Mama Bear - Part Two

Today, I had my second Mama Bear experience when I saw on the 5pm news that Similac infant formulas had been recalled because of possible contamination with beetle parts and/or larvae that could lead to upset tummies and other gastrointestinal concerns.  We buy it each week at Sam's, and decided this past weekend to stock up so we don't have to get it each week.  We purchased 6 giant-size containers of formula and spent $182 for several weeks' worth of nutrition for Parker.

I immediately went to www.similac.com to check the status of our lot of formula, and sure enough, all six containers were part of the recall.  An infant formula is very different than a recall of lead-tainted jewelry, Roman shades, or even dog food.  It easy to immediately stop using these products or find a sensible alternative product.  I needed an immediate substitute for Parker that was safe, but more importantly, wouldn't make him fussy or wake him up in the middle of the night tonight.

I tried calling Sam's to see if they had non-recalled formula that I could come trade-in the tainted tubs for as a substitute.  They weren't aware there was a recall!  It took three phone calls, but I finally got a hold of Market Street's manager to discover they have pulled all of their Similac from the shelves and they don't have any to sell me.  I did at least give them credit for already addressing the recall - Sam's manager will hear from Mama Bear tomorrow when I return my 6 cartons of beetle powder and request my $182 refund.

When Parker wakes up from his nap, I load him in the car and we head to WalMart to try and find something for Parker to drink for his 6:45pm bottle.  On the way, I consult Benton's mom, Nancy, and my mom about whether I should switch to Enfamil powder formula temporarily or switch to Similac's concentrated liquid formula that was not affected by the recall.  I decide to buy the much more expensive liquid Similac if I can't find non-recalled powder at WalMart.

WalMart doesn't have any signs posted about the recall, so being the crazy mom I am tonight, I head straight to customer service to complain that they have not pulled recalled formula from their shelves.  Tweedle Dee and Dummer at Customer Service scan one can of powder and assure me its not part of the recall.  They swear to me that "Corporate" would automatically put it in "the system" before they would know about it at the store. Crazy mothers do not take the word of WalMart employees who work the 6pm - 4am shift, so I bought two bottles of concentrate and one can of powder to check for recall status.

Not surprisingly, Similac's website has crashed and their phone lines are all busy now that news about the recall has spread.  I'll let you know as soon as I can whether I'll have to go grizzly on the Wal Mart manager tomorrow too.  Parker took the bottle tonight and didn't know there was any difference.  If there is a silver lining to this story, maybe we'll find that the concentrated formula reduces Parker's spit up - would be totally worth tonight's drama!