I am sure you have all heard lately that trace amounts of Melamine has been found in Enfamil (with Iron) formula.
I have tried to go online and see what is being said by the FDA and medical community, but I am getting no where.
My daughter(7 months) is mainly breastfed, however she does get one-two bottles a day (one at lunch and one at dinner)
I am just concerned about the government really looking out for us and giving us the truth. From what I can tell they seem to think the amounts are so low it will do no harm and that changing formula on an infant will do more harm then good!? Plus they have not removed them from the stores, so does that mean all is well??
My question is since she is only getting one or two a day can I just switch her to another formula (since Enfamil was the main one listed) without having any issues or is it better just to keep doing what we have been doing and hope that the FDA and government are really giving us moms the straight truth!?
Just wondering what you other moms did if you were using this formula???
I plan on calling my doc on Monday, but thought I would reach out to you all as well.
Thank you everyone for your input.
My doc didn't have much more info than what I can find online. So I am going with my gut.
We did switch formulas and we will see how her tummy does. She doesn't seem to mind the new flavor.
Also to answer a few questions as to why she even gets one formula bottle a day... my milk production is fine! However the reason why we introduced her to formula was because I had planned on going back to work (just didn't) and I knew I didn't want to pump forever. Also when we go out (when we get to) it is nice to know she can have formula and I don't have to worry about people heating up my breast milk the right way and so forth.
So for that reason she got formula here and there, just to get her used to the flavor and a bottle. Then we noticed that if she got a formula bottle as her dinner bottle right before bed, she slept all night long!
She now goes down around 630p and sleeps until 7am most nights.
So for that reason we will continue the one formula bottle at night, with the occasional formula bottle during the day when the need is there.
I know all breast is is best, but shoot she gets plenty all day long... I am not going to beat myself up over one formula bottle. And to all those moms out there that get crap from others about using formula- give yourself a break! It isn't the end of the world and many happy and healthy babies are a result of formula. Give breast a good fighting chance since it truly is the most rewarding thing I have ever done, but if in the end it doesn't work out, it is better to have a happy mom to raise a happy baby!
Cheers and Merry Christmas to all....
There is a great website called the soft landing which has lots of information about melamine, BPA's and other plastic/chemical information. I would recommend having a look.
I would switch away from Enfamil. Melamine is a disaster, and it's added to the formula to falsely make the iron content appear higher in tests. There's no other reason for it to be in there.
J.,
Definitely check with your doctor, but if she's been taking it and has had no adverse affects, I wouldn't worry about it. Both of my children were fed Enfamil(with iron) because I couldn't breast feed and they are both strong, healthy and smart at 7 yrs and 4.5yrs old.
In fact, they are actually healthy and don't seem to catch the colds that float around like the other kids do.
Trust your insticts and listen to your doctor.
God Bless-
C.
If I were you, I'd do my best to pump so that the bottles are your milk twice a day! I nursed my sons working full-time at an airline and would pump on each break so that my husband would have enough milk to feed in bottles when I was working. It becomes very routine to do so and if you get a good a electric pump you can eat your snack while pumping and read a good magazine as well! You then freeze your milke each night as he uses the ones from the prior day! It's the only way to ensure safety as well as the best nutrition going! Good Luck!
I would not trust any infant formula. These are made in the US and I doubt US manufacturers are adding melamine - but they are using Chinese ingredients, so probably any formula has it.
Try making your own formula with raw goats milk. It lacks certain b vitamins but otherwise is a complete food. The Weston A. Price Foundation has several recipes.
You will get nothing but coverups and lies from the FDA. Doctors are also pretty deceived. You will have to look outside the mainstream media for good information on this topic. Good places to start are www.infowars.net. If you can get onto the archives, check out "The Power Hour" and the "Alex Jones Show." They regularly have guests that discuss this topic.
Honestly... I used the same formula. I can not breast feed. My little boy is very healthy and strong and is sick ALOT less than his breast fed cousins. Just my personal observations.
J.,
My dad just sent me a fabulous email on Melamine and how to tell what products are made in the countries where that is occuring. Send me an email to ____@____.com and I will forward this on to you. Please put in subject line MamaSource.
Is there a way you can pump and give her breast milk in the bottles she gets each day? I am also suspicious about the melamine thing, but my kids are older, so I hadn't really had to deal with it. What I want to know is, if it isn't enough to make anyone sick, why did the FDA bother to mention it at all? I tend to think that if there is an ingredient that could be dangerous in something, you should avoid it. I also think that the FDA should do it's job and keep the baby formula safe.
You can switch to generic. As you know, all formula is FDA regulated so it has the same ingredients, same nutrients, as Enfamil. We used Enfamil for a bit early on but then I discovered generic and my DD has had no problems at all (it is not really "switching" to go from one brand of milk-based to another brand of milk-based). My daughter is almost a year and we have been using the generic brand practically the whole time. And she is healthy and fine. We use Costco brand mostly, but have used the Target and Walmart brands as well, again with no issues.
is there a specific reason she has formuala bottles twice/day? at this point you could probably do all her nursing needs just with breastmilk and substitute formula time with actual food time. she won't eat a ton, but i guess i'm not understanding why she needs to be on formula at all. the melamine thing is a little freaky!
Apparently the report about Melamine in Enfamil is incorrect. Here are testing results from various formulas from the FDA. The only one found with melamine is Good Start. Several brands (including some Enfamil products) are still being tested, however for both melamine and cyanuric acid.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine/testresul...
There are so many decisions, and it is hard to know how to protect our little ones! I looked into formula a little bit, just to educate myself, and the only one that I would have been comfortable feeding my daughter was the Earth's Best Organic formula. It was the only one sweetened with lactose (like breast milk is) rather than corn syrup. Who wants to feed their babies corn syrup! It is way to early to get them started on refined sugar. Just my opinion. And I don't think switching from one milk based formula to another is a big deal, but ask your doc if you are concerned.
Good Luck!
Honestly, I would do whatever I could to make sure your little girl doesn't get any formula. I just don't trust that the FDA is looking out for the interests of kids. I think there is a lot of politics going on that we never see and I just don't trust it. If you breastfeed for the most part, I would just stick to that.
If someone said, here's a medicine for your daughter, it has trace amounts of poison in it, but it's okay, I'm sure she'll be fine, I would think twice even three times before getting it near my little girl!
You've got the absolute best food right on tap! If it's a supply issue, contact your local La Leche League, they are there to help you with breastfeeding. You can go to www.llli.org to find your local LLL.
Why not just pump and give bottle- that would be easier for you LO's stystem and 100% better then FF.
You can eat yourself up with worry as a parent, please first clear your mind of conspiracy theories, that the govt is out to get us or ruin our lives. I think that you can read some posts, buy into all the media hypes aobut products and really drive yourself nuts with all the conspiracy and crazy drama that situations like this can cause. All you can do as a parent is take in information and follow up with what is the situation on hand. It is scary, we all want to be protected 100% but it won't happen no matter where we live. Our regulations in our country are a lot more secure then most countries anywhere in the world.
I think it is sad that there is no fool proof system in our world, it would be nice if everything we ate and drank forever was tested, guaranteed, but in reality we live in a great country that 85% of the products we have are tested and are very regulated. However there is no such thing as mistakes NEVER happening. This is really close to home being it is baby formula. I would try another brand and do research for now until you can call your Dr.
When you are a mom that puts you on even higher alert and I agree baby items need to be the highest on the list as far as testing!
That said, talk with your Dr. He should be able to really add clarity to the situation and advise you accordingly. Don't hesitate to call the company yourself.
I always used concentrate when I gave my kids formula, it is more expensive but worth it and worked for us.
Switching formula is one thing that yes you should talk to your doctor about but if its just switching brands its not a big deal...Walmart, Target, etc. all have generic brands that work fine. And if she only has two bottles a day...she will be fine. And have you looked at the Enfamil website? They had an article about the whole issue.
A little about me - stay at home mom with a 2 year old, and a 6 month old...and my 2 year old was fed enfamil till he was one-he is healthy and doing good.
I just had a meeting with Enfamil reps. and the informed us that the enfamil was named incorrectly. They told us they has other outside sources who looked into the matter and found all the enfamil is safe. I hope they would not lie to us all. good luck.
Hi, J.. Wow, I sure can understand your worry! I would go with what your doctor says, but I would sure have a strong instinct to change formulas no matter what was said! Mother's instinct, you know?
Good luck!
S.
Is there a reason that your baby needs 2 bottles of formula a day? If it is a supply issue there are many things that you can do to increase your milk supply so that you don't need to give her the formula anymore. You can start with drinkning more water and taking fenugreek and blessed thissle. Infant formula has a very long history of contamination and nutritional inadequacy, I would avoid using it if at all possible. Since she is 7 months old now you may be able to have her just eat some solid food instead of having a bottle when you have to be away from her, so long as it is just a short time that you are away. I am reluctant to believe that the FDA is being totally honest, becasue the infant formula industry makes billions of doallar a year and has considerable political power, I think that the FDA may be unduly influenced in their decisions regarding the industry.
