Natural Parenting

One of the biggest natural parenting behaviors I support is breastfeeding.  It is a beautiful, healthy, and natural practice that greatly magnifies the bond I share with my son.  There is nothing else like it.

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It’s amazing that mothers are able to nourish and feed their children using their breasts.  We don’t have to warm them, shake them, or clean them before our children nurse.  All the work is already done for us.  We simply undo our bra (if you wear one), place the child to one of our breasts (or both if you have an eating machine on your hands!:)), and that’s it.  Baby fed.

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What’s more rewarding is how close I am able to feel to my son when he nurses.  It’s like we are one life.  Life (food) is passing from my body, and at the same time is pouring into my baby.  I find it to be a beautiful expression of love between us.  Nothing in the world compares to breastfeeding.

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Unfortunately, many women completely pass up the opportunity to breastfeed their babies, many times because they have been trained to believe that babies are supposed to eat formula.  Others even view the practice as weird, or perverse, because at some point in their life their thought processes were jaded.  For those women, I must say, you are missing out.

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For a moment, I am going to pretend that I am one of these women.  I believe that breastfeeding is a little odd.  I also don’t particularly care about or believe that breast milk is healthier than formula.  Lastly, I think that breastfeeding would be such a drag, and I’d rather just formula feed.

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But, wait!  My family income is only 17,000 annually, and I cannot afford formula.  So, I have two choices.  I could either get food stamps/WIC.  Or, I could breastfeed.

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Here are some charts below comparing the cost of formula vs breastfeeding.

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*Includes:

• Kirkland’s Brand milk based formula powder (cheapest I could find)
• 6 Dr. Browns bottles
• Formula powder dispenser and basic bottle brush

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*Includes:

• Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula Powder
• 6 Quiet Nights glass bottles, and bottle covers for safety
• Formula powder dispenser and basic bottle brush

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*Includes:

• Neocate Infant Formula Powder (I included this because Axel would have had to be on a special formula like this because of his food sensitivities)
• 6 Quiet Nights glass bottles, and bottle covers for safety
• Formula powder dispenser and basic bottle brush

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*Includes:

• 500 calories worth of food, priced at 1 dollar a day.  You can easily accomplish this with beans, rice, and a little olive oil, or a fast food cheeseburger.  (I obviously don’t recommend the second choice)

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*Includes:

• 500 calories worth of food, priced at 1 dollar a day.  You can easily accomplish this with beans, rice, and a little olive oil, or a fast food cheeseburger.  (I obviously don’t recommend the second choice)
• 6 Quiet Nights glass bottles, and bottle covers for safety
• Lansinoh breast milk bags for full time pumping (enough for you to exclusively bottle feed)
• Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with backpack

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As you can see, sticking to the basics of breastfeeding can save you a lot of money.  In my case personally, I will have saved $3485 by the time the year is up!  That’s what I call natural parenting- haha.

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You’ll notice that I also included a graph for the women who have to pump full time.  Pumping can be expensive, but when you compare it to the cost of organic formula or Neocate, you are still saving quite a bit of money. 

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Overall, I’d say breastfeeding is a much better choice, if it’s an option.  You can save lots of money, and the nutritional benefits are greatly superior to formula.  Breastfeeding also strengthens the bonds between mother and baby.  So, if you haven’t decided whether you will breastfeed your baby or not, please just give it a shot.  You won’t regret it!

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Related posts:

1. Nighttime Feedings
2. How To Breastfeed A Baby With Allergies
3. Go Raw While Breastfeeding – Chlorella