Baby Formula In Bulk For Cheaper Price?

[2Na]

Hi all,

Don't call me stingy, but if I am already going to buy the formula milk, then why not check if there is a way to shave off the price a little?

Is there a way to buy it bulk?

or coupons or something like that?

now we are just looking at what they like, either enfalac or isomilk, but open to suggestions.

Thanks

[BuddhistDruid]

Congratulations on your twins. Nobody will call you stingy for wanting to save money. Having 12 month old twins myself, I can tell you that you will need every baht you can save. From milk to medical bills, you have an expensive road ahead of you, and being frugal just makes sense.

Sadly, I have never found any cheaper way to purchase infant formula #1 than to simply buy it in the 3 packs at Lotus/Big C. You will find the prices are nearly identical between the two. Makro is slightly cheaper (about 50 baht on 1200 baht box of S26 gold), but if you get a Lotus credit card you can save 2% and get basically the same price. If you don't have or can't get a credit card though, Makro is slightly cheaper than the other stores.

Nobody sells it in bulk cheaper, because they don't have to. You have no choice. You are going to buy it anyway. You won't start seeing deals and specials until formula #3, when the kids are old enough that milk is no longer necessary.

Of course, one of the best ways to reduce your costs may be to consider breast feeding. This can be difficult with twins, but domperidone is quite successful in increasing lactation in many circumstances. Do some searches on it. If you are completely unable to produce milk, you may wish to post a message on this forum:

http://www.breastfeedingthai.com/

There are many women there who donate their excess breast milk for free, and it is a great way to meet some genuinely nice people in Bangkok. We managed to breastfeed our babies for the first 4 months thanks to the generosity of these women. Then we finally switched permanently to formula.

One thing I would caution you on is the idea of switching back and forth between breast milk and formula. This can cause many issues of constipation in very young babies. We found with our twins that we needed to stay entirely with one kind of milk or the other.

We found that we needed a budget of around 9000 baht a month to afford Pampers and formula for our twins once we switched to full time formula. You'll get a small break after you switch to forumla #2, but you can't even consider that until 6 months, and our babies couldn't handle it reliably until 9.

I wish I could give you better advice, but we didn't find any better options.

[2Na]

Thank you for the reply, I guessed I was not the only one out there.

Unfortunately, I cannot produce breastmilk, if I could, I would fill up tanks of it, but I am the father, so I can be forgiven.

My wife does breastfeed, but it is very hard to do both, esp. at start while the amount is insufficient.

My wife takes Mutillium, which is the the trade name for Domperidone , and she sees an increase on the milk amount.

What about diapers, that cannot be bought in bulk as well?

Time for a groupon kind of website to pickup the glove and get us crowd discounts for baby needs?

As for your idea of having milk from other women, does that milk get pasteurized? does those women go through medical tests?

I see their good will in this, but I am not sure about the health risks that it can bring, don't you think?

[BuddhistDruid]

As for your idea of having milk from other women, does that milk get pasteurized? does those women go through medical tests?

I see their good will in this, but I am not sure about the health risks that it can bring, don't you think?

No. This is strictly voluntary. You meet the parents. You see that they are feeding this milk to their own children who appear healthy. If you have any doubts you don't have to accept the donation. There is a risk, but there is also a risk in feeding an infant formula. Study after study has shown feeding formula instead of breast milk results in everything from an increase in SIDS to increased possibility of respiratory infections to reduced cognitive abilities. So you have to decide for yourself which issues you believe are more important. They do ask the mothers not to donate if they have any known conditions such as HIV, and you would have to be a pretty sadistic parent to knowingly pass tainted milk to someone. So you are really only worried about a subgroup of people who may have an issue and don't know it. I think this is a vanishingly small number.

As I said, in our case we found we could not supplement with formula. It had to be entirely breast milk or entirely formula. Switching back and forth caused the babies to become constipated. We originally wanted to breastfeed until at least 6 months, but decided after 4 months that we would change to formula. Both of my children have since been hospitalized for bronchial infections. Would a longer stint on breast milk have reduced the likelihood of this? I can only wonder. It is not an uncommon problem with children so really difficult to say. But I made the best decision I thought I could at the time.

This is just something that you need to decide for yourself. If you are uncomfortable with it, then I would recommend not participating. But it is an option. It will certainly reduce your costs, and there are health benefits for your children.

As for Pampers, I find you simply need to watch the sales. The stores regularly have buy 2, get 1 free sales. We stock up when they do. Don't be afraid to buy out the shelf. If anyone looks at you funny, just smile at them and say "fah faet". They generally smile back and happily ring up your order.

[dave111223]

I wouldn't buy formula in bulk (at least not more than a few of the 3 bag boxes) because you never know how long the babies are going to be able to drink that specific brand.

Let's say they start crapping 8 times a day and doctor tells you to start using a lactose-free brand; what you gonna do with the years supply of the other stuff in the cupboard?

[2Na]

I wouldn't buy formula in bulk (at least not more than a few of the 3 bag boxes) because you never know how long the babies are going to be able to drink that specific brand.

Let's say they start crapping 8 times a day and doctor tells you to start using a lactose-free brand; what you gonna do with the years supply of the other stuff in the cupboard?

try to sell it on Thai visa classifieds?

but you bring up a good idea which I did not thought about. thank you.

[dave111223]

try to sell it on Thai visa classifieds?

but you bring up a good idea which I did not thought about. thank you.

I trust your joking; I pity the person who would trust their baby's healthy to an online classifieds.

[2Na]

try to sell it on Thai visa classifieds?

but you bring up a good idea which I did not thought about. thank you.

I trust your joking; I pity the person who would trust their baby's healthy to an online classifieds.

I was, but what's the difference between buying a sealed box online than from any store, any where around the world?

In my country, there was a big story a few years ago, about a certain retail outlet that changed used to cheat their customers about the expire date of some products.

I don't mind buying online baby stuff, I bought 2 beds, which are also quite important to the health of my children.

Of course I will check who the seller is and what is the story, but, I don't see a problem with buying the milk online (maybe from more respected websites than ThaiVisa?)

[dave111223]

I was, but what's the difference between buying a sealed box online than from any store, any where around the world?

Suppose you don't mind a bit of Melamine in it then? If so I bet you could get a really good deal on shipping some big cases of formula over from China.

Edited July 14, 2011 by dave111223