The Costs of EPing - Heather

It's pretty easy to calculate the costs of formula feeding, and there are very few costs that go into exclusively breast feeding. So where does pumping fall on the spectrum? We've asked several of our pumping moms to add up their expenses and explain - here's Heather's breakdown:


I'm not rich, but I spent pretty freely in order to make things easy on myself (second pump & bustier for work, lots of extra bottles & breastshields), and I never regretted it. Here's an estimate of what I spent for 6 months of EPing:

New PISA: $220 (used my target registry completer coupon (10%), $20 off coupon, & Redcard discount, and bought it on sale)

Starter kit of tubing, breastshields, valves, membranes, and bottles - free when they started me pumping in the hospital (I'm sure they charged my insurance, and at that point I had great insurance. Now...not so much). Since I used a Medela Symphony in the hospital, all the parts were compatible with my PISA when I got home.

Used PISA: $70 included lots of bottles and breastshields - bought at around 3 months for use at work

Extra set of membranes : $10

Replacement tubes for 2nd hand pump, plus extra set "just in case": $10

2X Simple Wishes bustier: $60

500 storage bags (started with medela, then went to lanisoh): $120

4x breast pump accessory kit - $100 (4 x 4 oz bottles + 2 sets of pump parts in each)

3X 12pk of 2.5 oz bottles (we still mainly use these) - $45

3X 3pkg of 8oz bottles (needed to pump into these when I was at my top production) - $60

2 pkgs of breast pads - $20

lanolin (I could have gotten by with just the samples from the hospital, oh well) - $10

I was gifted a nursing cover, and a Medela feeding accessory kit that had a couple sizes of bottles.

Total: $725

I could have definitely gotten away with much less, but it was worth it to not have to do dishes all the time or lug a 2nd pump back & forth to work. And I plan to keep all the bottles and parts if we have another kid. I still have an unopened set of tubes, an almost full lanolin, and a lot of breastpads too (though I'm using way more of them now that I'm weaning than when I was EPing). We're using the same bottles as we introduce formula.

If I had to do it over again, I would have bought off brand bottles for the bigger sizes. I love the 2.5 oz Medela "tubes", and they were the cornerstone of my breastmilk organizational system (I will hopefully post on that eventually), but for the 4 oz and 8 oz I hear the Gerber bottles attach to the Medela pumps just as well, and they are a fraction of the cost. Also, I was offered a second hand Medela while I was pregnant and turned my nose up at it, having read too many mommyblogs I think...while it is true that the PISA is not a closed system pump, I decided after watching my "new" pump closely for three months that the chances of milk getting into the motor in the first place were slim, the chances of that milk containing a virus or bacteria was slimmer, and the chance of it living outside the body then somehow getting back out into my milk was minute. Not everyone would agree, and I am NOT a scientist or giving you advice (DON'T SUE ME! I HAVE NOTHING OF VALUE ANYWAYS!)but I would be/was fine with a second hand pump in the end...and funny enough, it was my NEW pump that had a problem (though Medela overnighted me a replacement away, their customer service was WONDERFUL), but it was GREAT to have a back up in the meantime.

A savings you might not think about - formula & formula spit up stains, breast milk doesn't. In the couple weeks we've started moving to formula, we've already ruined 2 outfits for her, and who knows what else for us (I might be a bit behind on my own laundry...) So the longer you EP the longer you prevent that problem too :)

Items are hyperlinked for your convenience only, I receive no benefit from Amazon, Target, or the manufacturers of items listed above. I'm merely telling you what I used, and what I spent so you can make your own decisions.