Organically Inclined

This is probably the most frugal and green tip I can give! There is nothing more natural - and cheaper - than breastfeeding. And any mother can do it.

But first things first. Breastfeeding is the cheapest way to feed your baby. Period. It is estimated that families will spend over $1000 a year on formula and related costs alone. Add in extra money for doctor visits because formula fed babies are more prone to ear infections and food allergies and the cost goes up even more!

Breastfeeding is easy and way more convenient than bottle feeding. One mother I know couldn’t believe that I would nurse my baby. “Isn’t it a pain?” she asked. “Why don’t you bottle-feed?”

I don’t bottle feed, I told her, because I’m too lazy.

It’s way too much work to clean all those bottles, sterilize them, remember to carry them around with me, make up extras, buy the formula, and so on. I would way rather just sit on the couch and pull out a boob.

“Aren’t you then, like, attached to your baby all the time?” another mother asked me once. “Yes,” I replied, “but that was kind of the point of having her.”

I like being “attached” to my baby. I love babies, that’s why I had them. If I didn’t want to hang out with them all of the time, then I wouldn’t choose to have children. If there is anything I’ve learned over the years, it’s that babies soon grow up - too fast - and I need to cherish them, and cuddle them when they are small. Because when they are 15 they just look at me like I’m insane all of the time and talk about how they can’t wait to graduate and move out!

Breastfeeding also has a few other great benefits - like babies with higher IQs; lower cancer risks for both mom and baby; fewer food-related allergies; fewer ear infections; and leaner children longer in life.

Breastfeeding isn’t always easy. I nearly gave it up in the first week with my first born. The hospital gave him a bottle and a pacifier - and no one told me that my boobs would turn into rock-hard watermelons two days after I got home! It was so easy to nurse in the hospital without any milk in them yet. I had a full week of a crying baby and a frustrated postpartum me. It was awful. At one point I was pumping milk and giving it to him in a bottle because it was all he would take. Then, finally, my boobs settled down a bit and the baby figured it out and we happily nursed for the next 9 months or so.

And with each baby I have had some little issue - with my last baby (who is 6 months now), it was a crack so deep I thought they had relocated the Grand Canyon! But, from experience, I knew I had to just keep nursing…and we got through it. I wish I had had the Internet to refer to when I had my first. A site like breastfeeding.com or Mothering Magazine provide a wealth of information for the new or experienced mom.

Nursing, like anything else, can be frustrating at times. But the benefits far outweigh the downside. Babies should be nurtured and what better way to do that then to nurse them - and how great that it doesn’t cost a dime?

And - if you are - or you know of a new mom who needs a little help - email me, I’m happy to do what I can!