Panic over formula shortage

mrstime

mrstime

Well-known Member
Location
BC,Canada
A baby formula display sits nearly empty at a Target store in Orlando.


A baby formula display sits nearly empty at a Target store in Orlando.
(CNN)Bryan Lambillotte knows the anxiety-induced hunt for baby formula all too well amid the ongoing national shortage.
He and his husband Chris are new parents to 2-month-old twins Brecon and London, who have been formula-fed since birth. The couple chose not to have their surrogate breastfeed them because they wanted the babies' diets to stay consistent.
Lambillotte has searched online retailers and manufacturers' websites for the formula instead of panic-driving store-to-store around San Diego. But by the time he gets to the check-out on most websites, the products are unavailable, he told CNN.

Gosh I remember making formula with canned milk, water and Karo syrup.
 

Baby formula is a fairly new development. Many people made baby milk in the past from various formulas usually using cows milk as its base. Do some research if you are in need. Many options exist, I bet your healthcare provider already has options to offer to you...
 
HoneyNut said:
I was cleaning out some really old boxes in my garage last night and found my baby information and that is exactly what they had my mom feed me. Sounds so unhealthy to feed karo syrup, but I guess we all survived it.
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Oddly enough the karo syrup was added so the baby would not get constipated.It wasn't a lot of problem I usually made it the night before, sterilizing the bottles then filling with the formula. Babies at about 4 months could go on regular cows milk. So it wasn't a big deal to us. Then the bottles as needed were warmed (we didn't have microwave ovens then) .
My youngest child is 61years old.
 
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Jules said:
Thatā€™s what I was raised on.
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Me too. Many years ago when my nephew was born he kept spitting up all his milk. An old doctor we all used told her "My God, mama get some whole milk, heat it up and feed that baby. She did and problem was solved. That baby is now a 6 foot tall 175 lb young man and still loves his milk. My mother would also start mashing up veggies and cornbread and would feed our babies when they were about 6 months old. They loved it and thrived on it. We had a hard time getting them to eat jarred baby food after they had the real thing.
 
Just saw an interview with a mother who's using recalled formula and hoping for the best. WTH? My kids had the evap milk/water/Karo formula and did just fine. Why aren't docs sharing this with parents? Why aren't grandparents sharing it with their grandchildren who are parents of new babies?

If it didn't harm our kids, it sure as heck won't harm theirs!

Tempest in a teapot (or a baby bottle).
 
mrstime said:
Gosh I remember making formula with canned milk, water and Karo syrup.
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Some doctors today (who were probably given the above as infants themselves) are scaring new parents about trying to make their own ....
Must be kick-back for them from the companies making baby formula.


Oh, and what happens when the throw-away baby diaper industry gets hit with shortages? .. There will be another panic!
Because I'm sure no one has ever heard of washable cloth diapers ....šŸ˜ƒ
 
My son needed the most expensive formula right out of the gate! He was allergic to everything it seemed, so his pediatrician recommended Probana. I guess by the time he could be off that he was able to drink regular milk. This must be scary for mothers with new babies. They say "necessity is the mother of invention". I'm sure they will find a way to feed their babies....they'd better. I saw on the news that it could be up to 18 weeks before shelves are stocked again.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
My son needed the most expensive formula right out of the gate! He was allergic to everything it seemed, so his pediatrician recommended Probana. I guess by the time he could be off that he was able to drink regular milk. This must be scary for mothers with new babies. They say "necessity is the mother of invention". I'm sure they will find a way to feed their babies....they'd better. I saw on the news that it could be up to 18 weeks before shelves are stocked again.
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I'm thinking that the 4 cans of formula I bought for the twins might be their last. They are over 6 months old now and ? maybe ? could be transitioned to cow's milk? I'll look into this and speak with my granddaughter. Okay, the Google search "diy baby formula 2022" brought up firm "NO's" from baby experts. As said by others here, doctors and formula makers would lose money. And lots of us old folks probably got homemade formula and thrived!

But, I did find this: "Is cow's milk a safe alternative to baby formula? This may be an option if your child is older than 6 months of age and is usually on regular formula (not a specialty product for allergies or other special health needs). In a pinch, you could feed them whole cow's milk for a brief period of time until the shortage is better. This is not ideal and should not become routine. However, it is a better option than diluting formula or making homemade formula. The most important concern with giving an infant over 6 months of age cow's milk is making sure they get enough iron. Be sure to include plenty of iron-containing solid foods in their diet while you are using whole cow's milk. You may also talk with your pediatrician about giving your baby an iron supplement." https://www.healthychildren.org/Eng...rtages-of-infant-formula-due-to-COVID-19.aspx
 
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Georgiagranny said:
Just saw an interview with a mother who's using recalled formula and hoping for the best. WTH? My kids had the evap milk/water/Karo formula and did just fine. Why aren't docs sharing this with parents? Why aren't grandparents sharing it with their grandchildren who are parents of new babies?

If it didn't harm our kids, it sure as heck won't harm theirs!

Tempest in a teapot (or a baby bottle).
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Since when do young people today pay ANY attention to their elders? And docs would lose money.
 
Bonnie said:
Some doctors today (who were probably given the above as infants themselves) are scaring new parents about trying to make their own ....
Must be kick-back for them from the companies making baby formula.


Oh, and what happens when the throw-away baby diaper industry gets hit with shortages? .. There will be another panic!
Because I'm sure no one has ever heard of washable cloth diapers ....šŸ˜ƒ
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Yep all we had were cloth diapers, lots of washing to do.
 
Bonnie said:
Some doctors today (who were probably given the above as infants themselves) are scaring new parents about trying to make their own ....
Must be kick-back for them from the companies making baby formula.
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It's because the CDC advises against giving babies Karo syrup. I think that's stupid, but I didn't go read the studies or their reasons. I'm pretty sure it's because Karo is corn syrup, but I don't know if there were studies showing what harm it can do.

But anyway, that's why doctors advise against it...because the CDC does.
 
A shortage of formula is going to be a challenge for foster parents who take infants. Sacramento's Child Protective Services was ok with me picking up donated breast-milk for Paxton, but I bet not all states and counties are ok with it, due to ignorance. And you can be sure they won't be ok with home-made formula that contains Karo syrup.
 
Jules said:
The old recipe calling for Karo was probably too much. I see some other recipes suggest 2T blackstrap molasses.

These may not be ideal but are they that much lesser value than the formula.
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Paxton couldn't handle formula. It caused tummy aches and he cried A LOT! That's why I looked into breast-milk donors. I couldn't believe how much of it was available...and for FREE! And he did super on it; stopped crying, he grew like a weed. He was one happy baby.

The only issue was, he didn't like the milk that was from a woman who immigrated from Argentina. I assume he didn't like her diet, but since I couldn't be sure that was the problem, I didn't want to re-donate...I had to throw it all out. :(
 
Murrmurr said:
Paxton couldn't handle formula. It caused tummy aches and he cried A LOT! That's why I looked into breast-milk donors. I couldn't believe how much of it was available...and for FREE! And he did super on it; stopped crying, he grew like a weed. He was one happy baby.

The only issue was, he didn't like the milk that was from a woman who immigrated from Argentina. I assume he didn't like her diet, but since I couldn't be sure that was the problem, I didn't want to re-donate...I had to throw it all out. :(
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Interesting.....
Paxton may have had, or still has, lactose intolerance or even a casein allergy....Argentina is a big dairy and beef country.
 
RadishRose said:
Interesting.....
Paxton may have had, or still has, lactose intolerance or even a casein allergy....Argentina is a big dairy and beef country.
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Yeah, I think you're right. He could handle regular milk when he was a toddler, though, so I supposed it was either a temporary allergy or his digestive system was a bit underdeveloped. Not inconceivable since his mother was a drug addict.
 

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