As we enter World Breastfeeding Week 2016 (August 1-7) and National Breastfeeding Month (August), I’m happy to be able to bring awareness to the importance of breastfeeding and I’m glad I’ve been able to support other mommies I know through their own journeys.<\/p>\n
But mostly, I’m thankful that I’m able to breastfeed my children for all these other reasons:![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/able-to-breastfeed.png\")
<\/a><\/h2>\nCost savings![\"bottles](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/bottles-money.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nIt’s obvious that breastfeeding saves money because it’s basically free aside from the extra 500 calories mommies need a day. But what is the true cost of not<\/em> breastfeeding?<\/p>\nKelly Mom estimates that a year of formula in 2016 costs between $816 and $3,164 (for formula only, not including the costs of bottles, water, cleaning supplies, etc.) and a 1999 research article showed that exclusively-formula fed babies accrue $331-$475 more in healthcare expenses over the first year than babies who were exclusively breastfed for as little as 3 months whereas a Kaiser Permanente study (in 1992-1993) showed that babies who were exclusively breastfed to 6 months had $1,435 less healthcare expenses than formula fed babies. (all data from kellymom.com<\/a>)<\/p>\nFor mommies like me, that means a savings of $11,492 over my 4 children’s first years which is not at a small amount (based on the mid-prices of formula and healthcare costs).<\/p>\n
More sleep![\"s](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/s-newborn-nap.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nNo matter how we choose to feed our babies, being woken up in the middle of the night is inevitable. But one of the perks of breastfeeding for me is that I can wobble into baby’s room in the middle of the night, scoop him up to my breast and be back in bed within 15 minutes. And it was even easier when my babies were tiny and\u00a0sleeping next to me. Every minute of sleep counts and our overall well-being as mothers depends on getting enough rest.<\/p>\n
A 2011 research article published in\u00a0Clinical Lactation <\/em>(by\u00a0Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Zhen Cong, and Thomas W. Hale)<\/a>\u00a0found that on average, mothers who exclusively breastfeed get .31 more hours of sleep per night than mothers who exclusively formula feed. It doesn’t seem like much (a mere 18.5 minutes each night) but over the course of a single year, that amounts to more than 113 hours\u00a0of sleep!<\/p>\nLess Stress![\"running](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/running-wild.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nNot having to worry about anything more than pulling my boob out to feed my baby is so much less stressful than having to prepare\u00a0and<\/em> feed bottles or having to remember to bring bottles, worry about where I’m going to prepare them or how many I’ll need. Yes, breastfeeding means I have to take my baby with me most places I go but I kind of like my babies so it doesn’t bother me (definitely not saying that to mean formula feeding mommies don’t like their babies just that I personally would choose take my babies with me everywhere breastfeeding or not.)<\/p>\nThe same study referenced above also found that mothers who formula fed reported less energy and overall health than mothers who exclusively breastfed were\u00a050% more likely to experience\u00a0maternal depression.<\/p>\n
Time savings![\"bottle](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/bottle-clock.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nOne of the biggest perks of breastfeeding for me, has always been the time savings. I love that when baby is hungry (tired, hurt, fussy…) it takes me under a second to get him\/her on the breast. And while some babies, like my first, can take 30+ minutes to feed at the breast, others can finish in as little as 5-10 minutes. And though the same goes for formula fed babies, the preparation time doesn’t really change.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization offers a 19-step process for proper formula feeding (found here<\/a>) which includes cleaning, sanitizing, preparing and mixing the feed. Here’s my estimates for how long each step takes (some steps have been combined):<\/p>\nWash and dry hands: 30 seconds
\nWash and rinse a bottle: 1 minute
\nFill a pan of water and place bottle parts inside: 1 minute
\nCover and bring water to rolling boil: 5 minutes
\nClean and disinfect a work surface: 30 seconds
\nWash and dry hands: 30 seconds
\nBoil water (if not using ready-to-serve formula): 5 minutes
\nRead package instructions and dilution amounts: 1 minute
\nPour the correct amount of water (at a minimum of 70 degrees and cooled for no longer than 30 minutes) and the proper number of scoops of formula into the bottle: 1 minute
\nGently shake to mix: 30 seconds
\nCool the bottle to feeding temperature under cool running tap water: 1-3 minutes
\nDry bottle and test temperature: 30 seconds
\nFeed bottle to baby.<\/p>\n
That comes out to about 15 minutes per bottle (if you do one thing at a time vs. multi tasking). I realize a lot of mommies make multiple bottle at a time and skip a lot of these steps but even doing this process two times a day is a half hour spent preparing bottles which amounts to 182 hours over the first year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Choosing to breastfeed over formula feeding is a decision every mommy has to make for herself by weighing the pros and cons of each whenever possible (I realize it’s not always a choice for every mommy in every situation) but for me, I’m glad to have been able to breastfeed all of my children through self-weaning.<\/p>\n
What do you consider\u00a0the biggest benefit to breastfeeding?<\/em><\/h4>\nPin it!<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/h3>\nIt’s obvious that breastfeeding saves money because it’s basically free aside from the extra 500 calories mommies need a day. But what is the true cost of not<\/em> breastfeeding?<\/p>\n Kelly Mom estimates that a year of formula in 2016 costs between $816 and $3,164 (for formula only, not including the costs of bottles, water, cleaning supplies, etc.) and a 1999 research article showed that exclusively-formula fed babies accrue $331-$475 more in healthcare expenses over the first year than babies who were exclusively breastfed for as little as 3 months whereas a Kaiser Permanente study (in 1992-1993) showed that babies who were exclusively breastfed to 6 months had $1,435 less healthcare expenses than formula fed babies. (all data from kellymom.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n For mommies like me, that means a savings of $11,492 over my 4 children’s first years which is not at a small amount (based on the mid-prices of formula and healthcare costs).<\/p>\n No matter how we choose to feed our babies, being woken up in the middle of the night is inevitable. But one of the perks of breastfeeding for me is that I can wobble into baby’s room in the middle of the night, scoop him up to my breast and be back in bed within 15 minutes. And it was even easier when my babies were tiny and\u00a0sleeping next to me. Every minute of sleep counts and our overall well-being as mothers depends on getting enough rest.<\/p>\n A 2011 research article published in\u00a0Clinical Lactation <\/em>(by\u00a0Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Zhen Cong, and Thomas W. Hale)<\/a>\u00a0found that on average, mothers who exclusively breastfeed get .31 more hours of sleep per night than mothers who exclusively formula feed. It doesn’t seem like much (a mere 18.5 minutes each night) but over the course of a single year, that amounts to more than 113 hours\u00a0of sleep!<\/p>\n Not having to worry about anything more than pulling my boob out to feed my baby is so much less stressful than having to prepare\u00a0and<\/em> feed bottles or having to remember to bring bottles, worry about where I’m going to prepare them or how many I’ll need. Yes, breastfeeding means I have to take my baby with me most places I go but I kind of like my babies so it doesn’t bother me (definitely not saying that to mean formula feeding mommies don’t like their babies just that I personally would choose take my babies with me everywhere breastfeeding or not.)<\/p>\n The same study referenced above also found that mothers who formula fed reported less energy and overall health than mothers who exclusively breastfed were\u00a050% more likely to experience\u00a0maternal depression.<\/p>\n One of the biggest perks of breastfeeding for me, has always been the time savings. I love that when baby is hungry (tired, hurt, fussy…) it takes me under a second to get him\/her on the breast. And while some babies, like my first, can take 30+ minutes to feed at the breast, others can finish in as little as 5-10 minutes. And though the same goes for formula fed babies, the preparation time doesn’t really change.<\/p>\n The World Health Organization offers a 19-step process for proper formula feeding (found here<\/a>) which includes cleaning, sanitizing, preparing and mixing the feed. Here’s my estimates for how long each step takes (some steps have been combined):<\/p>\n Wash and dry hands: 30 seconds That comes out to about 15 minutes per bottle (if you do one thing at a time vs. multi tasking). I realize a lot of mommies make multiple bottle at a time and skip a lot of these steps but even doing this process two times a day is a half hour spent preparing bottles which amounts to 182 hours over the first year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Choosing to breastfeed over formula feeding is a decision every mommy has to make for herself by weighing the pros and cons of each whenever possible (I realize it’s not always a choice for every mommy in every situation) but for me, I’m glad to have been able to breastfeed all of my children through self-weaning.<\/p>\nMore sleep
<\/a><\/h3>\nLess Stress
<\/a><\/h3>\nTime savings
<\/a><\/h3>\n
\nWash and rinse a bottle: 1 minute
\nFill a pan of water and place bottle parts inside: 1 minute
\nCover and bring water to rolling boil: 5 minutes
\nClean and disinfect a work surface: 30 seconds
\nWash and dry hands: 30 seconds
\nBoil water (if not using ready-to-serve formula): 5 minutes
\nRead package instructions and dilution amounts: 1 minute
\nPour the correct amount of water (at a minimum of 70 degrees and cooled for no longer than 30 minutes) and the proper number of scoops of formula into the bottle: 1 minute
\nGently shake to mix: 30 seconds
\nCool the bottle to feeding temperature under cool running tap water: 1-3 minutes
\nDry bottle and test temperature: 30 seconds
\nFeed bottle to baby.<\/p>\nWhat do you consider\u00a0the biggest benefit to breastfeeding?<\/em><\/h4>\n
Pin it!<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/able-to-breastfeed-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"