have no clue how many cans a week they'll go through.  

Thanks!

lnle

yeah, and then help me figure out a formula for triplets!!!

I'm hopefully going to pump/BF as much as possible to save some money, but we'll just have to see...

Temp159135562506975

it really will depend... on what formula you kids need, how much they eat, if you can get coupons/checks for their formula, etc.

my guys eat between 4-6oz per feeding now, 5x's a day... we go through about 2 of the tubs/week (a little less).... we are now back on the Target generic which is nice and cheap--- before they were on Good Start b/c of reflux- but Gray's meds are working better now so didn't need that..... it was twice the cost- but i managed to get a lot of formula checks from friends and the company to bring the price down.

if your child needs special formula like neutramagen- you are screwed - it's very pricey and they don't make coupons/checks for it.

 so right now we spend about $20/week on formula for them...and this is on the cheap side (probably as cheap as you can get it)

 HTH

kimarino13

Goldie_Locks_5:

it really will depend... on what formula you kids need, how much they eat, if you can get coupons/checks for their formula, etc.

my guys eat between 4-6oz per feeding now, 5x's a day... we go through about 2 of the tubs/week (a little less).... we are now back on the Target generic which is nice and cheap--- before they were on Good Start b/c of reflux- but Gray's meds are working better now so didn't need that..... it was twice the cost- but i managed to get a lot of formula checks from friends and the company to bring the price down.

if your child needs special formula like neutramagen- you are screwed - it's very pricey and they don't make coupons/checks for it.

 so right now we spend about $20/week on formula for them...and this is on the cheap side (probably as cheap as you can get it)

 HTH

This is helpful, and I am definitely going to use formula checks as much as possible. I have a placeholder of $250/month in the budget right now.  I know that specialty formula completely blows that out of the water.  Thank you!

(And lnle, BF/pumping is my plan, too, but I know that things don't always go according to plan.  Ugh.)

omalley

I'm so jealous of the generic! We tried but it did not work for our boys. They take Enfamil GentleEase which is about $25/can. They drink 32oz/day each so about a can every 2.5 days. About $300 per month of I paid full price. But I never pay full price, I always look for sales and buy in bulk and hunt for coupons. Speaking of....anyone with extra Enfamil coupons/checks laying around?! ;-)

groovygrl

well....we tried powdered but it did not work out w/ our 2 reflux & constipated twins...

so, i can't speak to powdered but right now at 3 months, we go through about 2.5 bottles of ready to feed per day I think which we get for around $6 per bottle, so a little less than $500/month, so powdered would be a bit less. Obviously we used less early on & will use more as they grow until they start eating solids. I think you can save $ if you buy the powdered by the case (I get 6 rtf's for $35 vs $6.50-$7 each).

ETA i'm so jealous right now of those that can use powdered. we tried to switch back yesterday & today and feedings were pretty miserable . UGH 

jenn_darrin1515

I was actually just redoing our budget...we pay about $240/month for enfamil - the girls get gas issues from the generics

Pipigirl

Out of curiosity - where do you get the coupons for formula?

kimarino13

If you sign up at enfamil.com, similac.com, etc. they will send you formula checks/coupons in the mail. 

Pipigirl

Thanks!!

ancjph

Make sure once the babies come, talk to your pedi they should be able to get you some free formula too. We would able to get a free case per baby for the first three months. Enfamil

KLyn

when the boys were drinking the most (before we started giving them lots of food food) we were spending approx $400/mo on Similac Neosure.  Now that they're eating real food and we're able to give them the less expensive (though still not cheap) Advance formula we're spending about $200 - $250/mo.

RobynK

We use Kirland brand (Costco) formula and its just under $20 for 2 cans.  I think at our max we went through 3 cans per week -- so about $120 per month, perhaps slightly more.

If you can use a generic brand it will save you a lot of money.  I hear the Target one is pretty good too.

ncsubride

Target formula rocks and it is soooo much cheaper.  If you look at the ingredients on the back of Similac or Enfamil to the Target brand they are identical, they are even made by the same company. 

Parent's Choice I have heard is good and they have a twin program (Walmart) where you can call every 30 days and they will send you 2 coupons (they used to be $5 but now they are $3). 

 

meldoo2002

We were going through 3 cans/week when they were drinking the most (which was at 5-6 months, before we started solids).  We use Target version Enfamil Gentlease at $14.89/can (it's on sale this week for $13.20).  Now we are down to 2 cans/week with solids mixed in to their schedule.  I did do 1/2 breastmilk, 1/2 formula for the first 5 months which helped.