by D. Warnaar

Created on: November 05, 2008

For many women, breastfeeding is not an option for one reason or another and they must instead nourish their babies with formula. Although I had fully planned on breastfeeding my 3 month old son I wasn't able to despite many visits with a lactation consultant. I knew that not only was breastfeeding best for my baby, it was a free way to feed my baby. Still, I had to come to terms with having to use formula instead. I was shocked to learn how incredibly expensive the stuff is! Here are a few tips we use to save on the high cost of infant formula:

REGISTER WITH THE FORMULA MAKER'S WEBSITE

I happen to use Similac simply because it is what the hospital had given us when our son was born and he seemed to take fine to it. Similac's website has a place where you can register to receive coupons. By becoming a member of Similac's Strong Mom's club, they regularly mail me $5 off coupons. (From what I've seen Enfamil typically only sends $1 coupons.)

USE A BREAST PUMP

If you can't breastfeed due to a physical or medical reason, think about pumping your breast milk. Look into renting a medical grade breast pump from the hospital. I did this for the first two months and it only cost about $60 per month which is much less than the formula would have cost. I pumped about 3-5 times a day and only supplemented with formula. This helped save money for the first two months until we went to formula full-time.

INVEST IN A MEMBERSHIP TO COSTCO OR SAM'S CLUB

A 34 ounce container of formula runs around $27 at both of these clubs. Although the membership costs you around $50, consider that most places sell the same size container of formula for around $41. My son goes through 4 to 5 of the large containers a month so a membership is well worth the initial investment for how much you will save in the end. This is usually even cheaper than buying in bulk like you can on some websites.

JOIN YOUR LOCAL GROCERY'S BABY CLUB

Many groceries, such as Publix for example, offer a "Baby Club" which is free to join and which will entitle you to tons of coupons and special deals. I was surprised to find out that even formula goes on special sometimes so that is a good time to stock up.

ENLIST THE HELP OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Ask family or close friends to keep an eye out for coupons for the brand of formula you use. My aunt saves tons of Similac coupons for me and mails them to me regularly. If you know before you're baby comes that you plan to bottle-feed your baby, register for formula so friends or family have the option to purchase some for you as a shower gift.

FEED YOUR BABY MORE SPARINGLY IF HE'S STILL HUNGRY

If after a feeding your baby still seems hungry, just make an extra ounce or two. You many end up making several bottles this way, but if you make a 4 ounce bottle and your baby only eats one more ounce, then you just wasted 3 ounces of the liquid gold.

Finally, take heart and know that before you know it, you'll be adding solid food to your little one's diet and your formula costs will go down substantially!

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