My friend, M, who I met in the NICU, has lots of issues with her daughter, M.
I think she sees the physio, occupational therapist, speech therapist, dietician, normal paed and a neurologist on a regular basis. She's the one who had 11 appts in a 3-week period last month.
Baby M sees the same dietician that we saw - not surprising as we're with the same paed.
Anyway, so I phoned (!) her and asked her where the best place was to get the Pediasure/ Nutrigen.
She said either Baby City or Dischem.
On Saturday all of us set out to a shopping centre to buy this stuff.
Baby City only had Pediasure in 400 and 900g cans, no Nutrigen.
So off to Dischem (ginormous pharmacy franchise) and they had both. The nutrigen was 79% of the price (when I'm exact like this, I think of MandyH :)) of the Pediasure so I took everything on the shelf.
All 12 cans.
12 400g cans @ R75 a can = R900
Can number 1 lasted until today after morning cereals.
2.5 days.
I then divided 2.5 into a 30-day month and that comes to .... 12 cans.
Pure coincidence.
But what this means is that in a good month, we'll spend R900 on Nutrigen (which, please note, is the cheaper option).
In our worst days of buying formula for the babies, we never spent more than R765 (I checked my spreadsheet :)) and we got 20% back on our credit card the following month, which will not happen now since this is not a partner store.
So I'm freaking out a bit. At the cost and at all the cans littering my kitchen!
Is it bad to give them the Nutrigen in their bottles and still use normal milk for their cereals? I may save about R300...
We were using 1 L full cream milk a day which works out to R240 for the month. So you can see why I'm freaking out at R900!
What do you spend on milk for your baby (ies) in a month?
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Try don't think about the money, just think about children fighting off illnesses better (meaning less doctors' visits) because they're full of all the extra vitamins and calories. As you know I have absolutely no idea what we spend on anything but I did breastfeed both of mine till 7 months, so reckon I saved a lot by doing that. I would think it's fine to use normal milk in their cereal as long as they're drinking whatever amount they need of the formula per day.
ReplyDeleteMarcia, my paed said that we do not need to totally put him on paediasure or the such. Just give him about 2 spoons inside his normal milk twice a day for a boost. Do you not think she is taking this a bit too far?
ReplyDeleteSjoe...R900 is a lot. I had no idea those formula's cost that much. What about just using a follow-on formula like Nido?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cat. Just put them on it partially and continue to use the cow milk in their porridge.
I will email her - pronto! :)
ReplyDeleteKatherine, I have to think about money - we are signing new unit trust applications next week for their education...
ReplyDeleteOh my word...I did not realise how much babies cost. I hope you can partially put him on it as Cat suggests.
ReplyDeleteI love that you thought of me!!
ReplyDeleteI would just use milk in their cereal. They aren't getting that much from their cereal and it will save you a bundle. Although if what they are getting in their cereal you're counting towards their daily total, then you're going to have to give them more in their bottle and you're not really saving then.
If it's any consolation, I spent about 800 rand on milk for your house each month. We have an appointment next week and I fear that the girls aren't gaining and we will have to go on Pediasure too. I know here there are always coupons in the paper and you can order it online for less than it is in the store. Is that an option there?
Honestly this is why I can't feed my 16 month old PediaSure, for extra nutrition. It actually cost MORE than her hypoallergenic ALimentum formula. No way am I going to spend $10 per child on formula/pediasure per day ALONE, not including real food.
ReplyDeleteHow much is R900 in Canadian or US dollars, do you know?
ReplyDeleteIt makes a Mom feel fortunate when their children don't have problem gaining and maintaining their weight! I know I am! Bless your heart! I hope you can get it all figured out soon.
ReplyDeletenicola wa on Isomil for the first year...that's R120 a tin, more or less 4-5 tins a month.
ReplyDeleteNow she's on regular milk and I buy a 2lt every second or third day.
Indeed Pediasure is expensive. I tried it after the paed recommended it for my daughter and it was worth every cent. She got back on track after loosing weight as she had been sick for a month.
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