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Budgeting for Baby >
The First Year |
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Nursing vs. Formula
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| Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is one
of many challenging decisions that expectant parents must make.
Health Canada promotes breastfeeding as the best method for feeding
infants, citing its numerous nutritional, immunological, and
emotional benefits. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends
breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of an infant’s
life. |
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| While breastfeeding is considered the best nutritional choice
for babies, there are other factors that may influence a new
mother’s decision on what to feed her baby. Health, lifestyle, and
personal comfort level will all play a role in a mother’s decision.
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| By investigating the advantages and disadvantages of
breastfeeding and formula feeding, you can make a decision that is
right for you and your baby. |
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Convenience
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| Both breastfeeding and formula feeding are convenient in their
own distinct ways. A nursing mother can run out the door for a day
of errands with her baby in tow and little else, without having to
prepare bottles before leaving, planning how many bottles her baby
will need, worrying about how she will keep them refrigerated while
away from home, or lugging quite a bit of gear around with her.
Wherever she and her baby go, she knows she will have food
available. For a nursing mother, there is no need to heat up bottles
in the middle of the night, or make a last minute run to the
supermarket for formula. |
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| Bottle feeding on the other hand, is convenient in that once
bottles are made up, the baby can be left to be fed by the father or
other caregiver. There is no need to schedule work around feeding
times, nor is it necessary to pump milk in advance. As well, a
mother who is bottle feeding doesn’t need to find a private place to
feed her baby when out, as a nursing mother might. |
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Health
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| Breast milk is nutritionally best for babies, with its
components of lactose, fat, and protein being perfectly tailored to
a babies needs. It tends to be easier for babies to digest, with
babies fed exclusively on breast milk having fewer problems with
constipation or diarrhoea. |
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| Breast milk is beneficial to a baby’s immune system by providing
barriers to infections (especially ear and respitory infections).
Antibodies (including white blood cells) that are passed from mother
to baby also aid in preventing serious illnesses, and are all-around
immune system enhancers for baby. |
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| Some studies have also shown that breastfeeding helps prevent
against obesity, as well as contributing to children with slightly
higher IQ’s. |
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| Modern formula (whether powder, liquid, or ready made) is
nutritionally comprehensive for your baby, and even contains some
vitamins not found in breast milk (which breast fed babies would
receive through supplements). Formula attempts to duplicate the
compounds in breast milk, with the addition of some nutrients such
as Vitamin D (which is not present in sufficient quantity in breast
milk – it is recommended that breast fed babes receive Vitamin D
supplements until they can consume vitamin- fortified food and milk
later in life).
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| As well, while a nursing mother may often wonder how much milk
her baby is getting, and if it is enough, bottle feeding eliminates
this uncertainty by allowing you to see just how much your baby has
eaten.
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Cost
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| Breast milk is free, with the added benefit of breast fed babies
generally falling sick less often then formula fed babies. Working
mothers of breast fed infants report taking less time off work to
care for sick children, and of spending less on medication. |
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| The cost of formula can quickly add up, and for babies that
require a specialty formula (to address allergies or food
sensitivities that sometimes develop), costs are even higher.
Powdered formula is usually least expensive, with liquid or
ready-to-go formula more costly. You can expect to pay about $1550
per year for formula alone. A supply of bottles, bottle liners, and
nipples would cost about $80-$120. |
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| In either case, extra accessories might be purchased to
supplement the bare necessities. Nursing mothers will probably also
purchase at least a few bottles for instances when they can’t breast
feed, and might invest in a breast pump. Nursing bras and pads would
be another expense (though these could be equivalent in cost to what
a woman would spend on regular bras during this period). Bottle
feeding mothers might want bottle warmers or thermometers for
heating formula. All these costs are additional that you should
consider. |
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Mother’s Diet
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| A mother who is breast feeding her baby will have to consider
her own diet when feeding her infant. Generally, mothers do not need
to take any special supplements while breast feeding, but they do
need to watch certain foods that they eat. Fish intake, as in
pregnancy, needs to be monitored – fish with high mercury content
need to be avoided, with limited consumption of fish with low
mercury levels. Some alcohol can be passed on to a baby though its
mothers milk, so mothers should wait at least two hours if they have
two or more drinks before feeding their baby. Medications taken by a
nursing mother may also be passed on to her baby, so medications
should be carefully monitored by a doctor, and some cannot be taken
while nursing. As well, caffeine in quantities over 300 milligrams
(that’s between 1- 3 cups of coffee) can irritate and cause
restlessness in infants - so some mothers may have to cut back on
their coffee intake. |
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| Mothers who formula feed their babies don’t need worry about
what they eat, drink, or any medication they take, being passed on
to their baby. |
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Time Commitment
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| Breast feeding is definitely a large time commitment. Babies
digest breast milk faster than formula, so breast fed babies need to
be fed more frequently. It may take some getting used to a baby’s
feeding schedule, and breastfeeding mothers might see returning to
work as a challenge. Still, breast milk can be pumped to be fed to
the baby later if the mother decides to go back to work, or for
times when she isn’t available. |
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Bonding with Baby
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| Child specialists believe that feeding is an important time for
bonding between parent and child, no matter the form that feeding
takes. Therefore, both breast and formula fed babies should have no
trouble bonding with their mothers. While many mothers find the
skin-to-skin contact beneficial, formula-fed infants have a greater
opportunity to be fed by both their father and their mother,
resulting in more bonding time for fathers. In either case, bonding
with your baby while feeding should be an enjoyable experience for
all involved.
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