This week is National Breastfeeding Week which is a celebration of nursing and its health benefits for mother and child. Completely unrelated to NBW, I had two separate conversations about breastfeeding yesterday with two friends who couldn’t be farther apart on the issue. It made me happy that I have such diverse friends who aren’t afraid to discuss hot topics.
Both of these people asked me how breastfeeding with Penny was going, and whether or not I liked it. Frankly, I went into motherhood pretty blase about breastfeeding, and I continue to be blase about it. I choose to breastfeed because A) Penny took to it really easily, B) I like the research behind breastmilk building a stronger immune system, and C) it’s cheaper (probably my most compelling reason, honestly)!
I’m all about people who are breastfeeding advocates, and completely understand why they are. I’m also all about women who choose to formula feed because of the many logical reasons they choose to. For me, it’s all about the cash money.
The more I started to think about it, the more I realized most of my mothering decisions so far have had to do with my thrifty New England spirit. For instance, I’m cloth diapering because I love how it is better for the environment, but I’m also doing it because the average home spends $50-75 a month on disposable diapers. Because of my very generous friends, all 16 of my cloth diapers were given to me, without me spending a dime on diapering. I’ve realized I need to pick up a few more, but with some giftcards that I’ve been given, I think I might only wind up shelling out $20 or so to round out my supply. Pretty incredible when you think that Penny can wear these same diapers until she’s potty trained. And then I can reuse them for future kids. When you add it up, that’s a hefty savings!
(I did have a higher water bill in July, probably from doing a load of diapers every day. Which is all the more reason for me to get more diapers since 14 dirty dipes is only a half load in my washing machine.)
Well if I’m not a hyper breastfeeding advocate, why am I a hyper natural childbirthing advocate? A lot of this, again, comes down to money. We just got the bills from my C-section and hospital stay which added up to a whopping $30,000. Fortunately, because of Matt’s fairly comprehensive employer-sponsored healthcare we only have to pay about 15% of the total bill for my care, Penny’s nursery stay and her EKGs. But $30,000 as opposed to $2,000 for a natural delivery? Why would anyone choose the former if they didn’t have to?
What it all comes down to is that Penny (who is currently wearing some cute, and free! hand-me-downs) won’t be carrying a cell phone in Elementary school not because I have issues with it (although I do), but because I’m too cheap to buy her one. And perhaps all the money that I’ll save by handling her poopy cloth diapers for all those years will make it possible to build that Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired house in the Tennessee countryside that I was sketching out earlier today.
What’s the driving factor behind your parenting decisions? Whatever will keep your kid from life behind bars? Whatever prevents you from being blamed in 10 years of therapy once they’re adults? Or are you just cheap like me?
August 5th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
Cheap was always a bonus for me. But the diapers and breastfeeding and then making the babyfood (seriously cook and blend, freeze in icecube trays) were primarily driven because I went insanely crunchy mama when pregnant. I blame the hormones. I mean, I made the cloth diapers lol.
At one point I was doing so much freecycling and used shopping that my husband asked if V was ever going to have anything new. I’d rather put the money in her education fund than at Gymbo.
August 5th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
i think the frugal mennonites could give new englanders a run for their money.
i’d like to think that a lot of my parenting decisions come from the fact that they are natural or provide the best, nurturing environment, but i am definitely strongly influenced by an underlying thriftiness and practicality. such as, why in the world would i actually buy baby food, or even make and freeze it when i can just grind up whatever i’m eating?
but, $30,000 for a c-section?! mine was barely half of that! and a vaginal hospital birth here is only a couple of thousand less. (maybe a lot less without any meds) to be honest, while my ideal birth is an unmedicated natural one, it is my practicality that has me scheduling another section for this baby instead of attempting a VBAC. but you better believe that this one will be wearing just as many hand-me-downs as alex and penny! (and hopefully as many cloth dipes as p!)
August 5th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
also, happy NBW! i’m so glad that breastfeeding is working well for you! that is probably the one thing i was passionate about when i entered motherhood – i used to have dreams about BFing before getting pregnant was even on the horizon! of course, i might not have believed anyone who told me i would still be nursing a two-year-old at least once a day while seven months pregnant, but that how our journey has progressed…
and to the previous commenter – i have a lot of admiration for cooking and freezing your own baby food – i was just too lazy to do it more than once or twice!
August 10th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
amyjoy, the mennonites totally kick new englanders’ butts in thriftiness. i also love the idea of just grinding up whatever you’re eating and having your bebe eat the same thing. i never want to get into the habit of making a separate meal for penny.
has the nursing while pregnant been exhausting on you, or enjoyable? i’ve heard women who have felt both of those.
August 17th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
oops, i just saw your responding comment now! (crazy week here.) nursing has been ok, but i’m ready for it to be done. i think that as of this weekend, it might be over, but i’m not quite sure. i kept hoping she would wean herself when my milk changed, but that didn’t happen. it’s hard to say if it was exhausting, because i seem to be really exhausted with pregnancy overall.