Becoming a mommy comes with loads and loads of guilt. I had a hard time nursing Maggie and was only able to nurse her for about a month before I had to stop. Guilt inducing to say the least. I wanted to give her the best in life and nursing is the best for babies.
We had some free samples from the hospital of different kinds of formula. It ran out and we had to get more. Oh my gosh! That stuff was so expensive. I had gone to part time work and money was tight. We talked to Maggie's pediatrician, the BEST pediatrican ever, Dr. Lisa, and she told us that it was okay to use Parent's choice. It's the Wal*Mart brand of formula. It was literally half off from what name brand formulas cost. She said that it was the exact same thing as Enfamil or Similac. Maggie was growing fine and her doctor was pleased with her progress.
So, I felt okay with our decision. Tried to put the guilt of not nursing behind me, but I still had people question our decision to formula feed her and to use Wal*Mart brand formula,too. That's just what a new mom needs isn't it? More guilt from people!
The company was losing money and started using ad campaigns like this:
There are plenty of other ways to cut back on baby expenses than on your child's nutrition.
OR
It may be tempting to use a store brand formula, but only Enfamily promotes brain and eye development.
So, there was no need for the added guilt. There is no difference in store brand versus a name brand formula. We get Patrick's formula through WIC because he is a foster child. They only use name brand formula. I wonder why that is. Couldn't we save money by using store brand formulas? Maybe even serve more children by using store brand option. I wonder if it will change because of this case.
The moral of the story. No need for mommy guilt. We are doing our best. I think that it was important for me to be able to stay at home with Maggie on a part time basis and if that meant giving her store brand formula, that was the best decision for our family. I think she turned out fine.
3 comments:
Mother's intuition is best, esp. with the wisdom of her pediatrician. Good for you!
you don't know me...I'm Elizabeth's sister-in-law. saw your blog posting on formula and had to leave you a great big hug from one mommy to another. we have two and have had issues with mommy milk to. not from lack of trying...just didn't work. and the guilt of giving my babies formula was huge (especially with the first). but once we accepted it and were in the costs of formula i started researching. yes, Parent's Choice is just as good! so good for you! also, if you contact them via their website you can request a $3 coupon. you have to send them an email once every 30 days but you still can get a $3 coupon once a month. also, if you enroll with all the brands of formula with their various "programs" you'll start getting formula checks in the mail which you can use on small cans and get decent prices. this can come in really handy when you use a $5 formula check to buy the travel packs for the convenience when you're out and about. AND most of the "programs" will send you a free can at the get go. similac will send a free can of milk-based and soy-based. i usually keep the soy-based for after they've started solids as it makes for stinky poops. oh, even Parent's Choice will send you a one-day supply sample. sorry this is so long but i love sharing the money-saving knowledge with any mommy who may need it. so from one mommy to another have a wonderful day and may you have joy in your children!
Amen.
I think Maggie has turned out fine too. The Wal-mart formula obviously had no effect on her brain - at least the creative part!
Well, maybe the formula had something to do with her temporary refusal to write the letter "g" correctly... :)
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