Not to be the bearer of bad news, but all the people, magazines, and parenting tutorials touting how breastfeeding is free aren’t being exactly forthcoming with the entire story. Sure, the actual physical act of baby’s mouth to your boob is free as can be, but anyone who’s ever breastfed knows that it’s rarely so cut and dry as that. So, here’s the whole story on cost so that you can make the most informed decision possible and plan your budget.
Breastfeeding Isn’t Necessarily Free Folks
As a soon to be or new parent, you’ll get a lot of solicited and unsolicited advice. One of the most common surrounds how inexpensive the first year of a baby’s life is, “especially if you breastfeed.”
While it’s true that babies themselves don’t need that much in the first year and they can’t ask for all the stuff toddlers and teens do, the fact still remains that the first year can be challenging for you. Yes, breastfeeding is more than just about your baby. As one of the two-part equation, you have needs, too. Meeting those needs can be extremely challenging, especially for women who work outside the home or even venture outside the home as they lactate.
These challenges often lead new parents to utilize an array of products and services to help make life more livable as they breastfeed. That’s where your expense with breastfeeding comes in to play. Are these easements essential for breastfeeding? No, of course not. Women breastfed for centuries without modern products and services, but keep in mind that those same women didn’t have any of the other easements of modern life either.
If you want to take help to make the process easier and more efficient, then the bottom line will be that it’s not free. What help is available and what’s the cost?
Budgeting For Breastfeeding Tools
You may not need all these tools to help breastfeeding go smoothly, but since they can become quite costly, it’s worth knowing about them all so that you can budget and plan accordingly.
