A mum-of-two has told of how she is unable to formula-feed her baby amid the cost-of-living crisis, which has seen the price of infant milk soaring.
Kendall Platt, 36, has been forced to continue breastfeeding her youngest child, Elora, who is now eight months old, despite experiencing issues when doing so with her first child, Arwen, now 4.
As inflation rises, affecting the price of everything from formula to nappies, the mum has been left worrying about the future.
The mum-of-two from Berkshire, near Reading, said it wasn't just the cost of formula that had shot up - it was also pouches of baby food, gas and electricity.
“I could change to another brand of formula, but they’re all more expensive than they previously were as well," she added.
Kendall decided to begin formula-feeding baby Elora after running into issues with breastfeeding her first child.
She said: “I always knew that I was going to give her a bottle of formula because I knew that I wanted to share the load.
“Breastfeeding is very all-consuming, and I wanted her to be able to take a bottle, and for me not to have to pump in order to do that.
“So, once my milk came in, I was like ‘right, I’m ready to get her on some formula as well as on the boob milk.’”
While she still combination-feeds, Kendall has been forced to "pump" more often than she'd like – leaving her with less time and impacting her mental health.
The mindful gardening coach said: "While breastfeeding is seemingly free, it's only free if you don’t work for a living, because ultimately, that’s your time.
“And because I had to pump so much with my first daughter because we really struggled to get feeding established, it felt like I almost had a bit of trauma from pumping so much the first time around.
“I’m just getting to the point now where I would quite like a little bit of time to myself.
“From a work point of view, I’m very lucky that my husband does some of the childcare.
"So, when I’m working, he has the baby for the day, but I might be in the middle of doing something and he texts me “the baby needs a feed'."
“Luckily, I work from home but not all mums have that luxury."
Currently, Elora gets two formula bottles a day and is breastfed around three times a day.
Kendall said: "If we were to do all formula, it would be over doubling our cost per week.
“It doesn’t seem like a very sensible financial decision, given the cost of everything else as well.
To help with costs, the family has also ditched any extra luxuries, swapping meals out for homemade picnics and opting for free days out and nature adventures over expensive outings.
Kendall added: “If we go out, we might take a picnic and just be a little bit more conscious about saving the pennies where we can because ultimately, there’s not really much I can do.
"I’ve got to pay to feed my baby.
“I’m very lucky that I’m not in a position where I can’t afford to do that but I know there will be families who aren't.”
