Pumping vs. Formula Cost Comparison

[This is a follow-up to my previous post: Pumping vs. Formula Cost Comparison Infographic]

My last post was meant to demonstrate how pumping compares to formula feeding in terms of cost. And, although I received quite a bit of positive feedback (thanks ladies!), many of you pointed out that numerous pumping-related expenses were not included in the infographic. This got me thinking…

I, too, have quite a number of expenses that I did not include in the infographic. I chose not to include them, because I believed those expenses were unique to my pumping situation. At first, I thought it would not be beneficial to include expenses that do not apply to every (or at least most) pumping moms; however, after further consideration, I have come to the following conclusions:

Based on your feedback, it appears that the infographic does hold true for many of you, but that for the majority of you, numerous expenses are missing.
Since every pumping mom is different, it is difficult to capture what a “typical” pumping mom’s expenses would be. (Not every mom produces enough to freeze extra milk, some require help from a lactation consultant, some go through several sizes of breast shields before they land on the correct size, the list goes on).
Ultimately, there is no way to know how much you will spend as a pumping mom, until you actually spend it.

I have therefore decided that in this entry I will break down every single expense I have made since I started exclusively pumping. Although this may not (almost certainly will not) apply to you 100%, it will give you an idea of the type of expenses you might have as an exclusive pumper. Before I begin, there are a few notations I’d like to make:

My calculations below are spread out over a 12-month period.
Child #2 is theoretical. If my husband and I have a second child, many of the one-time expenses we had for our first child will not apply. (Pumping for a second child would therefore be less costly.)
Some women are given their pump for free from their insurance company. I received my pump as a gift, so technically I did not spend my own money on it. I still considered it an expense in my calculation.
I excluded all bottle-related expenses, as they are the same for both pumping and formula-feeding.
I haven’t needed/tried the following, and therefore did not include them in my expenses: A Lactation Consultant, Domperidone, Lecithin, Blessed Thistle, Pumping Pals, and more than one breast shield size.
The following may differ for everyone: Freezer size/cost, electricity costs, brand of freezer bags, and brand of prenatal vitamins.
My formula calculation assumes that there is no waste. Since formula has a shorter shelf-life than fresh/refrigerated breast milk, there is a greater chance of waste when using formula, (which means cost of formula may be slightly higher).
Other (non-calculable) costs of exclusively pumping: Time, emotional, physical…
Other (non-calculable) benefits of exclusively pumping: Health benefits (potentially fewer visits to the doctor).

And finally, I’d like to make a disclaimer. When I began pumping, I was under the impression that it would be a LOT less expensive to pump than to formula-feed. This was definitely a factor in my decision to pump. After calculating all of my expenses, I discovered that pumping has actually cost me more than formula-feeding would have (even more than the most expensive formula out there!) This has led me to a few thoughts that I’d like to share:

I do not regret my decision for a second. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to provide the absolute best for my son, and if I could go back in time and switch to formula from the very beginning (to save money), I wouldn’t.
There are things I would probably do differently. I’ll save that for another entry.
Although I may very well have ended up here anyway, I do feel that I was slightly misled by what I was reading about pumping before I began. There seems to be a widespread belief that breast milk is the cheaper option, whether it’s from breastfeeding, or from pumping. I’m not so sure that’s the case. It may very well be the case for some women (namely, those who do not have to freeze excess milk), but I’m not sure those women are in the majority (maybe they are, I hope that someday, research is done on this).
I hope that this blog post will clear up some of the misleading information that’s out there at the moment. I will also be adding a disclaimer to my last post so that readers know up-front not to assume they fit into the category of EPer that the infographic applies to.

And now for a tally of my pumping expenses (thus far), and a breakdown of how I got there.