Do you follow the "toss open formula after 1 month"?

[countthestars]

Daycare sent home a tub thing of formula from 6/12/14 because they're not allowed to use it any more. I'm going to use as much as possible tonight/tomorrow/the next day but do I really have to toss it on the 12th? It's about 1/3 of the tub left (and we are tryiingggg to wean off of formula so I'd prefer to not BUY MORE). 


*formula tub says to use after 1 month

[magpie]

I do, but I'd love it if someone were to come here and say that it's cool to use it longer. She only gets a small amount of formula per day (just supplementing my pumping), so we never get through even half the tub.

[magpie]

Jul 10, 2014 21:31:52 GMT -5 @callmefia said:

Jul 10, 2014 21:25:25 GMT -5 magpie said:

I do, but I'd love it if someone were to come here and say that it's cool to use it longer. She only gets a small amount of formula per day (just supplementing my pumping), so we never get through even half the tub.

When we weren't using a lot of formula, I bought much smaller containers of formula. You can also ask the pedi for samples. Mine gave me a huge box of similac soy (6 sample sizes) last time we went. Those are perfect for supplementing!

when I first bought formula, I just grabbed some of the Up and Up kind from Target (thinking, it's all the same and it was so much cheaper).  They only sell it in size giant.  She tolerates it well, so I don't know if it would be silly to switch her to something that comes in a smaller can.  It's cheap though...I just hate the waste.  I'm planning to quit pumping in August (when I go back to work/the school year starts) anyway, so what's done is done. 

[IrishBelle]

I would totally use it up at home.

[ilikedonuts]

I'd use it up.

[sent]

Jul 10, 2014 21:29:17 GMT -5 @callmefia said:

I don't subscribe to the idea that it goes bad at EXACTLY one month. I'd use it up in the next week or two.

I am bad - we used the RTF 8oz bottles a lot over the last week and after opening you are supposed to refrigerate, and use within a day. Well I didn't refrigerate at all but offered at the next feeding (so within maybe 4 hours?!) and guess what?! No harm done.

Good to know.  DD drinks 4 oz so I always have a half bottle leftover when we are out.  I am anal about carrying around a cooler bag stuffed with ice packs to refrigerate the leftover.  I rush to get it in the fridge as soon as we get home so I don't waste it.  The other day she was puking and I thought it was because the RTF had been in my cooler bag and it wasn't cool enough and had gone bad.  Turned out she was puking because her acid reflux returned. 

[changedname]

I have no idea but my first thought was that you should be good a few days after the actual month at least.... Some months have 28 days, some have 31. How does the formula know which month it is?

[Deleted]

I did not know this rule.

Poor misotiny.  LOL.

[Velar Fricative]

I did when we were supplementing since I rarely used the whole container. It killed me. Then I bought those Enfamil single-serve packs so I wouldn't have to toss unused formula.

Now that DD is 100% FF this is not a concern, and I make sure we only have one container open at a time.

[soozy87]

We do not toss it. But we don't follow a lot of the milk or formula safety "rules".

[Deleted]

I would keep it. As long as it's been in the same place so it's consistent temp and moisture wise I wouldn't even worry about it.
I also feel like it's just a SYA measure on the part of the formula companies. Like everything else if it's bad I'm assuming I'd know it through texture, color changes etc.

What do I know though? I feed DS bottles all the time that may have been on the counter a little too long. Sometimes he falls asleep one sip in and then I forgot about it until he wakes up.

[kdubs923]

 I had no idea this was a rule until recently. When DS was super tiny, we only supplemented a few ounces a day. When I think back, it probably took us well over a month to go through a container. He was always a very spitty kid, so I don't know if I would have even noticed if it bothered his stomach.

So yeah, we used it longer than a month. He seems pretty healthy & normal for 8 months despite my goof.

Now, we go through a big tub in a week. I wish I could go back to worrying about throwing a little out at the end of the month!

[holly116]

I only use formula to mix with cereal. Kid 3? Yeah. We've certainly gone beyond the 30 day mark without issue. I do mark the can as soon as I open it and we're not going forever, but 35-45 days, I'm not worried.

[Deleted]

Jul 10, 2014 21:31:44 GMT -5 @this said:

I honestly didn't know this was a rule until like a month ago. When we were already done with formula. I don't know how I missed it! I read the box (when DD was weeks old...) and am here most days. WTF, me?

So we had a tub of formula at my mom's house that I used every other weekend when we visited for months. MONTHS. Oops. DD is still alive.

So yes, I would feel fine tagging on another few weeks. lol. Maybe this is a flameful, but I really had no idea this was a rule!

Lol, same here. I didn't know this was a rule until maybe three weeks ago when we started phasing it out with cow milk. 

[noodleskooze]

@bettyhomewrecker33 how's she doing with the transition? Leo refuses to drink milk from a sippy or straw cup. I'm at a loss!

[thebreakfastclub]

Hell no! I might if I lived in a non air-conditioned metal trailer in the desert and was routinely storing it at 120 degrees.

I consider that "rule" a corporate CYA safeguard.

[Deleted]

Jul 11, 2014 8:14:40 GMT -5 noodleskooze said:

@bettyhomewrecker33 how's she doing with the transition? Leo refuses to drink milk from a sippy or straw cup. I'm at a loss!

She's adjusted great so far. Daycare started the shift first, so there she only had the option of milk or water, and we would do formula at night until the can ran out. She does drink less milk than she did formula, but I'm comfortable with that because we just add other calcium sources throughout the day. 

Could you do a mix of formula and milk? Then just phase out the formula portion? 

[noodleskooze]

Jul 11, 2014 8:50:37 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

Jul 11, 2014 8:14:40 GMT -5 noodleskooze said:

@bettyhomewrecker33 how's she doing with the transition? Leo refuses to drink milk from a sippy or straw cup. I'm at a loss!

She's adjusted great so far. Daycare started the shift first, so there she only had the option of milk or water, and we would do formula at night until the can ran out. She does drink less milk than she did formula, but I'm comfortable with that because we just add other calcium sources throughout the day. 

Could you do a mix of formula and milk? Then just phase out the formula portion? 

We're doing the mix right now, but it's still in a bottle. I think he'd drink milk out of the bottle if we tried, but we're trying to phase those out too.

He drinks water great out of a silly or straw cup, but he'll only take one sip of milk.

[Deleted]

Jul 11, 2014 8:53:58 GMT -5 noodleskooze said:

Jul 11, 2014 8:50:37 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

She's adjusted great so far. Daycare started the shift first, so there she only had the option of milk or water, and we would do formula at night until the can ran out. She does drink less milk than she did formula, but I'm comfortable with that because we just add other calcium sources throughout the day. 

Could you do a mix of formula and milk? Then just phase out the formula portion? 

We're doing the mix right now, but it's still in a bottle. I think he'd drink milk out of the bottle if we tried, but we're trying to phase those out too.

He drinks water great out of a silly or straw cup, but he'll only take one sip of milk.

We still use a bottle for milk, but just put a sippy top on it. We use the Nuk ones, if that helps. O will take milk out of a munchkin sippy or straw cup, but only if it's really cold. That may be because when we put water in those we do have ice cubes, so it's what she is used to.