Don’t get me wrong, WIC is the kind of social program I tend to like, in that it fulfulls a specific need, generally on a short-term basis. Plus, it’s specifically designed to help children.
But it really pisses me off to see what kinds of baby formula are given out for free in the WIC program. Baby formula is expensive. Those of us who don’t qualify for WIC, but aren’t made of money, put out a fair amount of effort trying to get formula at the cheapest possible price. We save the coupons religiously, we always buy the powder in large cans, which is by far the least expensive on a per-ounce basis. We measure out scoops into special little containers and take them with us on-the-go (along with bottles with pre-measured amounts of water to mix it with), rather than buy the very expensive individual bottles of ready-to-serve or even the individual packets of powder. It’s all pretty much a royal pain in the ass.
Which is why it irks me to no end to see moms get the extremely convenient ready-to-serve, no mixing, no extra bottle needed, individually-sized bottles FOR FREE! :mad: I would love to be able to buy a ton of those and never have to mix another bottle. It sure would save me a lot of time. It would also cost me a whole ton of money, so I don’t get that convenience. Sure is nice that some people do, without even having to pay for it. Arrrggh!
Don’t know if you’re aware of this, but powdered formula is not recommended for infants under three months old, because it’s not sterile, while ready-to-feed is. Also, some babies with reflux or other issues can’t tolerate powdered.
You get a certain amount of “money” on WIC. If you choose to get the more expensive formula, then you’ll have to suppliment it with your own cash. You do not get more ‘money’ if you buy the more expensive formula. Believe me, I know.
That’s interesting about the under-3-months rule…my pediatrician never mentioned that to me, probably because I was nursing when my kids were that age.
I grant you that there are times when ready-to-feed may be medically recommended, but this does not seem to be the case with the examples I see at daycare (it would be strange, don’t you think, for ALL the kids on WIC to have a medical indication for ready-to-feed, whereas NONE of the kids not on WIC do?)
No, WIC is funding food for the baby. There is a formula to how much you get based on what your last year’s income was. Instead of eating beef, my husband and I ate Ramen so that we could afford to give our kids the formula they needed.
What, people on WIC should buy the cheapest stuff available just because it bothers you? Fuck that shit. You’ll just have to deal with your petty anger.
I took advantage of WIC back in the day, but other than that fact that it was very helpful, I remember next to nothing about it. I was working, but pretty poor. I’m not even sure how I purchased it. I didn’t use it during the formula days…that much I do remember.
The daycare we first sent the sprog to requested ready-to-feed; at minimum, we had to provide some form of liquid formula. RTF was just easier for some parents to deal with. They’d buy a bottle to bring to daycare and used powder at home.
My daycare doesn’t make such a request, and yet the moms who are on WIC all provide them with the individual ready-to-feed bottles, while the rest of us provide them with the giant cans of powder. If WIC doesn’t cover the most convenient and expensive forms, as Biggirl says, then don’t you think the moms would keep the easy-to-use bottles for themselves, for nighttime feedings and such where the convenience is really helpful, and supply daycare with the cheap stuff?
Sarahfeena, I don’t follow why you are bothered by it. If WIC allows $5 toward powdered formula and the RTF costs $7, and you give up something in order to make up that $2, what difference should it make? Everyone fiddles with their budget to do this or that with their available funds. I think that’s all these folks are doing. I see nothing wrong with, say, buying cheap soup instead of better soup, and using that savings to get the better formula. Can you explain a little more where you’re coming from?
Let me rephrase that then. Would you explain why? I was thinking that your argument was basically that “poor people aren’t allowed to have anything I can’t have”, but that seemed kind of petty, so I assumed I must be mistaken.
People who don’t have all that much money surely are also going to have less time, I would have thought. I’m not entirely sure that’s a good enough excuse to save however much extra hassle it is, but if money is something it’s acceptable to support (in this case) I think time should be also.
Let’s use your example of the $5 powdered and the $7 RTF. Both WIC people and non-WIC people have to come up with the extra $2 to get the RTF. But the difference is that I’ve already had to come up with the $5 to get the formula in the first place. Therefore, I am less likely to upgrade to the convenient form, because I’m already out of pocket 5 bucks, whereas the WIC person is out nothing. I’d love to spend only $2 to get the easy stuff, but in reality, they are paying $2 for it, and I’m paying $7 for it. So, in essence, what WIC is doing is making the convenient type of formula affordable to people on WIC. This doesn’t seem quite fair to me.
See my response to Kalhoun…I tried to explain it as best I could. Let me assure everyone that I do not begrudge at all baby formula being paid for by WIC. I do believe, however, that people getting free money to buy formula with should economize with that free money just as much as they would if they had earned it.