f/u to would you/have you....CL formula?

billiburrows

I nurse and feed my baby formula due to supply issues.  On Craigslist there are people selling formula for a variety of reasons- they ended up switching brands or they got the formula via wic and no longer need it, etc.....  i'm very tempted to buy from craigslist. if the formula is unopened and not expired....seems fine to me. right?  my husband however worries that you don't know the condition the cans were stored in.... like in a hot attic or gross damp basement and that it is too risky since this is your baby's primary source of nutrition.  (but do you ever know how they were stored????!!!) 

although he is being maybe overly cautious...i guess it is like why take the risk?   just wondering what you think....the car seat post got me thinking about this again....

4EvR&4AlWz

It is very easy to pierce a lid with a fine needle and you would never know. Who knows what could be injected into the powder.

This is a "never buy" from someone I don't know.

Use Costco formula. It's less than half the price of Similac and Enfamil. The ingredients are the same and it has more DHA than Similac. I used it for 2 kids.

Also subscribe your family members for the formula checks.

lala5507

I agree, I wouldn't buy.  We used store brands when we switched from bm to formula.  Our pedi assured us that the store brands are regulated exactly the same as the name brands.  So I would save money that way. 

northhillsbride

Also, every time you go to the pediatrician, ask for sample cans. With Conall, he was on Alimentum at like $30 a can; my ped was awesome and would send me off with 5 or 6 sample cans every time we were there.

I'm seeing more and more manufacturer's coupons for Similac and Enfamil in the newspapers. You can use those WITH the formula checks. And keep an eye on Target - a lot of times they offer a $5 or $10 gift card if you buy 2 or 3 cans. CVS will also do buy one, get one 50% off. When you take advantage of these sales with coupons, it can bring formula down to $12-14 a can sometimes.

Finally, does The Bump still have the Coupon or Trading page? You can trade coupons or formula checks there...

I would definitely be wary - espec of the ones saying they got it with WIC. When we first moved here to Houston, we were at our car in a Walmart parking lot, and a foreign woman stopped her car next to us and said that she saw that we had an infant and that they changed brands and couldn't return the can they had (and wasn't opened) - would I want it for $10? it just sat so wrong with me and would really concern me. There's a reason stores won't let you return unopened baby formula, you know?

You really want to believe in the goodness of people, but in this case, I wouldn't. (And I'm pretty cheap!)

amyjoy18

I never really thought about it...but I think I'm in the "don't buy anything you ingest on craigslist" camp.

What brand are you using?  I just clipped 2 Similac coupons out of the paper yesterday and will send them to you if it's your brand. 

billiburrows

thanks!  i never thought about someone maybe sticking a needle into it....sheesh!

we use gerber good start b/c daycare was supplying it for free although they aren't anymore. i'm hesitant to swtich brands at this point... oh well. i guess i'll keep an eye out for coupons! 

4EvR&4AlWz

Both DDs had no problems switching. I'd even switch formula bottle to bottle depending on what was open. I kept Similac or Enfamil at daycare because with coupons and sales or the free sample packages, I could buy the 24oz containers slightly more than Costco price so it lasted a few weeks for bottle refills and then Costco at home (I'd always send 2 10oz bottles and if either needed more, they would use the extra formula). I also never gave baby food one at a time x 3 days. I always just gabe baby food and never worried about reactions. But I'm sure DC would be fine formula switching.

billiburrows

hmmm.... i'm going to look into it! thanks!