Do you keep formula on hand just in case? - Page 4

[buckeyedoc]

I never kept formula in the house and won't do it this time, but I always did have a giant freezer stash of EBM because I work outside the home and pump during the day. I started building a little stash by pumping every day or two once the babies were a week or two old, usually in the morning after a breastfeeding session so that there was some extra milk available. Once I went back to work, I would generally get a little extra every day and add that to the freezer.

I do recall having an awful time getting DS#1 to breastfeed (took about 3 months to really get the latch right and get rid of thrush) and going out on my porch to find a big box of formula that came in the mail sitting there like a message from God or something. Grrrr. I donated it so I wouldn't be tempted.

[Ambyrkatt]

Nope, we've never had formula in our house either. I don't see the point. If you are determined to breastfeed, then having it around it a bad I idea. Like many others, we did have a stash of BM in the freezer, but we rarely ever touched it.

[WindyCityMom]

No, I keep a freezer stash on hand just in case.

[feminist~mama]

We have the free can. We kept it for natural disaster type scenario.

I really hope we never need it, for many reasons! I have over 100 ounces of EBM in the freezer too, so it's not likely to be necessary.

[KatWozBlue]

I keep the free can I get as a sample, it doesn't tempt me at all, so its no biggie to have it in the house.

When my son was 4 months old (6 years ago), my father suffered a heart attack and ended up having open heart surgery, and because my stepmother was out of the country, I was with him in the hospital for three days (7 to 7) and though I had bm frozen in the freezer, it wasn't a lot, so he did have to take a couple feedings of formula the first day while I pumped at the hospital. It happened so quickly that there wasn't enough time to get a bunch ready. I was upset about it, but my father needed me and he had no one else. Once I pumped that first day, we didn't have to touch any more formula, but it was a godsend to have some on hand.

my father ended up recovering :-)

[triscuitsmom]

I believe I have had formula in my house three times... and all three times they were samples sent to someone else in my circle of friends who weren't going to use it so they gave it to me to pass on it someone who was already formula feeding.

So the answer for me would be no. I don't keep drugs/medical supplies (which is how I view formula for me, I'd only use it in the presence of a medical condition) I am unlikely to ever need on hand, I will go and get them if and when they became necessary and otherwise there is no point.

[hapi2help]

This past Friday morning at 730 am I was nursing my 3 week old and at 9 am I was being transported by ambulance to the er. I kept a "just in case" formula sample, something never needed in 2 years of bfing my DS, in the pantry. As I was being rushed out the door I could tell my gf were it was. I had not started a freezer supple as we were having oversupply issues so pumping was not happening.

I am having to pump and dump now too so thank goodness I have another option.
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[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by hapi2help

I am having to pump and dump now too so thank goodness I have another option.
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So sorry to hear of your emergency hospitalization! Just want to make sure that you know that it is very rare that moms need to pump and dump. Very few medications are not compatible with breastfeeding (radioactive treatments, chemotherapy, and lithium if baby is not being monitored are the few that I can think of off the top of my head.)

You may not have had time to check your medications with an IBCLC or Hale's Medications and Mother's Milk. If this is the case and you post here we can check for you. I'd hate for you to be pumping and dumping unnecessarily.

Feel better soon!

[rightkindofme]

Nope, never have. I would be calling every nursing mother I know and asking them for help before using formula.

[hapi2help]

I am full of radioactive material and do not feel comfortable passing that one. I know and love hale.
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[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by hapi2help

I am full of radioactive material and do not feel comfortable passing that one. I know and love hale.
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Wishing you a speedy recovery.