WIC gives formula after a year but cuts off the bf'ing package????

[waiting2bemommy]

So, I know that this is not all that serious is the grand scheme of things, but no one I know IRL has made it past 6 months bf'ing, so i am getting funny looks when i complain about this. I know you all will understand.

Ds is coming up on 1 year old. Right now we are getting milk, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, beans, carrots, juice, and cereal. i donate the infant cereal to a women's shelter because we don't use it, but everything else I find immensely helpful. Well, come December, I will no longer qualify for the bf'ing package because ds will be 1 year old. I told her that he is still nursing 6-7 times a day at least, with no sign of slowing down, let alone weaning by 1 year. Her reply? "you can switch him to a sippy of whole milk if you want, but we don't provide food for the moms after 1 yr." I know that this is true but it just irks me that some of the moms whose kids are FTT for example are still getting formula past the 1 year mark because it's deemed necessary. Not that i begrudge them that help. but it sucks for me. My new food package will be juice, cereal, milk & eggs. woohoo.

Oh, and on a side note: if i get one more package of toddler formula in the mail, I'm gonna barf. :

[Momily]

Do they provide formula for kids over a year who don't have a medical reason for getting it?

[waiting2bemommy]

Originally Posted by Momily

Do they provide formula for kids over a year who don't have a medical reason for getting it?

supposedly they don't, but I have heard anecdotally that it is fairly easy to get....you don't necessarily even need a doctor's note, just a skinny kid, low iron at the checkup, etc. And they seem to always have extra formula at the one I go to....

[Momily]

I wonder if they'd provide the breastfeeding package if your child was FTT by their loose definition -- to me that might be reasonable.

[waiting2bemommy]

Originally Posted by Momily

I wonder if they'd provide the breastfeeding package if your child was FTT by their loose definition -- to me that might be reasonable.

unfortunately ds is over 20 lbs and is almost walking, obviously stocky, so it wouldn' work for me, but that is actually a great idea that I hadn't even considered. how could they argue with that?

[2lilsweetfoxes]

Last place I lived where I got WIC for my kids was Oklahoma. They cut off my breastfeeding package at six months! All I got until ds was a year old was infant juice and cereal. Luckily, my daughter was also on it and we got her the full food package.

[Freefromitall]

When I FF ds(serious supply issues, and lack of support no flames please) his formula didn't go past a year.

[Ruthla]

When I was on WIC, both formula and "breastfeeding moms package" ends at 12mo. Sometimes you can get another week or two out of it if it's timed just right (say, get the BF package for the whole month of November even though he turns one in the middle of the month.)

They do NOT provide formula for 12mo babies, only whole milk. The moms who were slowly switching from formula to milk by mixing the two together and transitioning to more whole milk, were doing so with extra formula they got from the dr's office or that they'd purchased themselves. My WIC office doesn't actually provide the formula; they give out vouchers to use at the grocery store.

They did offer pediasure to some toddlers in place of the whole milk- I have not heard of a single case where they'd offer infant formula to toddlers. Although I guess they might for a FTT toddler with a dairy allergy and a dr's note prescribing a specific formula.

[kriket]

I try not to complain about free things.

They will still cover your child until they are 5 (in my state) as long as you qualify.

[Irishmommy]

Originally Posted by Momily

I wonder if they'd provide the breastfeeding package if your child was FTT by their loose definition -- to me that might be reasonable.

Originally Posted by waiting2bemommy

unfortunately ds is over 20 lbs and is almost walking, obviously stocky, so it wouldn' work for me, but that is actually a great idea that I hadn't even considered. how could they argue with that?

They'd probably tell you to ff in that case.

[RoadWorkAhead]

To get my DD's medically necessary, over 1 formula each month from WIC, I have to a) go in person every single month without fail, b) provide detailed documentation at a minimum every 6 months, but normally every 4-5 months that comes from a Dr. based 5 hours away from home. Its not easy to get formula past one year, and typically formula for the over 1 crowd and the FTT crowd is non-contract issued so it requires the additional justification for not bieng a contract formula. Its not easy in the slightest! If it weren't for the 10 cans of ridiculously expensive formula each month (Think 600$ from our HHC), I'd have given up on the effort long ago.

[3pink1blue]

My DD (15 months) needs formula for medical reasons, and we can't get it from WIC. THey cut it off at 12 months. I had to fight them for soy milk even though all of us (myself and children) are lactose intolerant.

When i nursed DD2, I got the full breastfeeding package the entire time, until I got pg when she was 2, and then they switched me to the pg one.

[JamesMama]

My bf package is up after this round of checks. Which sucks because my next appt isn't until December so I'm bare bones until I can go in and get milk for my DD.

But I try not to complain too much, I got a bunch of farmers market checks for me and my SIL didn't get any milk after 3 months pp (she bottle fed by choice) of course she got formula and then juice and cereal at 6 months...I could have gotten the juice and cereal for my DD at 6 months but I declined not like I was going to give it to her anyway.

[cognito]

Originally Posted by kriket

They will still cover your child until they are 5 (in my state) as long as you qualify.

I'm in OH with Kriket. We're actually in the same office. WIC covers formula to a year & the BFing package for a year. You can even get formula & the BFing package if you're supplementing. They have 1, 3 & 9 can formula packages to fit your needs.

We got juice & infant cereal at 6mo with my first. I have a 6mo now & he gets formula for supplementing. I don't think that they added it this time because I expressed wanting to delay some foods because of severe food allergies within the family.

A Rx from a doctor is necessary for specialty formulas or formula past a year.

After a year, you get things like milk, cheese, juice, cereal & eggs. After age 2, you can add peanut butter or dry beans. The BFing package is the same.

I only know about pregnancy through 2yrs so far. Packages might change for older kiddos up to age 5.

[waiting2bemommy]

Originally Posted by cognito

I'm in OH with Kriket. We're actually in the same office. WIC covers formula to a year & the BFing package for a year. You can even get formula & the BFing package if you're supplementing. They have 1, 3 & 9 can formula packages to fit your needs.

Oh, see that's cool. here it's all or nothing, unfortunately. If you admit to giving one drop of formula they will urge you to switch to the formula package instead. The bf'ing package is only for exclusive bf'ing. And naturally if you're getting all that formula free the inclination would be to use it, anyway.

[cognito]

The way it works here is really nice for our family. I EP, have supply problems, scar tissue from a piercing gone wrong & a baby with a high palate that can't latch. We tried everything. He gets 2 4oz bottles of my milk a day at this point (it used to be more) & I have to pump 6-8 times a day to get that.

The office I go to is very "any breastmilk is good breastmilk" & they're happy to see someone give it a try. (Well there's one awful LC that harassed me, but we got that straightened out real quick.)

[April422]

With a DR's note explaing my oldest child's milk allergy she was given soy formula from WIC until she was 3 years old. Since she was being given the formula, she did not qualify for any other packages. It was soy formula only, no juice, etc.

[1littlebit]

why would you have to fight them for soy milk if you all are lactose intolerant that seems awfully inconsiderate of them yk?

and you know how we all know its better to bf as long as possible and who recommends at least 2 yrs? why is it the ff stops at 1 yr? wouldn't it make sense to do it for the same minimum bfing time?

[bmcneal]

I don't know about other states/offices, but here we could only get formula until 12 months. I don't know anything about "special" formula for infants/toddlers with allergies/special dietary needs, but our formula was done at 12 months.

[UberMama]

Ditto Beth. Here it's formula and/or bf "package" to one year (you can do a 50/50 if you like). If you need anything beyond their "norm," be that formula after one year or if you want the bf package after one year - you need a dr's note.

When we were on WIC a few years ago, someone there said they had many mama's go to the ped for a note stating their baby was still nursing and to keep them on the package. The lady at WIC said it was no problem. (I was asking, because my twins were on special formula that we had to get a note for even though I my BM was feeding them at about 75%)