Hawaii Babies
Saving money while breastfeeding
https://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20110323/ts_usnews/howtosavemoneyonbreastfeeding
This article was posted on a mom forum that I'm apart of, and thought it was pretty interesting...especially because *I* didn't know how much a freaking breast pump cost! I learn something new everyday! 
Hope someone finds this article interesting.
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Re: Saving money while breastfeeding
Double electric pumps are pricey, but as a working mom, I knew it was a price I'd have to pay. Sadly, last year they weren't allowable expenses for FSA. Now that they are, I am sure many more moms will be able to get what they need, even if it's a $350 pump. Sometimes, insurance covers it too.
Also, if you plan on having more than one kid, it'll definitely pay for itself (as long as you're actually able to BF/pump...which sometimes, isn't the case.) I waited until Libby was 3 weeks old before I bought mine...I wanted to be sure that BFing was going well before I made the investment. I did get a single, manual pump for $35 (Avent Isis) to help with engorgement, etc. and that worked really well. My BFF (who is a working mom of 2) prefers to manually pump, so if you're like that then you could just go with the less expensive manual pump.
I think at the end of the day, BFing is STILL way less expensive than formula feeding. Formula can be pricey, especially if your LO requires a special version. I have a friend with twins who were sensitive to every type of formula and she had to get this pricey, pre-mixed kind. It was something like $50/week to feed her boys! Yikes!
As for the nursing pillow...I got mine at a consignment sale for $5. And I was using Sensible Milk Lines trays to freeze the milk and then transferred it into regular freezer storage bags. But I've found that the Lanisoh storage bags are not too expensive and they do a great job. I also used their nursing pads and just got the big box (which came with 60) and over time I could use the same pair for a couple of days. I did try reusable/washable ones but they never worked for me.
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I get the lansinoh storage bags from amzn - if you use subscribe and save, it's $13 for 75 bags, which is way cheaper than you can get at the store. as for the pump, they rarely go on sale, but i used a 20% off BRU coupon to buy it, so it wasn't too bad - i think it was about $225 plus tax. definitely worth it, if you're going to be pumping multiple times a day!
and yes, BFing is saving us a ton of money. If we were to FF, I'd have to buy dairy-free, soy-free, hypoallergenic formula. I've tried costing it out, just out of curiosity, and I think it'd be somewhere between $30-$50/week - and that's for only 1 kid! i also read of one mama on my local board who was happy to be primarily solids now, since she had been spending $800/month on special formula
not sure if she was exaggerating? I had no idea formula could cost so much!
eta: i got our nursing pillows from a consignment sale too. $5 for the boppy (regular price $25, plus cost of cover), and $12 for the brestfriend (which i like so much more! regular price $45)
Yes!
I think anything kid-related can cost you a lot of money if you let it. Like they said, a lot of the accessories end up being unnecessary or not-worth-it at full price.
Still, BFing saved us a ton because A needed hypoallergenic formula (sensitive to dairy) and since we weaned last month, I've been buying $25 cans and going through one every 5 days! That's WITH an employee discount at CVS, too! Wish my supply lasted longer. I'm also amazed at how many other people I know whose babies exhibited similar sensitivities.
On the other hand, I was surprised how cheap Kirkland brand formula is at Costco. Almost seemed cheaper to feed your baby than to diaper him!
Heh, I think that most ppl who say that BF is completely free are SAHMs
Because I know that if I were one, I'd never pump!
But yes, I bought nursing bras, nursing tanks, nursing pads, and milk bags. But like pps, I get the Lanisoh pads and bags from Amazon using their subscribe and save and it's not a huge expense. For my nursing tanks and bras, I got them all from Target (utilizing their free shipping over $50 and their $5 off $50 coupons that they send out in their emails from time to time) for about $15 per bra/tank. And I actually got most of them on sale for $12 and then you add the $5 coupon + free shipping and it's quite a good deal (and if I don't need $50 worth of it, I just take it to Target and return them and it's super easy to do so). Granted, they're not the most stylish things per-se but they're comfortable, work well, and affordable. And for my breast pump, I got the Lanisoh one for $105 (the lowest ever that I saw on Amazon at the time, but I haven't seen it that low since then). Granted, it's a bit slower than the other pumps (it takes me about 30 min to pump) but I just strap on my homemade hands-free bra (I cut slits in my old sports bra and sew the ends of the slits to prevent ripping) and use the computer/do work while I pump and I don't even notice how long it takes
So yeah, it's not completely free, but I'd say maybe about $175 for me vs buying much more $ worth of formula.
Yeah, same here! I remember when I was near the end of my 3rd tri, I was like what?!? Pumps cost $200-300?!? What about a manual one? But then my OB recommended against it because she said with baby handling/post-pg/etc a lot of ppl develop wrist issues (ie. CT) and manual pumping is just one extra thing you don't want to do. But I'm so glad I found the Lanisoh pump for half the price of all the other pumpsfor us it was still way cheaper (and more convenient) for me to BF. i just bought 2 nursing tanks from target and alternated between those...since I get to wear scrubs to work, i could wear the tanks underneath even though they're kind of ugly IMO
if I had to wear nice clothes to work and had to invest in a lot of nursing tops i could see how that would add up b/c they are $$. granted, if you are pumping at work you are doing it in private so really you don't need a nursing top b/c you could just lift your shirt up (or even take it off). like everyone else i just use the lansinoh bags and those are way cheaper than the medela ones. the biggest expense was definitely the pump, but i got my Medela pump on clearance at JC Penney for $146.12 incl. tax (one of those deals that lasted less then 30 min online!!!).... even w/o that deal i had been able to get a brand new one on ebay for $200 (sold it on CL when i got the JC Penney one). i used cloth nursing pads so that was a neglible expense for me....and if you get the omamma nursing bras you don't even need nursing pads 
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
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We had to use a special kind of formula for sensitive tummies and it cost about $450-$500 a month until they were around 9 months old; by that point their systems had strengthened enough that we could transition them to the cheaper stuff, but it's still about $150-$200 a month.
Cost is the #1 reason I wish BFing had worked out for us lol!